I recently got interested in classical music
again, and I've become especially interested in the music of Finnish
composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). I've tried to find a
"minimal-expenditure" path through his works, and this is the result.
The excellent book Classical
Music: The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1,000 Greatest Works by
Phil G. Goulding provided me with a good list: a "master collection"
of Sibelius's most important works. If you get all of the discs listed
here, you'll have the whole collection at the lowest price
possible. (If you can find a way to lower the total, please let me know .)Sibelius:
The Symphonies . Lorin
Maazel conducts the Weiner
Philharmoniker . Record in Vienna between from 9/63 to 4/68. Three
discs, all seven symphonies (Ops. 39, 43, 52, 63, 82, 104, and 105),
from London/Decca (2LC3 430-778).Sibelius:
Kullervo . Almost a symphony, this is Sibelius's symphonic poem for
soprano, baritone, chorus, and orchestra (Op. 7). Jorma
Panula conducts the Turku
Philharmonic and the Laululun Ystävät Male Choir with
Johana Rusanen (soprano) and Esa
Ruutunen (baritone). Recorded at the Turku Concert Hall in
6/96. From Naxos (8-553756).Sibelius:
Finlandia . Two discs; on the first disc, Vladimir
Ashkenazy conducts the London
Philharmonia on Finlandia (Op. 26), the Karelia Suite (Op. 11),
Luonnotar (Op. 70, with Elisabeth
Söderström performing the soprano part), Tapiola
(Op. 112), and En Saga (Op. 9); on the second disc, Horst
Stein conducts L'Orchestre
de la Suisse Romande on Nightride & Sunrise (Op. 55), Pohjola's
Daughter (Op. 49), and the Lemminkäinen Suite (Op. 22). From
London/Decca Double Decker (2DF2 452-576).Sibelius:
Violin Concerto/Pelleas & Melisande Suite/ Valse Romantique . Enrique
Bátiz conducts the London
Philharmonia on Violin Concerto in D minor (Op. 47, featuring Adrian
Justus on violin), Pelléas et Mélisande incidental
music (Op. 46), and Kuolema incidental music "Valse Romantique"
(Op. 62/2). From IMP Classics (PCD 6700122).Sibelius:
Songs for Male Choir . Matti Hyokki conducts Jaakko
Borg and the Helsinki
University Male Choir . The master collection lists only "songs",
and there are no discount-price Sibelius song collections. If you
don't mind reducing the number of Sibelius tracks, there's Scandinavian
Songs and Ballads 1929-1960 featuring Jussi Björling.Sibelius:
String Quartets
featuring the Jean Sibelius Quartet on the String Quartet in A minor
(no Op.#) and the String Quartet in D minor "Voces Intimae"
(Op. 56).
That would cover it all, except that somehow none of these discs
include "Valse Triste". There are several budget discs that include
it, although you may want to consider a more expensive selection that
includes all of the Kuolema incidental music.Sibelius:
Tapiola/En Saga/The Bard/Valse Triste .
For just "Valse Triste":Sibelius:
Finlandia/Tone Poems .Meditation:
Classical Relaxation 5 .100
Masterpieces Volume 10: The Top 10 of Classical Music
1894-1928 .Great
Waltzes .Sibelius:
Symphony No. 2/Valse Triste/Finlandia .A
Classical Concert .Best-Loved
Classics 15 .
Total outlay: About $84 plus shipping for 10 discs if you pick one of the $3.97 discs for "Valse Triste".
