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Sibelius complete symphonies

33K views 131 replies 64 participants last post by  TwoFlutesOneTrumpet 
#1 ·
I don't have a complete set of Sibelius symphonies, and I wonder which one you recommend?
 
#115 ·
Just starting with Sibelius.

The only cycle i have is Barbirolli - Halle Orchestra and so far i like it.

And i have 2 albums (Symphony 1 and Symphony 2) by Santtu-Matias Rouvali and The Gotenburg Symphony. I believe nobody mentioned Santtu-Matias Rouvali in this thread so far. Anyone listened to these albums?
 
#116 · (Edited)
Just starting with Sibelius.

The only cycle i have is Barbirolli - Halle Orchestra and so far i like it.
And for good reason; it's a distinguished set.

And i have 2 albums (Symphony 1 and Symphony 2) by Santtu-Matias Rouvali and The Gotenburg Symphony. I believe nobody mentioned Santtu-Matias Rouvali in this thread so far. Anyone listened to these albums?
I've been very curious about these, but have not heard them. I saw that Hurwitz bashed them harshly, but if anything that's a point in their favor. Like Procrustes of Greek myth, Hurwitz reflexively trashes any performances that stray even slightly from his arbitrary, narrowly-defined preferences, which of course like Procrustes's bed are absolutely objective...
 
#121 ·
For a consistent box-set without the need of getting individual recordings I would recommend the Bergund/ BSO or Segerstam/HSO but that would no fun.
My favourite individual recording are:

Kullervo: Berglund/BSO
Lemminkaïnen: Paavo Järvi
1. Maazel/VPO
2. Barbirolli/RPO
3. Kamu/Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
4. Sanderling/BSO
5. Vanska \ Lahti SO
6. Karajan/BPO
7. Segerstam/ HSO

What i fascinating is, the same names do keep creeping up.
 
#122 ·
The one I always return to is Berglund in Bournemouth. Just about every symphony is exactly how I want it to sound. A perfect balance of the lean Nordic sound and a more full bodied Romantic style. Damn, what a conductor. I finally ordered the Ashkenazy/Philharmonia set, it's en route to me now. The other one I have is Sakari/Iceland on Naxos, which is also really good. Kind of the same style of Vänskä/Lahti, but I like it better.
 
#124 · (Edited)
Hmm, I'm not sure the Barbirolli set is universally loved by everyone. For once, I slightly agree with Hurwitz (although I'm nowhere as dismissive as him) regarding the Barbirolli set. Although I don't dislike it I find many of the performances too slow and some of the playing of my hometown orchestra (the Halle) is sometimes quite ropey (but I blame Barbirolli for some of that). As I said, I don't think it's a 'bad' set but I much prefer others for a complete cycle. One of the cycles that many rate on here and critically is the Berglund / Bournemouth set (see above). Very few people have a bad word to say about it and it often turns up cheap secondhand on cd. I paid peanuts for that cycle (£3) yet I return to it often.
 
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