Paavo Berglund
Conductor Paavo Berglund transformed several orchestras into world-class ensembles over his long career. Known as a perfectionist, he specialized in the music of Sibelius and made three complete recordings of his symphonies.
Berglund was born in Helsinki on April 14, 1929. His first instrument was the violin, which he took up at age 11, playing an instrument built by his grandfather. Berglund worked at an iron factory during World War II and began his musical career playing in dance orchestras in 1945 and for military officers' dinners the following year. He studied violin at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and in 1949, he became a member of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Hearing the Vienna Philharmonic on tour in Finland under conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, he developed an interest in conducting himself. Berglund traveled to Vienna and was allowed to attend rehearsals and recording sessions of the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna Radio Symphony. He was in attendance when Furtwängler recorded Smetana's Die Moldau, later naming his own recording of that work as his favorite among his albums.
In the mid-1950s, Berglund became the assistant conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony, and he was made its chief conductor in 1962. Known as a dictator on the podium, he vastly improved that group's quality. He repeated the feat with England's Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, which he frequently conducted as a guest in the late 1960s, and of which he became the principal conductor in 1972. With that group, he made the first recording of the Sibelius tone poem Kullervo in 1970. Berglund earned recognition as a Sibelius specialist, recording his complete symphonies three times (with the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Bournemouth Symphony, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, in a lighter sort of reading that he came to favor later in life). He studied Sibelius' symphonies intensively and sometimes made controversial changes to their scoring, but his repertory was wide and included music by other Scandinavian composers as well as works by Vaughan Williams, Shostakovich, Britten, and more. Berglund served as the principal conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic from 1975 to 1979. In 1979, he left both his Helsinki and Bournemouth posts, spending several years as a jet-setting guest conductor. He made his U.S. debut with the American Symphony Orchestra in 1978. In 1983, he began a stint as the principal conductor of the Royal Danish Orchestra in Copenhagen, and from 1987 to 1991, he was the principal conductor of the Stockholm Philharmonic in Sweden. He remained active into old age and the 21st century, giving his last concert in Paris in 2007 with the French Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Berglund died in Helsinki on January 25, 2012.
Berglund left more than 100 recordings, several of which were classics that were repeated. He recorded with most of the ensembles he headed as principal conductor, issuing albums not only of Romantic and early 20th century repertory but of works by contemporary composer Joonas Kokkonen.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Artisti simili
Discografia
52 album • Ordinato per Bestseller
-
The Popular Sibelius: Finlandia, Valse triste, Karelia, The Swan of Tuonela, Lemminkäinen's Return, King Christian II...
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 8 dic 2023
Disponibile in24-Bit/192 kHz Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6
Paavo Berglund, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sue Bohling
Classica - Pubblicato da London Philharmonic Orchestra il 1 set 2012
Disponibile in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6
Paavo Berglund, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sue Bohling
Sinfonie - Pubblicato da London Philharmonic Orchestra il 1 set 2012
Disponibile in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8
Classica - Pubblicato da Pentatone il 1 gen 2006
Disponibile in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8
Russian National Orchestra, Paavo Berglund
Classica - Pubblicato da Pentatone il 1 gen 2006
Disponibile in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonie No. 6 / The Swan of Tuonela
Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Paavo Berglund
Classica - Pubblicato da Eterna il 1 gen 1971
Disponibile in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 6, 10 & 11 "1905"
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 16 feb 2024
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Sibelius : Symphonies 1-7
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Paavo Berglund
Sinfonie - Pubblicato da Fazer Records - Finlandia il 10 nov 1997
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1-7, Tapiola, Karelia Suite, Finlandia, The Bard, The Swan of Tuonela
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 7 gen 2005
La discografia ideale di QobuzDisponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: The Golden Cockerel - Prokofiev: Summer Night, Op. 123
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 20 mar 2024
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites, Symphonic Dances & Old Norwegian Melody
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 25 nov 2023
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Vaughan Williams : Symphonies Nos. 4-6, etc.
Alexander Gibson, Paavo Berglund, Constantin Silvestri
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 2 giu 2008
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Franck: Symphony in D Minor & Symphonic Variations
Paavo Berglund, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 10 mag 2024
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphony No. 5, Op. 50 - Alfvén: Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 19 - Järnefelt: Praeludium
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 19 gen 2024
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Smetana: Má Vlast - Dvořák: Slavonic Rhapsody No. 3 & Scherzo capriccioso
Paavo Berglund, Staatskapelle Dresden
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 23 feb 2024
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Sibelius: Kullervo, Tone Poems, Serenades for Violin
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 6 ott 2008
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Sibelius: Violin Concerto, Serenades & Humoreske No. 5
Ida Haendel, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Berglund
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 1 gen 1976
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 "Leningrad"
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 5 gen 2024
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Paavo Berglund
Classica - Pubblicato da Ondine il 1 gen 2001
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Bliss: Cello Concerto & Suite from Miracle in the Gorbals
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 12 apr 2024
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 7
Paavo Berglund, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sinfonie - Pubblicato da London Philharmonic Orchestra il 1 set 2005
Disponibile in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo