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2012 Violinist.com Tournament, Round 3, Day 2: Sibelius vs. Tchaikovsky

March 29, 2012 at 5:04 PM

It's the last day before the final round in our Violin Concerto Tournament, and today we decide which concerto will go up against the Beethoven Concerto. Will it be the Sibelius or the Tchaikovsky?

This is a actually a pretty tough contest: two very lyrical, popular pieces, both by composers who were a bit less absolutist than, say, Beethoven, Brahms, Bach or Mozart. While they are both well-crafted, they are more emotional than intellectual. Which will it be?

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto vs. Sibelius Violin Concerto

Benjamin Beilman's plays the first movement of the Sibelius during the final round of the "Montreal International Musical Competition":

Josh Bell plays the first movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto like it's an old friend, nailing every thing along the way (2010 performance, with the? Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo conducting the Gala Concert during the Nobel Prize Ceremonies):

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Sibelius my love!
Anybody else like Tchaik's suit? I want one like that.
How do you choose between two of the very greatest violin concertos ever written? Not an easy pick.
Hanna - easy: SSSSSSSSSSSSS. Just listen to the second movement.... and if you want to cry while you listen then use this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYR9ychIPJc

When this tournament started I was afraid I'd end up having to choose between these two. I won't say which I voted for because I'm kicking myself for betraying the other. Of course, if I chose the other I'd be kicking myself for betraying the one I did choose.

Julio, I don't know. I think you'd turn more heads if you walked into a room wearing Sibelius' jacket.

LOL, this is true. Sibelius' suit looks like it needs a shave.

I LIKE S's jacket. Of course it doesn't hurt that he's drop dead gorgeous... :)

Now what were we voting on again?

Sartorial splendor, Elise, we're voting on sartorial splendor. Speaking of which, Beilman's outfit is far superior to Bell's.
Oh come on everyone, don't let the predictable T win! I suppose its going to be a Beethoven T showdown... He can't beat the Big B can he? I might just stop playing concerti.

Now there's a threat to quake the V.com members... :D

Oh come on, it can't be 50/50 as I go to bed.....now I will have to stay up untill the round is over...
Both those dudes are very well dressed. Both suits are pure wool I'm sure.

I voted for Mr. T but I won't be too disappointed if the Sibelius comes out on top, that's a fantastic piece too. This is the hardest one for me so far.

This is not a fashion contest, friends! But I admit, it's hard to pick between two loves. Today might be more difficult than tomorrow, it some ways, but we'll see!
You should have used Hilary Hahn's version of the Tchaikovsky, then maybe it would be winning right now.
Hilary Hahn: Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (III: Finale: Allegro vivacissimo)

We would just contest it with her version of the Sibelius :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBbsRTf1Eqw

Strange though, because a few people I know that really like Hilary's playing dislike her Sibelius from the CD. I'm okay with it either way, but that's still interesting.
I like Hahn's Sibelius (although I like her Schoenberg even more). I wonder if some of the remarks about her Sibelius come from a bias about Hahn that she is a Bach specialist, which seems consistent with her somewhat nerdy persona and no-nonsense stage demeanor. Slowly but surely (and actually not that slowly) she is recording the entire repertoire and I haven't heard anything yet that I didn't like. And for that matter I don't think her Bach is all that special. I like Janine Jansen's D Minor Partita better, and I still adore Grumiaux and Menuhin. Hahn is a very fine violinist with the ability to play well anything that comes her way.
ARGH! There goes my perfect bracket. Well played, Sibelius, well played...
It's not over, Gene. A 2% margin over 400 votes is less than ten votes. Send messages to your friends!
If Tshaikowski wins, we know at least why ;)
I don't particularly care for Hahn's Sibelius either. I find it somewhat cold (but not in that good Sibeliusian(?) cold way). I do love the Schoenberg on the same disc through. Theres a great video of Shlomo Mintz playing the Sibelius out there that I found very unique. Hes so underrated for some reason, but his Prokofiev recordings on DG are the best in my opinion.

Wayne

Laurie,

We should have bracket results posted somewhere as well. It would be fun to see how one is doing compared with others. I for one have no hope of winning "the bag." :)

Terry

Is it over now? I see Tchaik closed the gap to within 3 (through no action on my part), but came up just short...
Was it a tie??
Kids, the Sibelius won by three votes!