Sibelius Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra & Klaus Mäkelä

• Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957): Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39
• 1 Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39: I. Andante, ma non troppo - Allegro energico 11:50
• 2 Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39: II. Andante (ma non troppo lento) 09:46
• 3 Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39: III. Scherzo. Allegro 05:18
• 4 Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39: IV. Finale. Quasi una fantasia 13:00
• Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43
• 5 Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43: I. Allegretto 10:12
• 6 Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43: II. Tempo andante, ma rubato 14:59
• 7 Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43: III. Vivacissimo 06:22
• 8 Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43: IV. Finale. Allegro moderato 14:30
• Symphony No. 3 in C Major, Op. 52
• 9 Sibelius: Symphony No. 3 in C Major, Op. 52: I. Allegro moderato 10:15
• 10 Sibelius: Symphony No. 3 in C Major, Op. 52: II. Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto 10:42
• 11 Sibelius: Symphony No. 3 in C Major, Op. 52: III. Moderato - Allegro ma non tanto 09:06
• Symphony No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 63
• 12 Sibelius: Symphony No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 63: I. Tempo molto moderato, quasi adagio 11:20
• 13 Sibelius: Symphony No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 63: II. Allegro molto vivace 04:55
• 14 Sibelius: Symphony No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 63: III. Il tempo largo 11:40
• 15 Sibelius: Symphony No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 63: IV. Allegro 09:57
• Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 82
• 16 Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 82: I. Tempo molto moderato 14:22
• 17 Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 82: II. Andante mosso, quasi allegretto 09:43
• 18 Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 82: III. Allegro molto 09:57
• Symphony No. 6 in D Minor, Op. 104
• 19 Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D Minor, Op. 104: I. Allegro molto moderato 09:26
• 20 Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D Minor, Op. 104: II. Allegretto moderato 06:52
• 21 Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D Minor, Op. 104: III. Poco vivace 03:51
• 22 Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D Minor, Op. 104: IV. Allegro molto 11:14
• Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105
• 23 Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105: I. Adagio - 09:51
• 24 Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105: II. Vivacissimo - Adagio - 02:52
• 25 Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105: III. Allegro molto moderato - 04:43
• 26 Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105: IV. Vivace - Presto - Adagio 05:19
• Tapiola, Op. 112:
• 27 Sibelius: Tapiola, Op. 112 19:23
• 3 Late Fragments:
• 28 Sibelius: 3 Late Fragments: I. HUL 1325 (Compl. Virtanen) 01:41
• 29 Sibelius: 3 Late Fragments: II. HUL 1326/9 (Compl. Virtanen) 00:17
• 30 Sibelius: 3 Late Fragments: III. Allegro moderato, HUL 1327/2 (Compl. Virtanen) 01:43
• Total Runtime 04:25:06

Info for Sibelius

Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä’s debut album Sibelius, featuring the complete cycle of the Jean Sibelius’s symphonies, the tone poem Tapiola and 3 Late Fragments. Mäkelä, who recently became the first conductor to sign to Decca since Riccardo Chailly, directs the Oslo Philharmonic, an orchestra with a deep, historic connection to the music of the Finnish composer.

The project began as a nine-month exploration of the Sibelius symphonies to mark Mäkelä’s inaugural season with the Oslo Philharmonic as Chief Conductor but, with Covid cancellations, turned into a completely immersive recording project. With the orchestral season disrupted, Mäkelä and the orchestra devoted much of the Spring of 2021 to playing nothing but the music of Sibelius.

"We played, played, played and then recorded. Sibelius’s music, like that of any composer, is a language you have to learn and the circumstances under which we recorded actually played to our advantage." (Klaus Mäkelä)

The Oslo Philharmonic has been performing the music of Jean Sibelius for over 100 years, with the composer himself conducting three concerts of his music in 1921. Mäkelä taps into the orchestra’s rich tradition of interpreting Sibelius’s symphonic works in the century since. He refers to the ‘darkness, power and strength’ in the ensemble’s string playing, drawing a link with the Russian tradition instilled into the orchestra by former Chief Conductor Mariss Jansons.

Sibelius not only reimagined the structure and grammar of orchestral music at the turn of the 20th century, he was also the first composer to give the Nordic region its own musical language, distinct from the dominant German symphonic tradition at the time. Alongside artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Sibelius became a cultural icon in the Finnish Nationalist movement and interpretations of his works are inextricably linked to the distinguished line of conductors who grew up in Finland after the composer.

As a freelance cellist guesting in Helsinki’s symphony orchestras, Mäkelä experienced Finland’s Sibelius tradition first-hand. ‘I have great admiration for those colleagues who performed cycles before me and I learned precious lessons from those I played under,’ the conductor says. Mäkelä studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula and cello with Marko Ylönen, Timo Hanhinen and Hannu Kiiski. In addition to his work as Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, he is Music Director of the Orchestra de Paris and Artistic Director of the Turku Music Festival. As a guest conductor Mäkelä appears this season with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Concertgebouworkest, London Philharmonic, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Münchner Philharmoniker.

The album release will be followed in May and June by the Oslo Philharmonic’s first European tour with Mäkelä. In addition to complete Sibelius cycle residencies at the Vienna Konzerthaus and Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, they will perform Mahler at the Paris Philharmonie and join Norwegian soprano and fellow Decca artist, Lise Davidsen, on stage at the London Barbican.

Oslo Philharmonic
Klaus Mäkelä, conductor  

Klaus Mäkelä
is Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Director of Orchestre de Paris and Artistic Director of the Turku Music Festival. An exclusive Decca Classics Artist, Mäkelä has recorded the complete Sibelius Symphony cycle with the Oslo Philharmonic as his first project for the label, released in March 2022.

Klaus Mäkelä launched the Oslo Philharmonic 2021/22 season in August with a special concert featuring Saariaho’s Asteroid 4179: Toutatis, Strauss Also sprach Zarathustra, two new works by Norwegian composer Mette Henriette and Sibelius Lemminkäinen. A similarly wide range of repertoire is presented throughout his second season in Oslo, including major choral works by Bach, Mozart and William Walton, Mahler Symphony No. 3 and Shostakovich Symphonies Nos. 10 and 14 with soloists Mika Kares and Mirjam Mesak. Recent and new works include compositions by Sally Beamish, Unsuk Chin, Jimmy Lopez Bellido, Andrew Norman and Kaija Saariaho. In Spring 2022 Klaus Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic will perform the complete Sibelius Symphony cycle in residency at the Wiener Konzerthaus and Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and give additional concerts at the Paris Philharmonie and London Barbican.

With Orchestre de Paris, Klaus Mäkelä performed at the summer festivals of Granada and Aix en Provence. For his first concert in the 2021/ 22 season he conducted a new work by Unsuk Chin entitled Spira, Richard Strauss Four Songs Op 27 with soloist Lise Davidsen and Mahler Symphony No. 1. His first season as Music Director also features the music of Ligeti and Dutilleux alongside Biber, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Rachmaninov and Stravinsky.

In the 2021/22 season Klaus Mäkelä appears as a Portrait Artist at the Wiener Konzerthaus and guest conducts the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Royal Concertgebouworkest, London Philharmonic, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Münchner Philharmoniker. In summer 2022 he returns to the Verbier Festival to conduct the Verbier Festival and Verbier Festival Chamber orchestras as well as perform as a chamber musician.

In the 2020/21 season Klaus Makela appeared with the Concertgebouworkest, Münchner Philharmoniker, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and Tapiola Sinfonietta. As Artist in Residence at Spain’s Granada Festival he conducted the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada and Orchestre de Paris. At the Verbier Festival he conducted and performed cello in a chamber music programme.

Mäkelä studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula and cello with Marko Ylönen, Timo Hanhinen and Hannu Kiiski. As a soloist, he has performed with several Finnish orchestras and as a chamber musician with members of the Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.

This album contains no booklet.