Sibelius: Violin Concerto / Lemminkäinen Suite
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JEAN SIBELIUS
Sibelius: Violin Concerto / Lemminkäinen Suite
Ava Bahari (violin), Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
[ Alpha Classics / CD ]
Release Date: Friday 24 April 2026
This item is only available to us via Special Order. We should be able to get it to you in 3 - 6 weeks from when you order it.
As chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali has spent five years recording Sibelius's symphonies and symphonic poems for Alpha Classics, landmarks of the discography which have received numerous awards worldwide. He wanted to continue this cycle with the famous Violin Concerto, for which he chose the young Swedish violinist Ava Bahari, artist in residence at the Gothenburg Symphony and ECHO Rising Star for 2026/2027... Together, they form a close-knit duo and share the same passion for the music of the Finnish composer who, heartbroken at not having realised his dream of becoming a virtuoso violinist, composed a concerto that would become an essential work in the history of music, in which soloist and orchestra merge... Rouvali and the GSO also recorded another work that demonstrates Sibelius's innovative symphonic thinking: the cycle of Four Legends of Lemminkäinen, first heard in Helsinki on 13 April 1896.
"Hugely impressed by Ava Bahari here. She is truly a storyteller. There is untold generosity and cleanness to the playing and the best way I can express what sets apart her reading of this oft-performed piece is the value with which she imbues every note, be it part of a singing phrase or a driving rush of pyrotechnics. Nothing is 'incidental', every note has a purpose. And it's generous too, expansive in the best sense with natural-sounding rubatos. Her partner in this endeavour - Santtu-Matias Rouvali - is like-minded, carving out the rugged contours with dramatic starkness (the Gothenburg Symphony and he understand the word 'elemental') and turning the quietudes into deafening silence." Gramophone Editor's Choice May 26
"Bahari is an enthralling storyteller, investing every phrase with musical intention...Rouvali's dramatic nous suits these colourful works well while offering clues to the full-blown symphonies ahead. Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island is packed with lusty incident, rising to a series of sensual climaxes." The Guardian
Tracks:
Lemminkainen Suite, op.22
Violin Concerto in D minor, op.47
