Jussi Favourites of the Board Members'
Hans Thunström, Deputy Chairman of the Society, presents his favourite recording with Jussi
Jussi at the rehearsal on 5 August with The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
The last recording with Jussi was made on 5 August 1960 at the Gothenburg Concert Hall, and it is one of his very best! Jussi made an indelible impression on the front page of Sweden, and when the Society in 2007 in the said concert hall arranged a Jussi presentation with Yrsa Stenius and Bertil Bengtsson no fewer than 900 listeners were assembled, many of them fairly advanced in years. When asked whether someone had been present at that last concert, around fifty visitors raised their hands. When after that Jag längtar dig from that concert was played, the atmosphere was electrified.
In his book The Jussi Björling Sound- A Recorded Legacy, Stephen Hastings sometimes makes general comparisons with other tenors. On page 3 he writes that if we seek “a combination of life-enhancing musicality and rare vocal splendor, then Björling stands alone. Neither Caruso, nor Beniamino Gigli, nor Luciano Pavarotti ... offer such consistent, intense, and varied musical pleasure ...”
Jag längtar dig from 1960 is impassioned, grandiose and breathlessly beautiful, the very recording that confirms Hastings’s judgement. Listen and be enchanted!
The recording is available on Bluebell ABCD 092, Fram för framgång.
Click the CD-cover and listen to Hans Thunström’s favourite recording with Jussi
