Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82 | Turku Philharmonic Orchestra

[@lawbodlawbod9485]

Rip the great Segerstam, one of the very best interpreters of Sibelius.

[@CompassClassroom]

An absolutely stunning performance that draws out all the majesty, beauty, and profundity of his fifth symphony. The tempos are exactly right to comprehend all the nuances in the music. The recording engineers and mixer did an excellent job pulling out the proper details in the performance, especially the brass in the finale. Exemplary. The face of the conductor at the end confirmed that he knew it was an incredible performance.

[@olebirgerpedersen]

I I first heard this Symphonie with Karajan and found it good. That lasted until I heard Leif Segerstamm conduct it in Copenhagen. His tempi blow me away and I suddenly heard this Symphonie for the very first time. Later Leif and I became freinds and comming to know him I inderstood why he and Sibelius were made of the same stuff.

[@ChristopheStrobbe]

That's interesting. The Wikipedia article on Karajan says that according to Walter Legge, Sibelius said, "Karajan is the only conductor who plays what I meant." Since Sibelius died in 1957, that was some time before Segerstam became a conductor. It makes me wonder what Sibelius would have thought of Segerstam's interpretations.

[@olebirgerpedersen]

3:07 3:07 3:08 3:09 3:09 3:09 je would have been delighted

[@bomcabedal]

@@ChristopheStrobbe Let's not forget this is a secondary source reporting something Sibelius might just have said to be a good sport - which, in later years, he often was. I wouldn't attach too much value to that story either way.

[@professordodo1]

An absolutely first class rendition of this stunning composition. The orchestra excel in every department and Segerstam is an inspiring conductor, performer and interpreter of the symphony.

[@jameslyon7234]

Great music, great conductor.

[@stillstanding6031]

I discovered Sebelius during the pandemic. So very glad I did. This performance is wonderful---spacious and airy like billowy sails in sqaull.

[@monkeyishungry]

Absolutely gorgeous!! Oh man this is a delight!

[@waelahmad7478]

This heavenly masterpiece music will live forever.

[@arauniyelvalinor283]

I have loved the music of Jean Sibelius very much for many years. I listen to the compositions of different orchestras of the world, some touch me more, some less. But what I discovered today amazes me myself, because until now I did not know the interpretations of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra under Leif Segerstam. I feel as if I am hearing many a piece anew, so many details have escaped me until now because other conductors have not elicited them. But I find the deep intensity of the playing particularly touching. As a non-Finn, I interpret the Finnish soul here, which has once again brought Sibelius' music a great deal closer to me. Many thanks for that!

[@kingconcerto5860]

Check out the Colin Davis recording with BSO on Decca.

[@MahlerHolic1860]

A fabulous performance and interpretation. THAT great swan theme has room to breathe.

[@jpvino58]

Incredible performance. Legendary!

[@demeteragapimu5276]

Es fascinante la libertad de elección de tempi y la claridad de planos. Se escucha absolutamente todo, y de modo homogéneo. Bravo Maestro!

[@jpiano2]

I just so wish the camera could have a constant view of the conductor!!!!! So much 2 learn!!!! And jet.....SO BEAUTIFUL AND SPECIAL A RENDITION I just keep coming back, reading the piano reduction...uwwww JS.....what a revelation

[@MegaVicar]

Bravo! I love that his tempi a tiny bit slower than what I usually hear; the music has room to breathe! If this were mud, and I was a pig, I’d wallow all day.

[@nikispaniki]

Agreed. I just discovered these and he is the best.

[@ChristopheStrobbe]

This is something I like about slower tempi: you hear more things.

[@Dan6erous]

This orchestra out-performs so many others because they make music!

[@dianeandjeffreyknorr2804]

Excellent brass choir, notably in the quiet playing.

[@carlzittrer7502]

Magnificent! Mvt 1 - 0:55 Tempo molto moderato - Allegro moderato (ma poco a poco stretto) - Vivace molto - Presto - Più presto Mvt 2 - 16:43 Andante mosso, quasi allegretto - Poco a poco stretto - Tranquillo - Poco a poco stretto - Ritenuto al tempo Mvt 3 - 26:00 Allegro molto - Misterioso - Un pochettino largamente - Largamente assai - Un pochettino stretto

[@lelemsays]

What does this all mean? I'm obsessed with classical music and would like to learn more

[@Hammelvision]

@@lelemsays These are the tempo/mood indications for the three movements of the symphony. Many are explained here: symphonynovascotia.ca/faqs/symphony-101/how-do-musicians-know-how-fast-to-play-a-piece-and-why-are-the-terms-in-italian/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stretto

[@BryanHalo123]

A great Sibelius no.5. Added bonus Santa conducted.

[@darrylschultz9395]

Not only that-he "sleighed" 'em!

[@bostonseeker]

@@darrylschultz9395 Haha. And it's Finland too -- where are the reindeer?

[@darrylschultz9395]

@bostonseeker Reminds me of a joke. A Russian and his wife were looking out the window on a stormy winter's day. The wife said, "Oh, look at that, it's snowing!". The husband replied, "no way, it's only raining!". The wife said, "Aw, c'mon maaan(yes, she'd been watching too much Sleepyjoe Biden)-dat's snow!". The husband looked bemused as he said, "Rudolph the Red knows rain dear!".

[@achenarmyst2156]

Excellent. Compared to other great orchestras they take their time. So there is more space for marvellous accellerandi. Also very good recording quality. 👏

[@prof.h.okumura3185]

Please describe more details about this performance, date, conductor's name.😊 Because I love this big-man maestro's performance.

[@Irene_Bae]

The true Jesus of conductors, doing Sibelius proud!

[@alexkije]

Never heard a bad performance of this masterpiece. Nobody can ruin it. Love the majestic French Horn theme at 27:30.

[@michelplockyn404]

French horn???????????????????????????

[@davebarclay4429]

@@michelplockyn404 They look and sound like French horns to me. What is your point???????????????????????????

[@filmscorefreak]

@@davebarclay4429 there are some weird ass comments here on the tube..he must be a bot??????????????? lol

[@kouvostoliitto99]

What are you talking about guys? It is a french horn

[@normanmeharry58]

There are bad performances of this symphony

[@brendanward2991]

I just learnt that Segerstam is also a composer with ... wait for it ... 371 symphonies under his ample belt.

[@knutarneaasen7049]

RIP Leif Segerstam

[@carlnilson273]

The second movement is especially well done.

[@sargentfresu4440]

Bravo!! 👏👏🙏🌌

[@stephenhall3515]

While it is said by some that no good orchestra will make a mess of this symphony, it is much rarer for there to be a truly great performance as the composer intended. This is probably the greatest I have heard in my 75 years. The late Leif Segerstam was a supreme scholar of Sibelius as well as being a world class conductor with many much more prestigious orchestras than the Turku but he had started his main career with the Turku (being almost a local lad from just up the Bothnia Gulf) and returned to it in the years of ill health which would have bowled out a less determined musician. There are parallels with Sir Adrian Boult (whose Brahms live performances Segerstam treasured). There are some shades of Kajanus and Jensen in his Sibelius 5, especially with the Helsinki orchestra but Segerstam preferred live to recorded when digging deep into Sibelius and it paid off in this magnificent rendition. While prima face seeming like a quite melodic and optimistic work, the 5th caused the composer more headaches than his other 'true voice' ones from 3 to 7 and underwent at least 3 revisions top to toe. Having puzzled audiences with the beautiful nihilism of the 4th, Sibelius was asked to make #5 more accessible, not just by the home establishment (which paid him quite a large life pension) but also Kajanus, Toscanini and his close friend Sir Thomas Beecham, who was probably his main champion in the west when Finland was still seen perceived to be a mysterious neighbor of mighty Russia. The challenge made sense to Sibelius because he realized that the 4th was abstract another side of his character was Finnish nationalism and use of home grown traditions. What was a bit tricky was that the composer was brought up and educated in the Swedish speaking part of Finland and had studied in Germany thus he had to learn the Finnish language and mythology when a working adult -- usually hard up and playing in small orchestras to pay for his cigars and liquid partying. He learned quickly and became 'hooked' on antecedents of the Kalevala then trudged around Karelia and the far north in search of genuine Finnish folk music. Given that Finland had been ping-ponged between Sweden and Russia for centuries and had a very small population this was difficult. Like Vaughan William and Holst, Sibelius composed sketched approximations. There was nothing bogus in this and his love of Finnish nature and rural life had musical consequences in the development of organic or cellular elements from the third symphony (with its Haydnesque proportions) and most later music except 'incidental music' for theater use. The concept of the symphony remained 'orthodox' in his mind but the sounds and organization of orchestral sections into an analogy of sub-"choirs". This also came from his love of Palestrina yet Sibelius did not write all that much for voices. What he referred to as 'the torture' of the 5th symphony arose from some very strong themes/motifs with their own harmonic context being crafted into a symphonic entity and he considered using stronger elements for symphonic poems instead. After much trying and burning the results Sibelius hit upon the idea of 3 sections or movements instead of 4, with a clear break after the first then the 2nd having a clear coda but almost immediately launching into the last, complex, movement. He wanted to carry the contrapuntal aspects of the 1st movement into the last and did so by using 1st, 2nd and 3rd "subjects" which might be hard to master but which would have a rhythmic drive which the conductor could adjust according to the competence of the musicians. Sibelius also wanted the 5th to be his 'calling card' to the USA via Koussevitsky and his Boston S.O. which the composer had not heard. Beecham assured him that the Boston band's prowess with modern French music made it precise. In this amazing performance Segerstam "shows the working out" and the pauses between movements are as intended. Although tempi are mostly a shade slower than some conductors choose, Segerstam intently stares at what appears to be a well-worn score and when the strings incline to speed up in some places he gestures accordingly and gives them "the look". This is not a string-heavy symphony and Karajan and Maazel seem to want it to be with the BPO and VPO (no surprises there) but the 5th symphony is scored with light strings (5 basses only) and there is doubling in the winds. Flute duets occur in all movements and horns with trombones share fugal figures. Segerstam gives the full weight and fugal parts mixed with layering which the composer revised the least and in order to have the best sonic experience this movement has a consistent tempo kept by the winds, allowing the timpani to be quasi soloists and this is sometimes missed by conductors and engineers alike. This whole performance (minor fluffs and audience noise) is as good as Sibelius 5th has been played and recorded as far as I know.

[@normanmeharry58]

Voices? Oma Maa. Kullero, Rakastava, lots of songs... just to name several....

[@alfredoechevarrieta7512]

Me sumo a los respetuosos aplausos. Y muchas gracias.

[@FAH1966]

Ihana!

[@staffanolofsson8201]

Leif Segerstam = Sibelius

[@lukedaniell]

Leif Segerstam = Santa Claus

[@leerainwater2845]

Leif Segerstam = Hagrid + Dumbledorf

[@Kimon-e9d]

Segerstam looks like Brahms in his late years.

[@paulm8473]

Two female trombonists! Can't say I've ever seen that before. Very cool.

[@pauldockree9915]

Leif Segerstam Finnish conductor and composer Rest In peace.

[@anjalialaniz]

flautist sitting right next to the oboes = Cersei Lannister

[@stillstanding6031]

Is she playing the first or second flaut?

[@АлександрНарбутовский]

Интересно,кто нибудь мне объясните,почему не слышно звучание в общем мнозвучии малых духовых:трамбоны,труба они на виду,а флейты их не слышно

[@filmscorefreak]

Great performance. But i've never heard so much damn coughing, became a distraction unfortunately. Love the horns in the 3rd mvmt - exceptional! i find many performances are shaky there. Overall tone and clarity of the orchestra is fantastic.

[@bostonseeker]

They often go too fast and move too fast through the famous horn theme.

[@normanmeharry58]

I checked the score and couldn't find coughing marked.

[@brave1671]

RIP

[@alexkije]

Leif needs to go on a diet. Otherwise a good recording! Audio very clear. No distortion. Those French Horns at 27:30 are astounding mixed in with the flutes. That majestic motif was the basis for two pop tunes: The last part of BEACH BABY extended version AND CHRISTMAS BRIDE sung by the Ray Conniff Singers!

[@paulheffron4836]

He can't go on a diet, Hugh. He has a part time job playing Santa Claus🎅

[@bostonseeker]

@@paulheffron4836 So where are the reindeer?

[@paulheffron4836]

@@bostonseeker That would be a question for the conductor. I'd love to hear his answer and I'm sure there are many others who have commented to him of his appearance. 🦌

[@stillstanding6031]

It's like asking a cigarette smoker to go ona cigarette diet. He knows its bad for his health and mobility, but nagging him would never be helpful.

[@garybertini9899]

Want to his Mahler!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@timk5145]

Huh???

[@FAH1966]

You forgot „hear“… 😉!

[@davidbeatty3540]

@@FAH1966 Yeah, I took it as "(I) went to his Mahler..." :-)

[@andreaguarino8207]

His recording with the Helsinki Philharmonic is much better

[@stillstanding6031]

Recordings are always more burnished.

[@rst7243]

Who coughed near the very end? Shameful! 🙂

[@stillstanding6031]

That was me. I did it! I did it! Right after this performance, I was chased out of town and had to move to Helsinki. 9 years later, I'm still coughing.

[@normanmeharry58]

Ist movement is too slow for my liking, but interesting nonetheless.

[@richardwilliams473]

Why does this conductor insist on keeping his head down on the score?

[@stillstanding6031]

Yes, you would think he would know this score by heart. He has virtually no eye contact with the orchestra. That said, it works.

[@dianeandjeffreyknorr2804]

I’ve seen enough showboating conductors loose their places while the orchestra professionals that they are play on without him to appreciate LS whatever his reasons. The proof of the pudding is in the listening.

[@RVitor-ub3yv]

The trumpet player was very out of tune. Hahahaha! 10:27

[@Richard-b5r9v]

Santa Claus conducting

I would say Brahms