The Scènes historiques I (literal English translation: Historical Scenes I), Op. 25, is a three-movement concert suite for orchestra written in 1911 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, who excerpted and arranged tableaux Nos. 1, 4, and 3 from 1899's Music for the Press Celebrations Days (JS 137). The suite premiered on 11 October 1912 at the Finnish National Theatre in Helsinki, with Sibelius conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Society.
Structure The Scènes historiques I contains three numbers, as follows:
Instrumentation The first number of the Scènes historiques I, All'Overtura, is scored for the following instruments, organized by family (woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B), and 2 bassoons 4 horns (in F), 3 trumpets (in B), and 3 trombones Timpani Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, and double basses
Scena (No. 2) expands the percussion section to include bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, and triangle, while Festivo (No. 3) adds castanets; in addition, Scena calls for each flutist to double piccolo.
Discography The sortable table below contains commercially available recordings of the complete Scènes historiques I: ConductorEnsembleTimeRecording venueLabel1Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra197416:31Torockó Square Church, BudapestDecca2Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra197516:24Southampton GuildhallEMI Classics 3Scottish National Orchestra197718:48Motherwell Town HallChandos4 Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra198518:09Gothenburg Concert HallBIS5Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra198817:53KulttuuritaloRCA Red Seal 6 Danish National Symphony Orchestra199518:50Danish Radio Concert HallChandos 7Norwegian Radio Orchestra200116:40NRK Broadcasting HallFinlandia8New Zealand Symphony Orchestra200618:12Wellington Town HallNaxos9Gothenburg-Aarhus Philharmonic200717:28, AarhusClassico
Notes, references, and sources
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