Tossy Spivakovsky, London Symphony Orchestra, Tauno Hannikainen - Sibelius: Violin Concerto & Tapiol...

Of few twentieth century composers can it be said with any degree of certainty, "His music will last." We are still too close to many of these men to judge objectively the quality of their work. But Jean Sibelius seems to be a creative artist whose compositions will survive. His Violin Concerto is one of the most difficult works of its kind ever written, but, it is also one of the most exciting. Performed here by one of the most exciting violinists of our day, assisted by a Finnish conductor who really knows the music of Sibelius, it has been reproduced with equally exciting fidelity for all to enjoy.
This, Sibelius' only concerto, was written at Lojo, Finland: in 1903, and completely revised during the summer of 1905. Thus it falls between the composer's Second and Third Symphonies, during a period when he was becoming increasingly aware of the importance of both form and nature in his music. Since the violin was Sibelius' own instrument, the concerto was written with a full knowledge and understanding of what the soloist could and could not do. Still, there have been few virtuosi who have been able to do full justice to its technical and interpretive intricacies.
"The form is simple and concise throughout, besides being distinctly original," writes Cecil Gray in his well-known biography of the composer. "The exposition in the first movement, for example, is tripartite instead of dual as usual, and the cadenza precedes the development section, which is at the same time a recapitulation; the slow second movement consists chiefly in the gradual unfolding, like a flower, of a long, sweet, cantabile melody first presented by the solo instrument and then by the orchestra; and the last movement is almost entirely made up of the alternation of two main themes. This variety, combined with simplicity and concision of formal structure, constitutes one of the chief attractions of the work." .....