Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Swan Lake Suite Arctic Philharmonic & Christian Lindberg

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893): Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64:
• 1 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: I. Andante - Allegro con anima 13:16
• 2 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: II. Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza 12:24
• 3 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: III. Valse. Allegro moderato 06:03
• 4 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: IV. Finale. Andante maestoso - Allegro vivace 12:33
• Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20a:
• 5 Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20a: I. Scène 02:58
• 6 Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20a: II. Valse 07:09
• 7 Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20a: III. Danse des cygnes (Dance of the Swans) 01:38
• 8 Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20a: IV. Scène 06:30
• 9 Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20a: V. Danse hongroise, "Czardas" (Hungarian Dance) 03:05
• 10 Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite, Op. 20a: VI. Scène 05:07
• Total Runtime 01:10:43

Info for Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Swan Lake Suite

Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony was the first symphony Christian Lindberg ever heard, at the age of ten. Nine years later it was the first he performed as a professional musician – in the brass section of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Having embarked on a successful conducting career, the trombonist-turned-international-soloist has since had the opportunity also to conduct the work, most memorably at the Mariinskij Theatre in St Petersburg, the city where the composer himself gave the first performance in 1888. With his Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, based in the Norwegian city of Bodø well north of the Arctic Circle, Lindberg has now recorded this symphony, which has become one of the composer’s best-loved works. Especially the hauntingly beautiful second movement has gripped audiences, while the work’s very clear exposition of the idea of ’ultimate victory through strife’ especially during World War II made it a staple in the concert halls. The symphony is here coupled with the equally popular six-movement suite from the Swan Lake, the first of the composer’s three great ballets. The suite was compiled and published after the death of the composer, but provides a faithful reflection of the atmosphere, colour, melody and, above all, rhythmic invention that made Tchaikovsky such a master of music for the dance.

Arctic Philharmonic
Christian Lindberg, conductor

Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra
Based well north of the Arctic Circle, the Arctic Philharmonic is the world’s youngest and northernmost orchestra, located in the two Norwegian arctic cities, Bodø and Tromsø – and with the whole northern region as its home.

Daily life at the world’s northernmost professional orchestra is both diverse and fun. We are spread over two cities with locations at the cultural centres in both Bodø and Tromsø. We have orchestra rehearsals there most days between 10am and 2pm. Outside scheduled rehearsals, you are likely to find us in the rehearsal room, round the coffee machine or on route to other duties such as teaching, management of various ensembles and solo performances. We are committed to being a resource for the region, both jointly as an orchestra and individually as musicians.

Of the team at the Arctic Philharmonic, 38 of us are artistic employees and play two to four (or more!) concerts per week. Admission is free of charge to roughly half our concerts, such as our lunch concerts at the concert halls in Tromsø and Bodø every week. We use smaller ensembles for these concerts and we enjoy variation. The fact that these popular concerts provide many with their first taste of classical music provides real inspiration for us. We generally play new material each week so as a consequence we spend a lot of time each week practicing on our own.

The remaining 13 of us are administrative employees, and deal with tasks that you don’t see in the concert hall but which are important to keep orchestral life functioning. Without Frode and Børre there wouldn’t be any sheets on our music stands on a Monday morning. And if Vidar and Nils don’t ensure there are tickets for sale, the concert hall will be sadly empty. If you ring us to find out about something you’re wondering about, chances are that Sigrid will answer the phone. That’s something you should be happy about because she will try her utmost to help you.

Christian Lindberg
is the Principal Conductor of the philharmonic orchestra. Alongside a successful career as a trombone soloist and composer, Lindberg is internationally sought-after as a conductor. He regularly conducts orchestras around the world, including in places such as Prague, Malmo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Aarhus, Helsinki, Rotterdam, Milan, Nuremberg, Iceland, Athens and Taipei. Lindberg has previously been the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Swedish Wind Ensemble and the Nordic Chamber Orchestra.

Together through these years, Christian and the Arctic Philharmonic, have received stunning reviews for their recordings and their performances all over the world and extended recording projects on BIS-records including a box of Tchaikovsky Symphonies as well as Nordic music from the Arctic Region.

Christian and the orchestra, have during few years performed at venues like Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg, Beethovenfest Bonn (2014), Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg (2015) and Musikverein Vienna (2015), in addition to a tour of China in 2011 (Wu Promotion). Future invitations include a European tour organized by Mark Stephan Buhl Management and a Japan tour organized by Genroh Hara, Pro Arte Musicae.

Lindberg was voted “The Greatest Brass Player in History” by the world's largest radio station Classic FM in 2015, and he was awarded "Artist of the Year" by 16 international chief editors of classical music magazines, in International Classical Music Awards 2016.

We are excited to have prolonged the collaboration with the always enthusiastic and inspiring Christian Lindberg! For the future, Lindberg and the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra are planning several national and international tours together, as well as releasing further albums with the renowned BIS Records.

Booklet for Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Swan Lake Suite