Sibelius: Orchestral Songs

Classical CD of the Week

"Soile Isokoski ... has arguably the most beautiful voice of her type, excelling in Mozart and Strauss. Here, she sets down her equally glowing credentials as a Sibelian. "

Artistic Quality 10       Sound Quality 10       Overall Impression 10

"Soprano Soile Isokoski overwhelms not only because of the mere beauty of the songs, but she also delivers moments of consummate artistry." 

Disc of the Month

Artistic Quality 10                    Sound Quality 10

"A magic Luonnotar, layed on an orchestral tissue and performed by Soile Isokoski in one of her most beautiful recordings (if not her most beautiful one) the chemistry between Isokoski and Segerstam is perfect This anthology has no competition in the catalogue. 

Performance *****                  Sound *****
"Soile Isokoski’s voice has matured into a powerful instrument without losing its distinctively plangent expressiveness and intense way with words - both in Finnish and Sibelius’s favoured poetic language Swedish. Segerstam here provides spacious yet vividly dramatic support, with superb orchestral playing. And the recording, excellent in CD stereo, is utterly stunning in multichannel SACD: airy, large-scale, immediate and detailed with diamond clarity this whole disc’s a Sibelian essential."

Disc of the Month

Artistic Quality 10                 Sound Quality 10

"Soile Isokoski has never made a more beautiful recording than this. She offers what must be accounted, hands down, as the finest performance of the tone poem Luonnotar currently available A marvelous release in every respect."

Classical CD of the Year

"Isokoski interprets these inspired miniatures with a blend of tenderness and passion, a richness of timbre and subtle dynamic inflections, with soaring lines magically floated and tailored. Sibelius’s orchestral accompaniments, so deft in defining different moods, are a bonus in Leif Segerstam’s assured handling. Newcomers to Sibelius’s songs could find no more persuasive introduction; aficionados will be entranced."

"Isokoski’s burnished soprano reaches ecstatic heights here, in a performance that you could measure against any in the catalogue, while Segerstam and the Helsinki Philharmonic become a wave machine, generating the ocean’s pulse and the play of light on water this is really an exceptional, often magical recital. Try it; I think you’ll bewitched."

"Featuring this dream duo (Soile Isokoski and Leif Segerstam) and the fabulous Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, here is a stunning disc, which undoubtedly ranks among the best and most interesting recordings of this year To own this CD is a must!!!" Recommended"   ***** 

Disc of the Year & Vocal Award Winner - 2007

"A thrilling performance of Luonnotar in which Isokoski’s sonorous soprano is matched by atmospheric playing from the Finnish orchestra. The rest of the disc makes you wonder why Sibelius’s orchestral songs occupy one of the most unjustly neglected corners of his output."

Supersonic Award
"The new reference in this repertoire of orchestral songs by Jean Sibelius is Soile Isokoski!"