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- The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) was one of the most important symphonists of the early twentieth century: his seven symphonies, written between 1899 and 1924, are the core of his oeuvre and stalwarts of the standard concert repertoire. Many of classical music's conductor–orchestra partnerships have recorded the complete set, colloquially known as the "Sibelius cycle". Specifically, the standard cycle includes:
* Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 (1899; minor revisions 1900)
* Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 (1902)
* Symphony No. 3 in C major, Op. 52 (1907)
* Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63 (1911)
* Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82 (1915; major revisions 1916 and 1919)
* Symphony No. 6 in D minor, Op. 104 (1923)
* Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105 (1924) Although early advocates such as Robert Kajanus, Sir Thomas Beecham, and Serge Koussevitzky had conducted many of Sibelius's symphonies for gramophone in the 1930s and 1940s, none of these Sibelians recorded all seven. Instead, the earliest complete traversal dates to 1953, four years before the composer's death on 20 September 1957; it is by Sixten Ehrling and the Stockholm Radio Orchestra, recorded from 1952–1953 for the Swedish label Metronome Records (released by Mercury Records in the United States). Ehrling had outpaced Anthony Collins and the London Symphony Orchestra, whose cycle—recorded from 1952–1955 on Decca Records—was concurrent with Ehrling's but arrived second. Since the pioneering examples of Ehrling and Collins, the Sibelius cycle has, as of September 2022, been recorded an additional 46 times. The most recently completed (48th) cycle, finished in 2022, is by Owain Arwel Hughes and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; an additional three projected cycles are in progress, according to press releases. A number of conductors have tackled the project more than once: Paavo Berglund (1977, 1987, 1997, 1998) recorded the Sibelius cycle four times, Sir Colin Davis (1976, 1994, 2008) three times, and Akeo Watanabe (1962, 1981), Lorin Maazel (1968, 1992), Jukka-Pekka Saraste (1989, 1993), Leif Segerstam (1992, 2004), Neemi Järvi (1985, 2005), Vladimir Ashkenazy (1984, 2007), Pietari Inkinen (2009, 2013), Sir Simon Rattle (1987, 2015), and Osmo Vänskä (1997, 2015) have done so twice. Leonard Bernstein completed one cycle (1967) but died in the middle of a second. Finally, Herbert von Karajan and Eugene Ormandy left, respectively, three and two incomplete Sibelius cycles. Additionally, the Sibelius cycle can, in its non-standard form, include its "grand precursor" Kullervo (Op. 7, 1892), which some commentators prefer to view as a programmatic choral symphony. Such a perspective thus conceptualizes Kullervo as Sibelius's de facto "Symphony No. 0" and accordingly expands his completed contributions to the symphonic canon from seven to eight. Eleven of the 48 cycles include Kullervo as a supplement. (en)
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- Paavo Berglund recorded the cycle four times. His earliest was the first by a Finnish conductor. (en)
- Sir Thomas Beecham's recordings of the Fourth and the Sixth supplanted those of Schnéevoigt in the HMV catalogue; Sibelius called the latter his "favourite recording of any of his symphonies". (en)
- Sergei Koussevitzky was the first to program the entire cycle in a concert season ; he also made the premiere recording of the Seventh with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. (en)
- Leonard Bernstein was the first American conductor to complete the cycle . He died in 1990 before completing a second. (en)
- In 1934, Georg Schnéevoigt and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra made the premiere recording of the Sixth and the second of the Fourth; Sibelius expressed disappointment with the performances. (en)
- Between his recordings with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan recorded each Sibelius symphony except the Third. (en)
- The English conductor Sir Colin Davis thrice recorded the cycle, two of which are with the London Symphony Orchestra . (en)
- From 1930–1932, Robert Kajanus made premiere recordings of the First, Second, Third, and Fifth symphonies, but his death in July 1933 prevented him from becoming the first to record the cycle. (en)
- In 1952–1953, the Swedish conductor Sixten Ehrling and the Stockholm Radio Orchestra recorded the first Sibelius cycle. (en)
- Finland's Jean Sibelius composed his seven symphonies over a twenty-five year period, 1899–1924. (en)
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- Very many are the men who have conducted these symphonies during the last thirty years, but there are none who have gone deeper and given them more feeling and beauty than Robert Kajanus. (en)
- As I believe I have already told you, Herbert von Karajan is, in my view, of all the leading conductors, the one with the greatest insight into your music. If you are completely happy with his performances of these three great works [Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5, recorded in 1952; and Tapiola, 1953], I would be deeply grateful if you would write and tell me so, because if Herbert von Karajan's performances satisfy you, it is my intention to record all of your symphonies to be published in time for the celebration of your ninetieth birthday... (en)
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