Penguin Guide 3 stars; Hi-Fi News: outstanding.
This album presents a collection of orchestral works by Jean Sibelius, conducted by Neeme Järvi with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. The program includes the concert suites from *Swanwhite* and *Belshazzar’s Feast*, along with standalone tone pictures such as *The Dryad*, *Dance-Intermezzo*, and *Pan and Echo*. These compositions showcase Sibelius’s distinctive ability to blend atmospheric storytelling with rich orchestral textures.
The *Swanwhite Suite*, adapted from Sibelius’s score for August Strindberg’s play, offers delicate and sensitive music that reflects a fairy-tale world. The *Belshazzar’s Feast Suite* captures exotic and dramatic moments from Hjalmar Procopé’s play, featuring evocative "Oriental" sonorities. *The Dryad* and *Pan and Echo* explore mythological themes, while *Dance-Intermezzo* provides a lively and rhythmic contrast. This recording highlights Sibelius’s lyrical and impressionistic approach to orchestral writing.
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