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
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Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 "Leningrad"
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 5 jan. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams : Symphonies Nos. 4-6, etc.
Alexander Gibson, Paavo Berglund, Constantin Silvestri
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 2 jun. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7, Tapiola, The Oceanides & Luonnotar
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 26 jan. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6
Paavo Berglund, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sue Bohling
Klassiek - Released by London Philharmonic Orchestra on 1 sep. 2012
5 de Diapason24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Ma Vlast
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 27 jun. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture / Symphony No.4
Klassiek - Released by Sony Music Entertainment on 19 feb. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1 & Fantastic Dances
Cristina Ortiz, Paul Tortelier, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Berglund
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 29 mrt. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paavo Berglund Conducts Nielsen Symphonies Nos. 1 - 6
Klassiek - Released by RCA Red Seal on 1 jan. 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius : Symphony No.4 & Orchestral Works
Klassiek - Released by Fazer Records - Finlandia on 16 nov. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius : Symphonies 1, 2 & 3
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Paavo Berglund
Symfonische muziek - Released by Finlandia on 10 nov. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos pour violon
Ida Haendel, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Berglund
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 jan. 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 7
Paavo Berglund, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by London Philharmonic Orchestra on 1 sep. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 7
Paavo Berglund, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Symfonieën - Released by London Philharmonic Orchestra on 1 sep. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Symphonies 92 (Oxford) & 99
Finnish Chamber Orchestra, Paavo Berglund
Klassiek - Released by Ondine on 1 nov. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Die Moldau "Vltava"
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 23 feb. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Heimo Haitto Plays Sibelius
Heimo Haitto, Paavo Berglund, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Finlandia Classics on 1 jan. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6
Paavo Berglund, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sue Bohling
Symfonieën - Released by London Philharmonic Orchestra on 1 sep. 2012
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Kokkonen: Durch einen Spiegel & Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Berglund
Klassiek - Released by Ondine on 1 jan. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana - Má Vlast
Paavo Berglund, Staatskapelle Dresden
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 27 jun. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart / Strauss: Oboe Concertos
Douglas Boyd, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Paavo Berglund
Klassiek - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 jan. 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Oboe Concerto in C; Sinfonia Concertante in E flat; Clarinet Concerto in A
Douglas Boyd, Richard Hosford, The Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Alexander Schneider, Paavo Berglund
Klassiek - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 jan. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo