Sibelius: The Symphonies
|
Our Price: $23.98 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $12.99 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Sibelius: The Symphonies
Free Music Review: Outstanding Sibelius
Hit: 5 Stars
People talk about "desert island" lists, but "lived with" lists impress me more. I've lived with the Maazel/VPO Sibelius set for decades, and I still listen to these recordings frequently. After hearing many other performances and interpretations of these symphonies, Maazel's interpretations not only hold up, but almost always exceed them for insight, energy and emotion. I have yet to hear better performances of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th symphonies; the 3rd and 6th are also very good. The sound is fine. At this price, there is no reason to hesitate -- you will enjoy these CDs for a long, long time.Free Music Review: A Primer for New Sibelians
Hit: 5 Stars
Two things: if you are someone who pursues a lot of different recordings of all the famous symphonies, then this is one of your stops. More than likely--as a taster of different readings--you'll find it mixed. The Gramophone Guide praises the Fourth and Seventh in this set. But just about anybody, especially people who aren't that familiar with Sibelius' music, or who don't plan on getting more than one version of each, can enjoy all these performances.
Maazel is a steady hand: he pushes for some definite lines in the music, while cutting back on the "will-o-wisps" aspect. That's not to say the playing is heavy-handed, it isn't. But the emphasis is on themes, rather than mood. Yet mood prevails, especially in the Fourth, which is appropriately mysterious and dark.
The advantage of Maazel's way with Sibelius is that he will make it more accessible for new Sibelius listeners. So I recommend this set for these folks: if you don't yet know your Sibelius, this is for you.
Free Music Review: Peaks and lows!
Hit: 4 Stars
I bought this set due my huge respect for Sibelius music. The combined presence of that beloved Orchestra and Lorin Maazel were two great poles of attraction, but at the end the final result was -pitifully- quite irregular.
Let me put on this way; Maazel is outstanding in the First Symphony with two important references; De Sabata New york and Stokowski with the Royal Philharmonic (1977); the Second belongs to Anthony Collins (forget about it any other recording ever made; this is a supreme musical document); the Third has in Collins another serious contender, the Fourth has several and succesful performances: the sublime version of Tomas Beecham, Segerstam, Leonard Bernstein and Ashkenazy.
The Five is weak, and the jewel of the crown is the Sixth Symphony. The Seventh finds Koussevitzkly and Beecham again.
But for all Sibelius fans it is absolutely recommended to make their own conclusions.
Free Music Review: Exhilarating Sibelius recordings
Hit: 4 Stars
Having bought supposedly "legendary" and "landmark" Sibelius recordings before and been sorely disappointed, I must confess to having misgivings as soon as I'd pressed the 'order' button for this set. Would all the praise turn out to be the usual hyperbole? I shouldn't have worried...There's a real sense of excitement in these recordings and they are full of vitality and character. The Vienna players bring obvious enthusiasm and drive to these wonderful works but there's great subtlety and a deep understanding of the music too. So much so that just hearing them play the 1st (a performance that crackles with an energy that matches the vitality and invention of the writing) reminded me of the awe I felt when I first discovered Sibelius several years ago, and I don't think any CDs I've bought since my first purchase of these symphonies has had that effect.
I'd agree with most in saying that the highlights are the 4th and 7th - the latter performance really capturing the epic sweep and intense beauty of this masterpiece. In passing, is there anything more sublime in all music than the first 10 minutes or so of Sibelius' 7th (and the remaining 10 minutes are pretty good too)? The 1st and the 5th deserve very high praise as well. The 5th is a work I've always admired more than enjoyed but this account grips me from the first note to the last chord. I gather that true aficianados of the 5th have reservations about it, however. Sadly, the 6th is a big disappointment: after a very beautiful opening section it's ruined by very fast tempi in the inner movements and some very rough-hewn playing, and sound, indeed. The first movement of the 3rd is also taken at breakneck speed but still manages to be a rewarding performance.
True, the '60s sound is a bit on the bright side, very occasionally even coarse, and the discs are not completely free of muddled playing and even a little questionable intonation, but these are rare blemishes so don't be put off. You can hardly go wrong at this price anyway, can you?
My only caveat would be that I wouldn't really recommend this as your only source of these symphonies - some of the performances are a bit idiosyncratic by current standards for that. Get some good modern recordings as well. For very little money you can't beat Adrian Leaper's superb cycle on Naxos or indeed his later recordings for Arte Nova; both of these contain 7ths that - sorry, purists - leave even Mr Maazel's in the shade. Petri Sakari, also on Naxos, is a good bet too, if a little over praised. But do invest in this excellent little box.
Free Music Review: didn't even know all of these symphonies, but they're gems!!
Hit: 5 Stars
I absolutely ADORE the middle CD with 2 and 3 on it... so I usually overlisten to just that one. But while reading the book version of Star Trek V one day, I listened to all seven symphonies in a row. What fun! This is a really great recording. And I am superpicky b/c I like my romantics/postromantics to be just PERFECT, not too fast but not too lugubrious.In short, this is a good bet for Sibbe ;-)