Rattle/CBSO - Sibelius Symphonies 1-7

I have his recordings of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth symphonies. I have to say that I rarely listen to any of them. Perhaps that is significant.

I don't at all care for them. In a word: dull. In more words:

http://forums.naim-audio.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3801938...192915607#9192915607

However, the people who took the set off my hands enjoyed them, and they get a good write up in various places, so it's a matter of perspective.

The set has just been reissued cheaply, but I find Oramo with the same orchestra much more satisfying, ditto Bernstein (idiosyncratic though some of his readings are), Barbirolli, Davis and even Vanska (though his recordings don't quite match his live efforts, for the most part).

regards, Tam

I agree that there are several cycles of these symphonies that seem more compelling to me than Rattle's recordings.

I am very fond of the Barbirolli set, and can also thoroughly recommend the old Decca set from Anthony Collins, now out on Beulah. Only the fact that this is a mono set plays against a general recommendation, though I am not sure Collins quite gets the Fourth Symphony. In this Beecham made a splendid recording for RCA/HMV in 1948 with the RPO in London [my favourite Sibelius Symphony recording from Beecham], and best of all in my view Barbirolli.

Among isolated issues, I can think of no finer performance of a Sibelius Symphony [from anyone on any recording] than Boult's marvellous live recording of the Seventh, which seems to pack an emotional punch only hinted at in some other critically acclaimed recording. This is coupled with a mixed orchestral collection including the Unfinished Symphony from live concerts on BBC Legends.

Last but not least, I must remind people of the pioneering recordings made by Sibelius's friend and musical collaborator Robert Kajanus. This is probably the closest we can be sure was Sibelius's own style of performance. The composer recommended Kajanus for these early thirties EMI premiere recordings, which were subventioned by the Finnish government. The Symphonies recorded were 1, 2, 3, and 5. Only the Fifth is bedevilled by any problems, in the playing and as a recording, so if you see these, do not hesitate. They are splendid, and something of a corrective to some more modern styles of performance, under the circumstances.

All the performances I mention were made by artists who directly consulted Sibelius about how the works should be played. Given the role of the gramophone I think this is important, especially as they contain such compelling performances even though all but the Barbirolli set is likely to be viewed as historical in many ways ...

ATB from George

Correction to the above: Beecham's splendid performance of the Fourth was done before 1939 for EMI in London with the LPO, and the 1948 recording I was thinking of is the Sixth Symphony with the RPO, recorded by EMI for RCA and issued in UK by EMI...

Sorry about that. It just struck me reading back over that.

ATB from George

I don't know what it is about Rattle - objectively he's marvelous, but there isn't one of his recordings I've played more than twice.

Every time there's a Sibelius thread I always point people in the direction of Maazel's set with the Vienna Philharmonic, so here we go again! It's cheap, amazing, and the orchestral playing is the 8th Wonder! It is also highly original and striking.

I gather the composer himself admired Karajan, and so do I.

EW

Thanks all - I'm glad I asked!n Didn't think to check Tam's Sibelius thread. Off to ponder other options now...