Jean Sibelius: Night Ride & Sunrise (Naxos Audio CD)

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Pietari Inkinen

While the beloved ‘Valse triste’ and ‘Scene with Cranes’ from Kuolema are virtually signature tunes for the great Finnish composer, much of Sibelius’s orchestral and theatrical music remains undeservedly less familiar.

From the incidental music for the play Belshazzar’s Feast Sibelius drew four richly scored orientalist movements.

The tone poems Pan and Echo and Night Ride and Sunrise respectively evoke the world of ancient myth and a nocturnal journey towards a Nordic dawn. A lilting waltz dances at the heart of the impressionistic The Dryad, while castanets enliven the light-hearted mood of the Tanz-Intermezzo, Op. 45 No. 2.

“The New Zealand Symphony have a thoroughly international sound, but its playing is top-notch in every way…this is [Inkinen’s] first Sibelius disc with his new orchestra, and it's a winner all around… this is a first-rate disc. Naxos provides a full-sounding recording with an ideal balance between hall ambience and detail… notes by Keith Anderson cover all the important bases. Let's look forward to more Sibelius from Inkinen—he's one to watch.”
Fanfare