SIBELIUS : Chamber Music II (2009) Serie The Sibelius Edition – Vol. 9 | 5CD BOX-SET | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In spite of the fact that Sibelius’ chamber music is far less well-known than his orchestral works, it forms a large and important part of his production. In terms of numbers of discs it makes up a fourth of the complete recorded edition being brought out on BIS. Already released are the complete quartets and piano trios [BIS-CD-1903/05] and the works for violin and piano [BIS-CD-1915/17]; the present set focuses on his chamber music for other instrumental combinations and includes a number of world première recordings and previously unreleased material. A substantial chapter is the music for cello (solo and with piano accompaniment), much of which was written for Sibelius’ brother Christian. It is here performed by Torleif Thedéen, with the support of Folke Gräsbeck on the piano. There are also a number of duos and trios for strings, including the brief Vattendroppar (Water Drops) for violin and cello pizzicato, which is often claimed to be Sibelius’ earliest surviving composition, dated to around 1875. Another, more sizeable, rarity is the music to the play Ödlan (The Lizard), scored for string ensemble. Composed in 1909, half way between the Third and Fourth Symphonies, it was once described by Sibelius as ‘one of the most exquisite works that I have written’. This volume also includes Sibelius only work for viola and piano (‘Rondo in D minor’), as well as the world première recordings of two pieces for solo kantele, the traditional Finnish plucked-string instrument which appears in the Kalevala, the Finnish national epos that served as such an inspiration to Sibelius. Another group of works with a specifically Finnish background, are the pieces for ‘torviseitsikko’, a particular combination of seven brass instruments and percussion. These are here performed by members of the eminent German ensemble brasspartout. A varied programme then on this ninth instalment of the acclaimed Sibelius Edition, about which a reviewer in Fanfare has already predicted that it ‘will certainly be considered a landmark in the history of recording’. BIS
Tracklist & Credits

SIBELIUS : Piano Music II (2010) Serie The Sibelius Edition – Vol. 10 | 5CD BOX-SET | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Jean Sibelius is known as a great symphonist but he was also a highly skilled and prolific miniaturist who produced short, often aphoristic pieces throughout his life. Although less well-known than his orchestral works, his output for the piano is extensive, and we can now present the second instalment of music for solo piano in the BIS Sibelius Edition. Its predecessor, released as Volume 4 of the edition, presented the piano music that Sibelius composed during his youth and in his national romantic period. The music on this second set was written between 1905 and 1931, and includes the Three Sonatinas, widely seen as some of Sibelius's finest piano works, as well as the five pieces from the composer's Op.75, commonly known as 'The Trees'. Among the several world première recordings in this collection we find an Adagio written for his wife Aino's birthday in 1931, Sibelius's last composition for piano - and his only one for piano four-hands. 'Rakkalle Ainolle' ('To My Beloved Aino') is a mysterious piece, almost devoid of melody as such, but with an astonishingly bold tonal language: might this have been the style of the composer's Eighth Symphony, by then approaching completion and later reportedly destroyed by the composer? Included are also a number of Sibelius' own transcriptions, mainly of music he had composed for stage performances of plays such as Pelléas et Mélisande. A special case in this category is the four minute long reworking for the piano of an original bell melody written in 1912 for Helsinki's newly built Kallio Church. Presenting these close to 6 hours of music is Folke Gräsbeck, who himself has searched the archives, comparing versions and looking for previously unknown pieces. His commitment to the music of Sibelius is close to legendary, and on the basis of the previous volume of piano music alone, his achievement has been described as 'nothing less than heroic' (American Record Guide). Another reviewer, in the magazine Pizzicato, has described his performances as 'both musically and technically impressive; fresh and lively, and with a marked feeling for the dramatic potential of each work.' BIS   Tracklist & Credits