| Luonnotar | |
|---|---|
| Tone poem byJean Sibelius | |
 The composer (c. 1911) | |
| Opus | 70 |
| Text | Kalevala (Runo I) |
| Language | Finnish |
| Composed | 1913 (1913) |
| Publisher | Breitkopf & Härtel (1981)[1][a] |
| Duration | 10 mins.[2] |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 10 September 1913 (1913-09-10)[2] |
| Location | Gloucester,England |
| Conductor | Herbert Brewer |
| Performers | |
Luonnotar (Finnish pronunciation:[ˈluo̯nːotɑr]),Op. 70, is a single-movementtone poem forsoprano andorchestra written in 1913 by the Finnish composerJean Sibelius. The piece is a setting of Runo I (lines 111–242, freelyadapted) of theKalevala, Finland'snational epic, which tells the legend of how the goddessLuonnotar (the female spirit of nature)created the Earth.Luonnotar premiered on 10 September 1913 at theThree Choirs Festival inGloucester,England, withHerbert Brewer conducting the festival orchestra; the soloist was the Finnish operatic diva (and frequent Sibelius collaborator)Aino Ackté, the tone poem's dedicatee. A few months later on 12 January 1914, Ackté gaveLuonnotar its Finnish premiere, withGeorg Schnéevoigt conducting theHelsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
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Luonnotar is thematically unrelated to an earlier project of Sibelius's by the same name from 1903–1905; that 'Luonnotar' (for which a fragment is extant) grew out of the abandonedoratorioMarjatta (without catalogue number) and, by 1906, had evolved into the orchestral tone poemPohjola's Daughter (Pohjolan tytär, Op. 49). In 1913, Sibelius arrangedLuonnotar for soprano and piano.[3][4]
Luonnotar is scored for the following instruments and voices,[2] organized by family (vocalists,woodwinds,brass,percussion, andstrings):
The Hungarian-American conductorAntal Doráti and theLondon Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording ofLuonnotar in February 1969 forHis Master's Voice; the soloist was the Welsh sopranoDame Gwyneth Jones.[2] However, recordings of two earlier live performances by theHelsinki Philharmonic Orchestra also are commercially available: first, led by the Finnish conductorGeorg Schnéevoigt in 1934, with the Finnish sopranoHelmi Liukkonen [fi] as soloist; and second, led by the Finnish conductorTauno Hannikainen in 1955, with the Austro-British sopranoDame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf as soloist. The table below lists these and other recordings:
Additionally, in 2008, BIS made the world premiere studio recording of Sibelius's transcription ofLuonnotar, with the Finnish sopranoHelena Juntunen and the Finnish pianistFolke Gräsbeck [fi]. The table below contains additional details about this recording:
| No. | Soloist | Pianist | Rec.[c] | Time | Recording venue | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helena Juntunen (2) | Folke Gräsbeck [fi] | 2008 | 8:48 | Kuusankoski Concert Hall [fi] | BIS |
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