Scènes historiques II

Scènes historiques II
Concert suite by Jean Sibelius
The composer (c. 1911)
Opus66
Composed1912
PublisherBreitkopf & Härtel (1913)[1]
Duration17.5 mins.[2]
Movements3
Premiere
Date29 March 1912 (1912-03-29) (Op. 25)[3]
LocationHelsinki, Finland
ConductorJean Sibelius
PerformersHelsinki Philharmonic Society

The Scènes historiques II (literal English translation: Historical Scenes II), Op. 66, is a three-movement concert suite for orchestra written in 1912 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.[4][5] The suite premiered on 29 March 1912 at the University Hall in Helsinki, with Sibelius conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Society.[3]

Structure

The Scènes historiques II contains three numbers, as follows:

  1. Overture: The Chase. (Ouvertüre: Die Jagd.) Andante — Allegro con brio
  2. The Love Song. (Minnelied.) Largo
  3. At the Draw-bridge. (An der Zugbrücke.) Allegro moderato

Instrumentation

The first number of the Scènes historiques II, The Chase, is scored for the following instruments,[2] organized by family (woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):

The Love Song (No. 2) adds harp to this ensemble, while At the Drawbridge (No. 3) expands the percussion section to include triangle and tam-tam; in addition, No. 3 calls for one flutist to double piccolo.[2]

Discography

The sortable table below contains commercially available recordings of the complete Scènes historiques II:

No. Conductor Ensemble Rec.[a] Time Recording venue Label Ref.
1 Jussi Jalas Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra 1974 16:43 Torockó Square Church, Budapest Decca
2 Sir Alexander Gibson Scottish National Orchestra 1977 18:03 Motherwell Town Hall Chandos
3 Neeme Järvi Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra 1985 17:51 Gothenburg Concert Hall BIS
4 Jukka-Pekka Saraste Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra 1988 17:43 Kulttuuritalo RCA Red Seal
5 Leif Segerstam Danish National Symphony Orchestra 1995 19:26 Danish Radio Concert Hall Chandos
6 Ari Rasilainen Norwegian Radio Orchestra 2001 19:01 NRK Broadcasting Hall Finlandia
7 Pietari Inkinen New Zealand Symphony Orchestra 2006 19:42 Wellington Town Hall Naxos

Notes, references, and sources

Notes
References
Sources
  • Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11159-0.
  • Dahlström, Fabian [in Swedish] (2003). Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke [Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index of His Works] (in German). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN 3-7651-0333-0.
  • Tawaststjerna, Erik (2008b) [1972; trans. 1986]. Sibelius: Volume II, 1904–1914. Translated by Layton, Robert. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-24773-8.