New Zealand Symphony Orchestra & Pietari Inkinen - Sibelius: Night Ride and Sunrise (2014) [Hi-Res]

While the beloved Valse triste and Scene with Cranes from Kuolema are virtually signature tunes for the great Finnish composer, much of Sibelius’s orchestral and theatrical music remains undeservedly less familiar. From the incidental music for the play Belshazzar’s Feast Sibelius drew four richly scored orientalist movements. The tone poems Pan and Echo and Night Ride and Sunrise respectively evoke the world of ancient myth and a nocturnal journey towards a Nordic dawn. A lilting waltz dances at the heart of the impressionistic The Dryad, while castanets enliven the light-hearted mood of the Tanz-Intermezzo, Op. 45 No. 2.

“…Pietari Inkinen is a young conductor with confidence and talent to spare. Inkinen's readings… show a real feeling for the idiom: phrases are shaped - and textures sifted - with fastidiousness and imagination… Inkinen's luminous account of the suite from Belshazzar's Feast will have you questioning why such an appealing and highly evocative score is so seldom performed... rarities such as Pan and Echo and The Dryad emerge with a dewy freshness and ear-pricking sophistication that prompt a radical reappraisal. A disc… guaranteed to give pretty much unbridled pleasure.” (Gramophone)

“played with splendid idiomatic feeling...First-class recording completes the listener's pleasure in an anthology that is worth every penny of its modest cost.” (The Penguin Guide)

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Pietari Inkinen, conductor

Recorded at the Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington, New Zealand, 29th July – 1st August 2007
Produced by Wayne Laird
2xHD Mastering by René Laflamme

2xHD is Fidelio Technologies’ proprietary mastering process through which audio masters of all formats, including analog tape, Protool HD, DASH, digital audio tape (DAT), 16Bits/44.1kHz or even a vinyl disk (in cases where the master is lost) are converted to the powerful DXD format (24Bits/352.8kHz) to create a unique listening experience.