PASC099: Symphony No. 6 in D minor

Notes on the restoration: This absolutely superb performance of Sibelius' Sixth Symphony was originally recorded onto disc (I assume acetate). My copy came from a reel-to-reel tape transcript direct from the disc and was in pretty good condition, though clearly with both disc noise, clicks and crackle and a small amount of tape hiss to deal with. I also managed to remove or quieten a number of otherwise distracting audience coughs.

Thereafter I applied the XR remastering process, which in this case served to bring our more weight, depth and solidity in the bass, clear out a degree of murkiness in the mid-range and add further clarity to the upper treble frequencies whilst dealing with a certain tendency to harshness in the masses violins.

Finally further noise reduction in the very high frequency range was carried out using a brand new remastering package (called "RX"!) from Izotope - launched within the last week - which worked brilliantly to preserve the 'air' in the recording whilst eliminating the hiss, where all the other software I tried had stifled it somewhat.

What does remain towards the end of the recording is a small degree of background noise from the acetates and, at times, perhaps a small degree of groove distortion from the original disc. By this time however, given a performance like this, you'll probably be so absorbed in the music that you'll simply not notice it - this really is a tour de force from Beecham and his Royal Philharmonic!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jean Sibelius's Symphony No. 6, Opus 104 was completed in 1923. Although the symphony is sometimes described as being "in D minor" the score does not contain a key attribution. Much of the symphony is in fact in the (modern) Dorian mode.

It was premiered by the Helsinki City Orchestra, conducted by the composer, on 19 February 1923. It was to be dedicated to Wilhelm Stenhammar, but the publisher lost the dedication page.

The symphony has four movements:

Allegro molto moderato
Allegretto moderato
Poco vivace
Allegro molto

The symphony is among the least-known of Sibelius's seven: it has been called "the Cinderella of the seven symphonies" by musicologist Gerald Abraham. Sibelius wrote of the symphony in 1943 that "the sixth symphony always reminds me of the scent of the first snow". In a remark published in 1955 he said that "Rage and passion ... are utterly essential in it, but it is supported by undercurrents deep under the surface of the music". Many consider this symphony to be Sibelius's masterpiece.

The first commercial recording was made by Georg Schnéevoigt with the Finnish National Orchestra on 8 June 1934 for HMV's Sibelius society. [NB. Available to download here]