That Nordic chill

May 15, 11:17 AMSF Classical Music ExaminerScott Foglesong

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Few pieces in the symphonic repertory carry the chill factor of the Sibelius Fourth. From its ominous, tritone-laced opening through the finality of its concluding A-minor chords, this is one symphony that scores a near zero in the cuddle factor but thrills, inspires, and impresses nonetheless.

Nobody much knew what to do about the Fourth when it premiered. The Finnish public, expecting something more along the lines of the lushly romantic second symphony or the charmingly classicist third, was taken aback. "Not many came to the dressing room to deliver their congratulations," as the composer's wife Aino remembered. In Boston, Karl Muck complained that he hadn't "the faintest idea what the composer means." Such confusion was commonplace amongst early twentieth-century listeners encountering the Sibelius Fourth for the first time.

Nor is instant recognition or understanding guaranteed in today's concert world. Despite its status as a major twentieth-century symphony, the Fourth has been played seldom by the San Francisco Symphony -- first in 1987, then in 1989 (both under Herbert Blomstedt, who led the SFS in a magnificent recording of the work), and now in 2009 with MTT conducting. It remains a challenging piece, not so much for its materials but more for its frigid atmosphere and its resolute rejection of anything smacking of romantic effusiveness or gratuitous display.

In many ways the Sibelius Fourth is among the most modern of works, in that it partakes of the wholesale rejection of romantic supersizing that was to become the norm in the 1920s with works such as Stravinsky's Octet. It was written in a time of gigantic, opulent compositions -- Petrushka, Daphnis et Chloe, The Rite of Spring, an era when the big name composers were late Romanticists such as Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler, and the younger composers such as Stravinsky and Ravel continued in their precedessors' footsteps at least insofar as performing forces and overall impact were concerned. The period from 1900 to World War I was not a time for lean, mean chamber ensembles and pared-to-the-bone instrumental textures. The gestalt of the time ran over-the-top: Salome over Figaro, Symphony of a Thousand over the Italian Symphony, The Firebird over Les sylphides.

Sibelius went deliberately counter to that trend, insisting on "severity...and the profound logic that created an inner connection between all the motives." His was a Northern, rather than a Southern, outlook -- reserved rather than effusive, introspective rather than extroverted, head rather than heart. That is not to say that the Fourth Symphony is exclusively cerebral, or wholly introverted. It glows, in fact, with an inner light that has possibly rendered the work so fascinating to subsequent generations of listeners. But that inner glow is the light of integrity and purpose; as Sibelius said, "it has nothing, absolutely nothing of the circus about it."

Jean Sibelius: cool, absolute integrity

If you aren't altogether familiar with the Sibelius Fourth, I strongly recommend hearing it a few times before trotting over to Davies Symphony Hall this forthcoming week to hear MTT and the orchestra. More than almost any work I know, the Fourth benefits from repeated hearings, and may in fact make a poor impression on first hearing.

So allow me to make a few recommendations for recordings. Some of these are complete cycles (all 7 symphonies) while others are single albums. All of my links are to ArkivMusic, but most are available via other major retailers, and are also widely available as downloads from the usual vendors (iTunes, ClassicsOnline, eMusic, The Classical Shop, etc.)

• Herbert Blomstedt and the San Francisco Symphony, on Decca: it's not only that this is our local orchestra and all. This really is one of the finest Sibelius cycles ever put on disc -- acoustically and musically.
• Leif Segerstam and the Helsinki Philharmonic, on Ondine: a superb composer/conductor and Finland's major orchestra playing what is probably the greatest of all Finnish symphonies. They have a lot invested in this work, and it shows.
• Osmo Vanska and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, on BIS: Finland's #2 orchestra is a recording studio powerhouse and one seriously lean & mean ensemble. The orchestra's crystal clarity, combined with Vanska's pinpoint precision conducting, makes for the perfect Fourth.
• Colin Davis and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, on Philips: Davis has recorded the Sibelius symphonies numerous times with various groups. This particular outing has always impressed me as his best among a number of seriously worthy contenders.
• Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic, on DG or EMI: Karajan was a force in Sibelius interpretation, a conductor who brought a majestic sweep and tonal strength to the symphonies. He recorded many of them numerous times during his long career; both of his Berlin Philharmonic outings (DG from 1965 and EMI from 1976) are standouts.
• Sir Thomas Beecham and the London Philharmonic, on EMI: this 1937 recording still stands as one of the great historical recordings of the work. Beecham grokked the Fourth at a time when many conductors couldn't figure it out. It's available as an ArkivCD reprint.

The San Francisco Symphony plays the Sibelius Fourth under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas this coming week at Davies Symphony Hall. Also on the program are works by Mason Bates and Serge Prokofiev; the soloist in the Prokofiev is pianist Yuja Wang.

Here is the information page about the concerts, all at 8:00 PM on the 20th, 22nd, and 23rd of May.

After the Friday, May 22nd concert the SFS will be hosting another Davies After Hours get-together, as composer Mason Bates and conductor Benjamin Shwartz recreate their Mercury Soul classical-meets-electronica experience, upstairs in the 2nd Tier lobby.

I've written the program notes for the Sibelius; you may read them here.