Susanna Mälkki conducts Sibelius (CD Review)

by Ryan Ross

Sibelius: Karelia Suite, Op. 11; Rakastava, Op. 14; Lemminkäinen, Op. 22. Susanna Mälkki, conductor; Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. BIS-2638

Anyone who has heard Susanna Mälkki’s performances knows that she approaches conducting with admirable precision and sensitivity. In settings where the music is especially enhanced by these attributes, she’s absolutely first-rate. In situations that call for unbridled passion, however, I’m sometimes left wanting more. This dichotomy plays out across BIS’s new disc of nationally-inflected orchestral fare by Jean Sibelius. By now all of these works have plenty of recordings in the classical catalogue, especially the Karelia Suite and Lemminkäinen Legends (or “Suite,” as it’s often called). The field isn’t nearly Beethoven Fifth-level crowded, but the bar is not exactly low either. In the music here that plays to her strengths, Mälkki and the HPO give wonderful performances. But there are parts that do not always align with her predisposition, and these (for my taste) lead to middling ventures. 

The opening Karelia Suite is a good case in point. All of the ingredients would appear to be here for a splendid interpretation. And yet, I’m missing a little extra something that might be called “gusto” or “absolute conviction.” In the first movement (and beyond) we witness Mälkki’s skillfully balanced voices and colors. But perhaps the busy timpani are a bit too soft, the strings too crystalline. The tempo in the Ballade is a touch on the deliberate side, which is fine. But here again the punctuating element is dimmed, this time in the pizzicato second violin chords accompanying the dream-like secondary theme’s undulating cello line. To my ears, the finale simply sounds too graceful for an “Alla marcia,” particularly with the knowledge that this music was originally conceived to accompany a tableaux depicting military conquest. Overall, the gestures are too delicate and rounded and the mood overly restrained. I would suggest the wonderful performance by Okko Kamu and the Helsinki Radio Symphony Orchestra (found on Deutsche Grammophon 427 204-2) as an illustrative point of comparison. While lacking Mälkki and the HPO’s finesse, its spirit is unimpeachable.

The Lemminkӓinen Legends present a somewhat mixed bag. We’ll start with the good: these performances of The Swan of Tuonela and Lemminkӓinen in Tuonela are among the very best. This is because these movements call more for nuance and contemplation than they do for the kind of virile passion depicted with the eponymous character elsewhere. I don’t know whether I have ever heard a Swan more radiant and mysterious than Mälkki’s, or one that more completely exploits instrumental timbre to such breathtaking effect. Likewise, she pulls off the knotty Lemminkӓinen in Tuonela more convincingly than I have ever heard it done before, owing (again) to her keen grasp of color in addition to her ability make the wispy melodic content cohere sufficiently throughout. (This is NOT easy to do.) But with Lemminkӓinen and the Maidens of the Island we’re back in a world too lusty for Mälkki’s emotional restraint. This is rousing stuff requiring a certain sympathetic investment to bring off the points of ecstasy that can make the music so irresistible. One such juncture is the exhilarating return of the main theme after many measures of running-strings buildup. To be fair, Mälkki is far from alone in not doing this crucial passage justice. But next to, for example, Jukka-Pekka Saraste’s and the Toronto Symphony’s stupendous romp through the juncture in question (see Finlandia 3984-27890-2), any tepid arrival just won’t do. 

With Lemminkӓinen’s Return the results are better, if not top-tier. The tempo is suitably brisk and the playing very well controlled. But once again I’m missing just a touch of legendary magic that characterizes the best options. (I simply do not understand why so many performances of this piece insist upon ppp, instead of p, statements in important upper woodwind figures, such as those at Rehearsal F. These need to be heard!) On balance, then, this performance of the Lemminkӓinen Legends is a decent option, weighing two distinguished entries against lackluster and average ones. My top choices for this set of pieces are still Leif Segerstam and the HPO (Ondine ODE852-2), and Neeme Järvi and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (BIS CD-294). These may cede some ground to Mälkki and the HPO in the inner movements, but they are more aesthetically consistent. 

 

I am happy to recommend the Rakastava performance without reservation. Mälkki finds a congenial match for her talents in this tender, plaintive work. It will probably never be among Sibelius’s most loved compositions, but it deserves exposure. We can only hope that this interpretation sparks further interest. Any subsequent recordings will have to be good indeed to merit preference over this one. 

 

While I cannot give every effort here full-throated recommendation, I do heartily suggest buying this recording. Susanna Mälkki may not always be my ideal match for what she conducts, but she comes across as a highly intelligent musician who brings an impressive toolkit to her various tasks. She seems more at home in the “modernist” repertoire, but the occasions here when her conducting astounds make me interested in what she has to offer elsewhere. This is a release that enriches the catalogue, whatever else might be said.