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?
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...
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.
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.
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.
Pretty good. Ashkenazy was how I got into Sibelius (a twofer with symphonies 3, 5, 6, 7, Tapiola and En Saga).
Reliable performances, maybe not the most exciting ones but very well played by the Philharmonia. That En Saga is one of the best on disk.
Currently getting huge amounts out of Segerstam's Helsinki set, debatably the best I have heard, whilst not knocking my affection and admiration for the other sets I love.
And actually, for me, Ashkenazy is very good indeed. ^^^^
Anyone got any thoughts on his earlier Chandos set, with the Royal Danish?
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