Dear George
Thanks for your further thoughts. Boult was a very fine musician, an ultimate professional in the best sense of the word. Barbirolli, though often more indulgent, was also a great conductor. One of my favourite critics is Robert Layton - his writing on Sibelius in particular leads the field.
To collect your observations about Boult, the consummate professional, and Robert Layton, the most significant writer in English [IMHO] on Sibelius, have you ever heard the great live performance from Boult and the BBC SO on BBC Classics CD [now sadly defunct] of the Seventh Symphony in the Royal Festival Hall? This a very tight [almost Toscanini-esque], forward-moving performance that utterly clinches the emotional impact, but never falls into the trap of over-cooking the music in false crescendi or ruined musical balances for excitement.
It is a CD that I am glad to have as it compares very nicely with Beecham [in the HMV studio], or indeed any other recorded performance that I have come across. It has the ability to sound as forward moving and convincing as Kajanus [in symphonies 1, 2, 3 and 5 - all premiere recordings] but with a quality of actual playing that matched Kousevitsky in the Second and Fifth with the Boston symphony Orchestra ... [Also HMV, RCA recordings].
