Earlier this week, the Avanti Chamber Orchestra shared the modern premiere of a rediscovered Sibelius “Concert Overture” on its Facebook page.
Today the complete concert will stream at 12 pm (EDT). Also on the program will be other Sibelius rarities (a suite from his incidental music to “Belshazzar’s Feast” and the melodrama “The Countess’ Portrait”) and the “Conte fantastique” for harp and string orchestra by André Caplet, after Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death.” If you miss it, I assume the concert will be archived on Avanti’s Facebook page.
We’re only a few hours away from the first modern performance of a long-lost work of Jean Sibelius.
News of the 2019 rediscovery of the score of this “Concert Overture” (found with the manuscript of Sibelius’ only completed opera, “The Maiden in the Tower”) somehow eluded my notice. The overture was last performed in 1900. This is not to be confused with either the Concert Overture in E (1891) or the Concert Overture in A minor (1902), both recorded by Neeme Järvi and others.
You can watch a performance of the “new” work live on the YouTube channel of the Avanti! kamariorkesteri / Avanti! Chamber Orchestra today at 12 pm EDT:
Or wait for the video to be posted on May 30. Learn more about it here:
The complete concert program will feature two more Sibelius rarities – the melodrama “The Countess’ Portrait” and a suite from “Belshazzar’s Feast” – as well as André Caplet’s “Conte fantastique” for harp and string orchestra, after Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death.”
An earlier attempt at a grand opera, “The Building of the Boat,“ was abandoned in 1893, though much of the material was reworked by the composer into “Four Legends from the Kalevala” and the symphonic poem “The Wood Nymph.” One of his most frequently-programmed pieces, “The Swan of Tuonela,” was originally planned as the prelude to this opera.
UPDATE: Having just watched the modern premiere, here’s my assessment. The overture won’t change anyone’s fundamental understanding of Sibelius, but it is by turns evocative, dramatic, charming, exciting, and beautiful. If you’re a fan of the “Lemminkäinen” symphonic poems, I think you will enjoy this. A magical treat, and at 12 minutes, not an insignificant one. I’ll be checking back for the full concert on May 30. Just what I needed on a 90-degree day. Thank you, Avanti!
UPDATE #2: The performance of the overture is now posted.
