Want to share a quote from Sibelius I was just reminded of. When asked about his inspiration for the fifth.....It was like God threw down these broken pieces for me to make whole again... He took his job very seriously to the delight of the world!
I had this recording on an LP which I damaged many years ago and could not find another copy to replace it. It's such a fine performance! I'm glad to find here so I can enjoy it again.
The horns, the horns 3rd movement the intervals the key change early 60's played horn in the band omg my soul soars with those intervals. Still after all these years it sings my song!!!
I've just been reading a book about 20th century classical music. Apparently, all of the leading 'modern' composers hated Sibelius' music - because it was popular with audiences. Yeah - that's a real crime.
Astonishing performance. I remember when it was released and was largely ignored. Now it's getting the recognition it deserves. I've never heard a more powerful ending to the First Movement.
I've never listened to this piece before. "Why?" I... don't... know. I've been a musician for over 76 years... a pianist and classically trained organist, composer, and teacher. Bunch of degrees. Yes. I even have a medical degree as a licenced Music Therapist. Worked in hospitals and rest homes for 20 years. But at the moment, I'm seeing and hearing... certain themes... sound patterns... that rise from 'above' the Arctic Circle. I think Grieg must have heard it as well... and knew how to evoke it, as well. I suspect these... unique qualities... rise form the very land in which they lived. Bravo... old friends and teachers and heroes. (Charles Ives must have been exposed to these works. I love him, too.) Thanks for the heads up.
It's powerful to some ears perhaps because he allowed the brass to drown out the strings there, which is one valid way to do it but not necessarily how Sibelius imagined it. This is actually quite interesting because Karajan is usually and justifiably famous for his strings.
@@brunodelconte it is almost like we live in the same headspace. My interpretation was pretty much the same. Someone in their collapsing stages of life dying and then being resurrected. I would like to be hopeful of such an event, but since I stopped being religious I probably wouldn't be in the good books (;
@@dialecticsjunkie7653 that is quite beautiful. It reminds me of Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant. It is a 1 or 2 page writing; it is very short and quite beautiful. I will admit though that my vascillation on religion has not ended yet; I am too indecisive (:
There's some truth in what you say. Everywhere in life, in every field of human endeavour, you find the control group who decides who's in and who's out.
I just first heard of sebelius this morning on gb news Michael portillo his parents and Julian Lloyd webber grand parents were fans of sebelius, it peaked by curiosity to check TH-cam I am not disappointed ❤
It must be 55 years ago I first heard Sibelius' 5th and 2nd symphonies on a borrowed long playing record from my local library. I fell in love with his music the instant I heard these two pieces. I still get goose bumps.
This may be the greatest piece of music ever written. The optimism and grandeur of the piece are compelling; whilst evoking the stark beauty of the northern countryside. And von Karajan conducts the pants off of it!
@@laurencegallagher5599 I love Sibelius 2nd, but like the 1st it's unabashedly Romantic. The 5th is Sibelius' mature style, a take off from Romanticism but more adventurous harmonically than his first three symphonies and here he uses his huge orchestra to great effect. Von Karajan does this one justice.
I believe I first heard the 5th on the radio back in the 00s or 10s. I borrowed a CD from my local library back in 2016 that had this piece and the 6th. I remember finding this to be the more accessible of the two compositions. This is my first listen since then. The structure feels amorphous. The ending to the First Movement is epic.
I agree. It must be because Karajan had the privilege of actually working with Sibelius before he (Sibelius) died. So he has an inside knowledge of the composer's works that many others didn't.
His love of nature sure was especial. The third movement, inspired by something so primal as swan-calls, displays unreachable emotional scope and vigorous inventiveness. Those six staggered chords at the end, an idea as original as it gets. Thanks, Jean.
@james karkas I always thought Sibelius was making sure we knew it was the end, as in his Fourth's premier the audience didn't realise it had ended and didn't clap lol.
No all conductors are Sibelians. Some are not but think they are. Bernstein and Maazel were not. Colin Davis, HVK and Barbirolli were. Barbirolli's interpretation of the sixth is unlike any other. It is the only performance of that symphony I listen to.
I absolutely lovely the way Karajan et co. do the ending of the first movement. This recording is as good as Bernstein and New York Philharmonic. Great stuff
Starts slow but really picks up around nine minutes. The ending of the first movement, one of my favorite parts, is really fast. I like this performance. I like the images from nature but I don't think the pictures of nuclear power plants belong. I don't see this piece as representing man against nature.
My community orchestra worked on this symphony several years ago (unfortunately the concert was snowed out and couldn’t be rescheduled) and I always got goosebumps at this exact spot. It’s beyond words to describe how great is this music.
Un canto meraviglioso che evoca la sublime natura soccombente alla COSCIENTE E INTENZIONALE criminalità politico-economico-militare umana che ci sta annientando inesorabilmente. E' il canto sublime che annuncia la fine. L'interpretazione Karajan del 1976 è inarrivabile. Aveva ragione Glenn Gould.
Sibelius è come Bruckner: Karajan lo toccava e ne dava l'Interpretazione indiscutibile, la più alta, la più profonda. La V, assieme alla VI , al Valse Triste e soprattutto alla IV Sinfonia (pur per me meno profonda della V) sono la dimostrazione di una affinità che appunto, per me, solo nel Bruckner estremo (nelle ultime 7ma e soprattutto 8va, per non parlare della 9na con i Berliner in cui orchestra e direttore si odiano palesemente eppure producono un risultato immane) trovano un paragone. E forse in certo Strauss, in certo Beethoven e in certo Mozart, per non parlare di Brahms e Tschaikowsky. Ma questa V resta un'oasi di strepitosa, profonda, inarrivata ed inarrivabile bellezza, già "ombrata" dall'ultima struggente malinconia del Maestro, l'Unico Maestro.
you get a sense of how difficult this music is by listening to the premiere recording from 1932 (Kajanus conducting the LSO) where the strings finish in the wrong place in the 1st mvt. No such accidents here!
I'm giving this my 4th listen right now. It's like an amorphous cloud. 2% of it is fortefortissimo. The rest is hushed. The second movement is a pool of beauty in A Flat major inspired by Mahler's 2nd. I hear Bruckner's influence. It's hard to make out a real symphonic structure. I hear motivs, but I don't feel the entire composition as a whole yet.
The interesting thing about this composer is how he divided the House of Received & Accepted Western Music Making of the 20th century. For that alone his contribution to it is worth a look. Anything that upsets the intellectual establishment is a justifiable focus years after its event. Of course, it can be argued, the thinking composers of the head won and Sibelius shut up. And popular music (of the heart) occupied the ground evacuated by Big music. Result: we got Holly, the Beatles, Rice & Weber etc. So who's complaining? Head music is alive and well on life support provided by arts councils and folks like music.
At the start of the first movement, the music reminds me of Richard Wagner's overtures. I can't identify one at this moment. It sounds like it for a certain time. Sibelius perhaps had heard of Wagner or was it quite obvious he was influenced by the latter.
Sibelius could have done a lot more with a brief but wondrous passage about 9 minutes into mvnt 1. Sounded to me like a majestic wave hitting the shore.
@@jamisondavid100 Maybe you're right. But it's my impression that at 13:26 below the trumpet's theme, the French horn section is "hammering" so much :)
Gee, another disliker who wonders why Sib isn't Mahler or Korngold, One who berates an apple for not being a pear or an orange. He is Sibelius who builds by fragment. If you don't rate it go elsewhere. Andrea Rieu makes nice tunes.
I believe you can find the recording of an earlier version from 1915 of this symphony, and in that sense you might get the impression of "connecting various pieces". But other than that, I disagree with your comment.
Want to share a quote from Sibelius I was just reminded of. When asked about his inspiration for the fifth.....It was like God threw down these broken pieces for me to make whole again...
He took his job very seriously to the delight of the world!
I get goosebumps only by thinking about this symphony
I concur to that feeling.
I had this recording on an LP which I damaged many years ago and could not find another copy to replace it. It's such a fine performance! I'm glad to find here so I can enjoy it again.
8:55 is that moment when I've reached the top of the mountain, taken a deep breath and the sun begins its ascent over the horizon.
The horns, the horns 3rd movement the intervals the key change early 60's played horn in the band
omg my soul soars with those intervals. Still after all these years it sings my song!!!
I've just been reading a book about 20th century classical music. Apparently, all of the leading 'modern' composers hated Sibelius' music - because it was popular with audiences. Yeah - that's a real crime.
JonFrumTheFirst Are you reading "The Rest is Noise"?
Actually he had some trouble getting appreciated in the first place, until the twenties. Modernist composers usually love that kind of backstory.
Yes. Boulez comes out sounding like a Soviet commissar.
Typical. Most "serious" art critics hate Andrew Wyeth for the same reason.
To say nothing of Thomas Kinkade.
Best recording for this piece on youtube.
I. Tempo molto moderato: 0:00
II. Andante mosso, quasi allegretto: 14:15
III. Allegro molto: 23:17
Thank you
A hero of TH-cam
Astonishing performance. I remember when it was released and was largely ignored. Now it's getting the recognition it deserves. I've never heard a more powerful ending to the First Movement.
I've never listened to this piece before. "Why?" I... don't... know. I've been a musician for over 76 years... a pianist and classically trained organist, composer, and teacher. Bunch of degrees. Yes. I even have a medical degree as a licenced Music Therapist. Worked in hospitals and rest homes for 20 years. But at the moment, I'm seeing and hearing... certain themes... sound patterns... that rise from 'above' the Arctic Circle. I think Grieg must have heard it as well... and knew how to evoke it, as well. I suspect these... unique qualities... rise form the very land in which they lived. Bravo... old friends and teachers and heroes. (Charles Ives must have been exposed to these works. I love him, too.) Thanks for the heads up.
@@charlesdavis7087 well we all have blind spots but Ives pretty much retired when Sibelius wrote this symphony, one of my favourites.
Try Colin Davis and the London
It's powerful to some ears perhaps because he allowed the brass to drown out the strings there, which is one valid way to do it but not necessarily how Sibelius imagined it. This is actually quite interesting because Karajan is usually and justifiably famous for his strings.
@@tt-ew7rxI love brass, but their volume seems a little sharp..I put it off to the recording reset at first.
This symphony has such optimism in the face of finality. It's astonishing. I love it !
What do you mean, the face of finality?
S P The way it ends is like the triumphant celebration of a human life. What can come after that ending? I’d like it to be played at my funeral 😉
@@brunodelconte it is almost like we live in the same headspace. My interpretation was pretty much the same. Someone in their collapsing stages of life dying and then being resurrected. I would like to be hopeful of such an event, but since I stopped being religious I probably wouldn't be in the good books (;
@@jameslorenz3718 You could think of the symphony as a poem about a soul returning to nature, and the joy of submerging in all of its splendours
@@dialecticsjunkie7653 that is quite beautiful. It reminds me of Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant. It is a 1 or 2 page writing; it is very short and quite beautiful. I will admit though that my vascillation on religion has not ended yet; I am too indecisive (:
Nobody loved Sibelius' symphonies, except for the public!
There's some truth in what you say. Everywhere in life, in every field of human endeavour, you find the control group who decides who's in and who's out.
Last movement begins at 23:11
Glorious
This will quench the dryness of the soul, and evoke comfortable feelings and a peace of mind
I love listening to this symphony while contemplating the pond outside my house.
Sounds lovely😍
Staring out the window is my number one hobby, with or without Sibelius.
I just first heard of sebelius this morning on gb news Michael portillo his parents and Julian Lloyd webber grand parents were fans of sebelius, it peaked by curiosity to check TH-cam I am not disappointed ❤
You picked a great one for your maiden voyage. Have fun!
It must be 55 years ago I first heard Sibelius' 5th and 2nd symphonies on a borrowed long playing record from my local library. I fell in love with his music the instant I heard these two pieces. I still get goose bumps.
Around 1955 I was given a LP of Sibelius 2nd and a year or two later bought the 5th. Those symphonies are sixty year loves.
I've been a fan of the great man for more than 30 years... Had the pleasure of listening to his music in Ainola no less. Karajan does him justice!
This may be the greatest piece of music ever written. The optimism and grandeur of the piece are compelling; whilst evoking the stark beauty of the northern countryside. And von Karajan conducts the pants off of it!
@@laurencegallagher5599 I love Sibelius 2nd, but like the 1st it's unabashedly Romantic. The 5th is Sibelius' mature style, a take off from Romanticism but more adventurous harmonically than his first three symphonies and here he uses his huge orchestra to great effect. Von Karajan does this one justice.
I believe I first heard the 5th on the radio back in the 00s or 10s. I borrowed a CD from my local library back in 2016 that had this piece and the 6th. I remember finding this to be the more accessible of the two compositions. This is my first listen since then. The structure feels amorphous. The ending to the First Movement is epic.
Such beauty. Thank you.
Masterpiece. That's all I have to say.
Teaming this great piece with artwork of birds was really beautiful ♥️
Beautiful performance my friend!
This has been my favorite recording of the 5th since 1977! No maestro captures the atmosphere of Sibelius' music better than Karajan.
Yes, Esa-Pekka Salonen captures the spirit of Sibelius better than Karajan or Bernstein.
Mine too, but from much more recently, having, for some strange reason, not considered Karajan as ideal for Sibelius.
@@luciodemeio1 agree 100%
I agree. It must be because Karajan had the privilege of actually working with Sibelius before he (Sibelius) died. So he has an inside knowledge of the composer's works that many others didn't.
And Sir Colin Davis....
So....soft....peaceful....thanks..for sharing
Just a beautiful piece.
Blessings for this and the accompanying video
His love of nature sure was especial. The third movement, inspired by something so primal as swan-calls, displays unreachable emotional scope and vigorous inventiveness. Those six staggered chords at the end, an idea as original as it gets. Thanks, Jean.
@james karkas I always thought Sibelius was making sure we knew it was the end, as in his Fourth's premier the audience didn't realise it had ended and didn't clap lol.
@James Karkas It almost feels like a joke, or perhaps the timpanist fell asleep.
Piękne połączenie muzyki z obrazem. Wykonanie Karajana znakomite. Dzięki:)
I love his performance of this piece with the Philharmonia.
I love the Sibelius Symphonies, and Karajan is definitely sympathetic to this music.
No all conductors are Sibelians. Some are not but think they are. Bernstein and Maazel were not. Colin Davis, HVK and Barbirolli were. Barbirolli's interpretation of the sixth is unlike any other. It is the only performance of that symphony I listen to.
Il respiro della Terra...
The last moviment... Gosh!
One of the best ending, yes so much vibes
9:00
There is no more majestic sound ever produced by humans in the history of music and sound.
@James Karkas did he mean they bit?
Sibelius sound complete different to the logic of the European music,Germany France Italia.Another point of view.Superb
One of Sibelius' great symphonies. Sure, I like Swans and that's what it's all about. Always a pleasure to hear.
This pieces build up is sensational, even better is its climax.
A glorious warm
performance!!!!
Une symphonie tellement puissante. Qui rebondit sans arrêt.
This music is absolutely the bee's knees!.I feel sorrow,joy,stoicism,longing, beauty,triumph,in one gigantic avalanche of emotive bliss!
It was pointed out to me that the woodwind lines starting at 24:55 are a quote of Beethoven’s ode to joy, and it kinda blew my mind
So they are - I never noticed!
Toast to karajan and the
B P O y'all made me cry!!!
Beautiful 😍
I absolutely lovely the way Karajan et co. do the ending of the first movement. This recording is as good as Bernstein and New York Philharmonic. Great stuff
Che meraviglia .La musica che ingigantisce l'aspetto maestoso della natura.Natura che va difesa da TUTTI
Starts slow but really picks up around nine minutes. The ending of the first movement, one of my favorite parts, is really fast. I like this performance. I like the images from nature but I don't think the pictures of nuclear power plants belong. I don't see this piece as representing man against nature.
Coś niezwykle pięknego
Key change at 25:22 gives me goosebumps. What a genius.
My community orchestra worked on this symphony several years ago (unfortunately the concert was snowed out and couldn’t be rescheduled) and I always got goosebumps at this exact spot. It’s beyond words to describe how great is this music.
he moves from Amin/Cmajor to A#major/C#minor
Dimensional change ❤
Top score on the 5th for sure!!
Magnifique
Musique grandiose, fabuleusement belle, à l'image de la nature qui l'a très certainement inspiré... Frissons garantis ❣️..🙏🎶❤️🎶✨
Forever!!! 😁❤❗👍
extraordinaria version de la quinta de sibelius. extraordinario karajan.
Best regards to the people of Finland. For great son like Jean Sibelius.
Un canto meraviglioso che evoca la sublime natura soccombente alla COSCIENTE E INTENZIONALE criminalità politico-economico-militare umana che ci sta annientando inesorabilmente. E' il canto sublime che annuncia la fine. L'interpretazione Karajan del 1976 è inarrivabile. Aveva ragione Glenn Gould.
Sibelius è come Bruckner: Karajan lo toccava e ne dava l'Interpretazione indiscutibile, la più alta, la più profonda. La V, assieme alla VI , al Valse Triste e soprattutto alla IV Sinfonia (pur per me meno profonda della V) sono la dimostrazione di una affinità che appunto, per me, solo nel Bruckner estremo (nelle ultime 7ma e soprattutto 8va, per non parlare della 9na con i Berliner in cui orchestra e direttore si odiano palesemente eppure producono un risultato immane) trovano un paragone. E forse in certo Strauss, in certo Beethoven e in certo Mozart, per non parlare di Brahms e Tschaikowsky. Ma questa V resta un'oasi di strepitosa, profonda, inarrivata ed inarrivabile bellezza, già "ombrata" dall'ultima struggente malinconia del Maestro, l'Unico Maestro.
D'Accordo completamente !
This symphony deserves to be played way more just to hear the most ravishing modulation to C major
Listening to Sibelius' 5th Symphony always reminds me of the Ainulindale chapter from Tolkien's "Silmarillion" for some reason.
The lovely theme from the final movement used by 80s pop group Strawberry Switchblade for their hit record, Since Yesterday.
Also stolen by a well-known minimalist composer.
And the summer classic hit Beach Baby by First Class .
Yes! Wow, thank you, never knew this!
What a Masterpiece! This is the most beautiful recording of Symphony 5!
👑
ついこの間、この曲をライブで初めて聴く機会があり、大変感動しました！３楽章で指揮者の方はこのアニメーションの白鳥の様に羽ばたいておられました🥰✨
ライブで、３楽章が印象に残りましたが、「えっ」この３楽章何拍子？と思いましたが、スコア付きの動画で納得しました。２拍子→崩れ２拍子？（四分休符、２ １，２）→２分の３拍子なんですね！管楽器と弦楽器がずれているようで、不思議に感じました。２分の３拍子はゆっくりオールで船を漕ぐ感じや波の音？と思いました。戦争で負傷して船に乗っていた兵士が意識が朦朧とした中、遠くから味方のトランペットと幼い時に聴いた民謡が聴こえてきて、霧が晴れてきて母国が見えてきた。。。みたいに勝手に想像しています。(＾＾)トランペットの音程の難しい所は、chorubungen の４８番 a を思い出しました(^^;) ２８分あたりが心に深く刺さり、涙でました。さすがマエストロ！！！ シェアありがとうございます。
you get a sense of how difficult this music is by listening to the premiere recording from 1932 (Kajanus conducting the LSO) where the strings finish in the wrong place in the 1st mvt. No such accidents here!
I'm giving this my 4th listen right now. It's like an amorphous cloud. 2% of it is fortefortissimo. The rest is hushed. The second movement is a pool of beauty in A Flat major inspired by Mahler's 2nd. I hear Bruckner's influence. It's hard to make out a real symphonic structure. I hear motivs, but I don't feel the entire composition as a whole yet.
Sebelius loved nature according to his bio in Wikipedia
Круто! Орск слушает!
The interesting thing about this composer is how he divided the House of Received & Accepted Western Music Making of the 20th century. For that alone his contribution to it is worth a look. Anything that upsets the intellectual establishment is a justifiable focus years after its event. Of course, it can be argued, the thinking composers of the head won and Sibelius shut up. And popular music (of the heart) occupied the ground evacuated by Big music. Result: we got Holly, the Beatles, Rice & Weber etc. So who's complaining? Head music is alive and well on life support provided by arts councils and folks like music.
When my dad heard me playing this he said I was wrong in the head but I love it
Reference my last comment this refers to the missing timpani part at 24.35 in this recording. Thanks.
made for god to listen to
Apparently Karajan performed this work more than any other by Sibelius...Karajan understood how amazing it is.
At the start of the first movement, the music reminds me of Richard Wagner's overtures. I can't identify one at this moment. It sounds like it for a certain time. Sibelius perhaps had heard of Wagner or was it quite obvious he was influenced by the latter.
24:36 FH THEME
What do you mean by "FH"??
@@music-nerd6776 French Horns probably my man
I found the video very silly and unnecessary, but thank you for uploading the music.
you lost me at the flying geese with nuclear plant backdrop
And the lady jumping around in a misty forest
This is my favorite symphony by anyone. I like this recording very much, but I prefer Karajan"s 1965 DG performance.
Sibelius could have done a lot more with a brief but wondrous passage about 9 minutes into mvnt 1. Sounded to me like a majestic wave hitting the shore.
아~~ 좋구나
24:33 PEDAL TONES
Middle Europe has never really "got " Sibelius, but in the English speaking world he is liked more than Beethoven, Bach, Mozart et all............
I love that main image at 26:50 - Gorgeous!
Sounds like it's in the neighborhood of A = 448! Seems very unlikely it was recorded that way.
The string players in particular can't bear Sibelius. He gives them tennis elbow. But hey, the effect is awesome.
Bah, speak for yourself
What's up the the nuclear reactors?
Always prefer northern landscapes
I specially like "Thor's Hammer" (13:26). I think that, if not other, this symphony could be called "Sibelius' Eroica". Bad for DGG, however.
"Thor's Hammer" is supposed to be a trumpet theme in the allegro molto.
@@jamisondavid100 Maybe you're right. But it's my impression that at 13:26 below the trumpet's theme, the French horn section is "hammering" so much :)
Why do I get the feeling that Henry's theme in Thomas and Friends was inspired by this piece?
23:11 3rd mov.
If you play it backwards it says "Tchaikovsky is dead."
5:23 8:53 13:21
This guy should sue the OA
4
H von K indisputably the best conductor of Sibelius.......the composer thought so too!
Where are the timpani in the finale just before the "Swan Theme" enters !
24:30
Jrhrjufejefuyzcvesurgoidsjfvfrfdcflljvflfvggbkgvcflflfgdhtsursurcvodfikgtyrxfggrxfythretfkllfvdhhrhrxfvddhrcfgrcgrgrrxdchijfkkddkkndughliklxsjfvfjshxfckjvfgh
18:02 I’m getting Wizard of Oz vibes from that image!
ok but sibelius is lookin like an art school reject in that photo
Congratulations on your expertise in finding art school rejects!
@@iqofgenius He meant Hitler.
Draining....until the finale....which I like, but also draining 😂😂. Just my opinion.
13:00-14:00
Interesting vid - what would you even call it, a montage? Why the dancer?
Strawberry Switchblade brought me here. Good innit 😃
Allahu akbar
Anybody here because of Strawberry Switchblade?
Not very melodic. It seems the composer was struggling to get good rhythm and melody and end up with loosely connected various pieces.
Gee, another disliker who wonders why Sib isn't Mahler or Korngold, One who berates an apple for not being a pear or an orange. He is Sibelius who builds by fragment. If you don't rate it go elsewhere. Andrea Rieu makes nice tunes.
Ignorance is bliss, but best not expressed.
I believe you can find the recording of an earlier version from 1915 of this symphony, and in that sense you might get the impression of "connecting various pieces". But other than that, I disagree with your comment.