Sibelius: 2. Sinfonie ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Susanna Mälkki 

That's the beauty of this music. Been listening for over 30 years and it has brought me triumph and solace over pain and I don't know how I'd survive without it.

Same here. It helps me to cope with my emotions

@@bcing75 "The music is your only friend... until the end" When the music's over... turn out the light. Jim Morrison. The Doors. Classic and profound words that span all music and how it affects us... words that certainly resonate with me.

you almost spoke in words more than the music. shit, congrats!

Agreed but I think this one here is exceptionally beautiful. Especially the 4th mov.

I've been listening to a lot of recordings of this piece and this has a depth and clarity missing in the others.

Very very N I C E ‼️‼️‼️🤙

I agree. This is the best performance/ recording I have ever heard Sibelius Symphony. BRAVO. So clean, clear, not messy. Perfectly presented.

Not quite. George Szell, Tokyo 1970.

Clean to the point of soulless.

IV. Finale. Allegro moderato starts at 33:12.

@@felipetavares79 Thanks Felipe. Duly edited.

Br?

Well done. 40 years after I first performed this piece in an orchestra, this still brings me chills. Lush strings, exclamatory radiant brass and a vibrant, warm production - even with crude Facebook compression. This and my coffee made for a great start to my day. Thank you!

@@michaelowenmcmahon Perhaps you meant RU-vid compression, not Facebook compression? I have to say, perhaps due to my fine headphones, that I don´t find this compression as a heavy burden at all. Come, coffee!

We were blessed to have her in L.A. as an associate conductor for a couple of years. I can only hope that someday she will return as a guest.

I was going to make a comment myself but you put it so beautifully for me. I shall return to this performance again and again.

Let.s keep the proportions, we are not deaf everybody...

RIP Marriss Jansons 1/14/1943 - 12/1/2019

@@thomassiegler9898 I had the great pleasure of seeing the great Maris Janssons conduct the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions. He was a regular guest conductor, and oh how the Welsh audiences loved him. It was a sad day when he left to join the Oslo PO, but that''s what happens with top conductors. An even sadder day when he passed. RIP, Maestro.

My thoughts exactly... My "first hearing" the Sibelius 2 dates from circa 1967 when INTs were both born and nurtured...... I have become besotted since...with both Sibelius and myINT ...:-)

Sibelius 2nd has been my favorite among favorites for about 60 yrs. This performance is more special than others. Because it is Finn conductor conducting Finn symphony? I don't know. But, it just sounds - perfect.

I avoided Sibelius for many, many years. It was partly due to my modern-music snobbery, a dislike of the ubiquitous "Finlandia" and (mostly) sheer ignorance. Then I was introduced to the Seventh Symphony, and all that changed. (Well, except for "Finlandia.") I am now slowly but with an open heart making my way through his orchestral works.

It's too fast. Sub-par performance.

@@Dan474834 I find some conductor purposely "playing" the whole orchestra faster. Still wonder the why though.

Actually prefer the tighter tempo accentuates the still fresh drama.

@@Dan474834 I guess if you say its a sub-par performance than it must be a sub-par performance

@@Killerbee4712 Nice sarcasm. I guess gf is just an old mysog. 46 minutes is surely about par for this symphony

Thanks to the Hessischer Rundfunk ! It is an outstanding institution of quality amongst the German Broadcasting Companies. Also the orchestra is the most flexible in the huge German orchestral landscape.

I was noticing that as well watching. It's amazingly well done.

I guess you have relatives in camera business ?

@@vidalskyociosen3326 Just credit where credit is due.

Azmat Kureilly on camera.

Yeah, me too!

What is the transition?

Everyone's a genius now.

@@elfillari third to fourth movement

@@aramkhachaturian8043 like "smoke on the water"? Di, di, diii..dii, di-di dii..dii, di-di dii...di, diiiii? Transitions like thirteen times in tweles?

A Lady Conductor? 🙄

What on earth do you mean? She's a CONDUCTOR, and a good one.

Funny -- I didn't notice that the conductor was a woman until you mentioned it.

I agree. Her feminism, charm, grace, class, delicacy, and smile add to the emotional effect of this work.

I’ve played several times with Mälki, with several orchestras. Never had a good experience with her and never let a colleague who liked her as a conductor. I think there are some good women conductors out there, but I really am extremely skeptical about SM.

Just lucky that you like it. And we can leave the crying to some other time.

Sorry julia, a very stupid comment from me, this my earlier comment. I also cried this evening about how good this is. And I have given you a thump up.

Idk about anyone else but the part at 16:00 is so legendary

Susanna Mälkki is utterly sublime . I likewise have never seen or heard such a magnificent performance of this beautiful symphony .....my favourite. She has nailed it . The German orchestra look so happy too .

I was thinking the same thing. The clarity and precision (without it being mechanical and unfeeling) are second to none. She should be better known, if this is any indication of her abilities.

Frankfurt Radio always pulls through in excellent, strong form .

I wrote my comment and then read yours, and all I can say is, Yep. Chris from Georgia, USA.

@@chrissergeant7798 Thanks Chris.

Omg no sabía eso. Que triste. Que increíble es la gente que puede sacar tanta belleza de su dolor.

que no le sabio tambien (M @ yubico)llastima y lagrimas) pero Juan Sibelius representa una exploracion de la musica comtemporeana con "rules y tegulaciones de la pura musica classica(que era un Frances de origina)y tambien un real amor de la Mujer classica Que soy tambien poquito (v)aripossa me interessa a otra manera de musuca :Suicidal Tendencies(con Rob. Trujillo) y no se de donde viene la resistencia contra (la tendencia de nosotros) :probablamente la posicion de las ijas (que me siento como una real puta madre cuando encontro a la Vaca Bianca/ bulleria y la injusticia de su sangre sobre la tierra 😢poco como el Marco (Marquez en la piel ...) Pero las iijas son caudillas y dicen :"Queda aqui tranquilo Papi!(en la Mierda) Me voy!(Garbine por exemplo...)

you never heard Bernstein apparently

@@AB-yb1yt I agree

Et puis, il y a la joie visible de cette femme qui dirige, alors cela donne cette merveilleuse interprétation...

@@AB-yb1yt I'm also the biggest fan of Bernstein's Sibelius recordings but honestly this one really blows me away. Also, to have a video and a modern interpretation is so wonderful. I don't think that Bernstein would have much of anything negative to say about this wonderful conductor.

My fav orch too Mike

Sibelius is anything but underrated. Don’t know where you get this idea from?

Paul Lewis As a German living in Finnland for years - I would say, that Sibelius is a little underrepresented in the German speaking area. But not at all in Finnland. The British seemed to be crazy about him - allways.

His second symphony and violin concerto are regularly played all over the world besides some other works

@@logodaedalist And his 5th Symphony is quite rightly very popular.

I dont think so. Sibelius is geatly appreciated but in my opinion he should be more appreciated, at least in comparison to Mahler. When I was 16 and I discovered this symphony for the first time I was obsessed with it and could not give up listening to it.

Susanna certainly captures the feel I think that Sibelius had intended for the Symphony and certainly as well the muscians we certainly are in a wonderful place listening and viewing all these wonderful person Thank you all

I haven't listened to this in 7 months. I just heard a 10 second clip from the fourth movement, and instantly the entire fourth movement comes to my head. A true master piece, one of the best things ever made.

and I could actually follow her 😁

You did a hell of a job

It is a little amusing to make fantasies about all the symphonies you have been principally against. Sorry, no offence.

Sorry, I meant you limin. Not Mariecc. What symphonies are you principally against? I also have some, but if this is the first you are FOR, then we all wait for an explanation why.

@@staffanolofsson8201 You must be being sarcastic... He means principal as in he played in the orchestra and was in the principal position of his section. The principal position is a leader of any section of instruments that has more than 1 of its kind, for example, the cello principal or the violin principal (aka concertmaster). If im missing a joke, rip.

@@Killerbee4712 Sorry, it is my bad english. I thought this was the only symhony he liked :-) I regret my earlier comment.

Your malapropisms are superlative.

Agreed 100%

I feel like the sun breaking through the clouds is at 33:05. But yes, very good performance 🙂

Totally agree in what regards the finał movement. Having listened to several performances of Sibelius' Second symphony, I reached coclusion that it takes a Finn to perform it impeccably...

Your comment is old, yet so true and profound in a manner so elegant (1 paragraph or less!) that I felt compelled to reply! Very excellent summary...most excellent, for sure!

@@de1018 thanks!

MARVELOUS‼️‼️‼️💥

no, the tempo is too fast!

Sorry-Bernstein was a cowboy composer, not a conductor. I have personally witnessed Vienna Philharmonic 'conducting' Bernstein, letting him monkeying conducting on the podium. The previous day, the same musicians were closely following Carl Boehm's eyes and movements.

@@paulusaurelius6563 Bernstein not a conductor? Have you ever listened to him conducting Mahler's symphonies?

Affirmative. Unfortunately. If only Mahler knew...

@@paulusaurelius6563 He was buried with the score of Mahler V on his chest - and rightfully so! He taught the Wiener Philharmoniker to love Mahler from their first despise.

我曾經演奏過，演奏到這部分時，我也是感動不已。

Yeah, it's like Polish building his muscles!

IMHO his last symphony is his best.

@@feraudyh He deleted it, so how do you know how it sounds?

@@anjagoller Aha, you got me. I was thinking of his last published symphony: the 7th.

@@feraudyh It's always fun to write comments like this... :D

@@anjagoller If I remember right he burned his attempts at a last symphony, right?

Indeed the *hr* (Hessischer Rundfunk) is known as the artistically highest in quality Broadcasting Systems all over Germany, both acoustically and optically. Just follow the camera work and you see what I mean. My brother-in-law was lucky to spend half of his working life as a tonmeister in that institution (the other half being the "Deutsche Grammophon"). The hr-Sinfonieorchester aka "Frankfurt Radio Symphony" is the finest in versatility in the whole rich German orchestral landscape, when it comes to the interpretation of not so common works. Founded in 1929 as the "Frankfurter Rundfunk-Symphonie-Orchester", they premiered works of Arnold Schönberg, directed by Anton Webern (Radio at the time was something really modern, and a station having an own orchestra was yet unheard off). So they where used to new stuff from their very beginning. Other than the Violin-Concerto, Sibelius still is not so familiar to the German ear. Susanna Mälkki was a new discovery today for me as well, and yes indeed, she is a compatriot of Sibelius. de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanna_M%C3%A4lkki I adored the glances she exchanged with - at times - single members of the orchestra (and of course the sonic result) and I LOVED the boyish smile of the young concertmaster at the very end. All in all: Best rendition EVER !!!

@@thomassiegler9898 Thank you for the information. Keep listening, my friend.

i agree - a Sibelius 2nd that is second 2 none !

And? You know she is from Finland, the same country as Sibelius. So for me it isn´t peculiar if she knows this very well. Still I like your comment: stunning.

@@staffanolofsson8201 She performed such a splendid interpretation of this piece that even the Berlin philharmonics invited her to play it with them. I didnt want to imply that she only "knows" the piece in and out but of course made it shine as golden as It should be.

@@oliverkubiak6310 Thank you. I am also a fan, as you...

She went to Finnish-ing School in Helsinki...... What do you expect?

@@ArtyFactual_Intelligence let's bow down before Jorma Panula... :)

Your soporific is other people's sadness, meditation, longing, striving.

PP

Und hoffentlich können sie auch bald wieder vor vollen Sälen auftreten.

Anand, even if I am a classical music lover, I have to protest against your words "the garbage of today´s music". As I see it, it is not only garbage, I find music in this garbage that I like. And history will sort this out. And you dont have to answer me, I already know what I like. Best wishes!

You are right if you mean with garbage: rock, pop and jazz.

Volltreffer!-)))

Danke!

Stimmt. Echt super!

Malcolm Sargent ????

@@ArtyFactual_Intelligence No it was the Vienna Phil. Can't remember the conductor.

I do concurre, Lady! She fills her function quite well and as good as a n y male consertmaster! Sibelius is though very quick temperament o shifting in tempo!

I don't care about the gender, race, age etc. any other external characteristic of the conductor, even if it is good to have variety in the kinds of people who play music. I didnt even notice who conducted, I was so concentrated and enthralled by the music. Only thing I am concerned with is how good they conduct. And in this case, it is excellent.

We should definitely thank the audience - no applause between the movements, hardly any coughing, nothing to distract from the glorious music-making.

Prokofiev 3

it's the finest of all symphonies :)

@@mizofan Matched only by Mahlers First

Ookik ,