Hannu Lintu, Anne Sofie von Otter & Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra - Sibelius: Tapiola, En saga & 8 Songs (2017) [CD-Rip]

The star artist on this Finnish release is mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, and the orchestrations of the eight Sibelius voice-and-piano songs here by Aulis Sallinen were done with her voice specifically in mind. You can sample one of these (perhaps Sippan, "The Anemone") to see how you like the idea: von Otter sounds terrific, and Sallinen accomplishes the feat of staying out of her way. The side effect is that the songs don't sound much like Sibelius in terms of the orchestra. There will be less doubt about the two orchestral tone poems at the beginning, with Hannu Lintu leading a crack Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The two works come from the end and the beginning, respectively, of Sibelius' career. Tapiola, Op. 112, from 1926, is given an extraordinary performance, with forest sounds etched clearly out of the moody orchestral background and little explosions of noise popping out startlingly. The early En Saga, Op. 9, perhaps the piece in which Sibelius' Finnish voice began to appear most clearly, likewise gets a powerful rendition of its blood-and-guts final pages. And there will be no doubt at all about Ondine's engineering work, accomplished at the Helsinki Music Centre and catching every orchestral detail. A recommended Sibelius disc/hard drive segment. -- James Manheim