Storgards: Complete Sibelius Symphony Box Set

[Beef Oven!]

Tempting, but I've acquired too many Sibelius cycles - normally one new one per year, so I think I'll give it a miss. Good price, though.

[Alison]

Always had a penchant for buying sets of complete symphonies. The thud of a bigger pack on the doormat, all those lovely decisions about order of listening, just a sense of fullness and fulfilment .....

I have resisted this set until now.

[EdgeleyRob]

Always had a penchant for buying sets of complete symphonies. The thud of a bigger pack on the doormat, all those lovely decisions about order of listening, just a sense of fullness and fulfilment .....

I have resisted this set until now.

Depends who wrote the symphonies chuck

[Dave2002]

I thought the BAL mentioned a surround sound version - though perhaps that was something else - perhaps Rosenkavalier. The Sibelius set does at least appear to be available in a higher resolution format, which may sound better - http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Deta...=CHAN%2010809M - though it does cost more, and one has to have a way of playing the download back which would exploit the hopefully better audio quality.

[visualnickmos]

Depends who wrote the symphonies chuck

Even more to the point; who's 'rattling' them out

[Beef Oven!]

Depends who wrote the symphonies chuck

Sibelius, one of your favourites?

[BBMmk2]

That section in CD review I will have to hear again soon. Was a rather good one.

[Nick Armstrong]

They did sound ryddu good, didn't they!

Oh, you lucky, lucky ...

My own Debit card is saying "Go on, ferney: you know you want to!"

Ferns each of your contributions on this thread 'speaks aloud' my own thoughts... I caught up today with the Scandi-section of yesterday's CD Review, and found it very very tempting! A pity there were no extracts from 4, 5 & 6 (I suppose they couldn't play everything) and I'm slightly wary of extracts which sound crisp and tempting on CD Review - I was taken in by the extracts from the Paavo Jarvi/Bremen LvB symphonies which I found sounded rather trim and silly when I got them home

However... the brass sounded electrifyingly good, and the presence of the timps remarkable - maybe too much, pastor? And didn't the strings sound comparatively anonymous, even swamped sometimes? Because you are clearly familiar with the set...

Being a big Sibelius fan, I bought them the day they were released. I think they're superb and all that was said this morning was true. My one reservation is the first movt. transition into the 'scherzo' section where there gear changes are, IMHO, just a little clunky. (Not a patch on Karajan, Davis or Gibson).

But I would wholeheartedly recommend them.

Reading 'fifth' for 'first' there, I'm slightly worried about the fifth then... it's got to be right, and often people muck it up! (Actually, of the others you mention, I always felt Davis didn't 'get' the fifth in the way I hear it - he said, like a pompous arse .... Karajan was one of my half dozen first and much treasured cassettes at Uni, much played and loved... and subsequently, Vanska / Lahti is the one for me in this piece)

OH..... what to do?!?!? Like Beefy I don't need any more!! But....



Good discussion about them on CD Review though. Compelling listening!

(btw I think the 'surround sound' discussion was about the BIS disc from Vanska... But the Storgards recordings are available on 'lossless CD' and 'studio master' download quality via the Chandos site.)

Actually that's another thing - Chandos recordings always SOUND so BLOODY GOOD on my system....

[Petrushka]

...the presence of the timps remarkable

This alone would make me sit up and take notice. Is there another composer apart from Beethoven who wrote so well for the timps? They are crucial in Sibelius and while I'm hardly in the market for yet another cycle I could be tempted.

[Nick Armstrong]

This alone would make me sit up and take notice. Is there another composer apart from Beethoven who wrote so well for the timps? They are crucial in Sibelius and while I'm hardly in the market for yet another cycle I could be tempted.

Yes me too! - love a nice tight prominent timp part, esp in Sibelius.... I just wondered if they almost dominated to a fault, or whether it was the DAB radio I heard the extracts on... No 1 sounded almost like a concerto for Timpani and Orchestra...

[LeMartinPecheur]

Is there another composer apart from Beethoven who wrote so well for the timps? They are crucial in Sibelius and while I'm hardly in the market for yet another cycle I could be tempted.

I don't generally do symphony-cycles but have somehow accumulated three Sibeliuses (Collins, Barbirolli, Berglund/BSO), plus at least three other single versions of each symph. (In the case of the 2nd a lot more...)

So why am I still tempted by the prospect of close-up (better, well-defined) timps?

[Nick Armstrong]

So why am I still tempted by the prospect of close-up (better, well-defined) timps?

I know!!

[BBMmk2]

These sets of Storgards and Vanska do sound good?

[Dave2002]

These sets of Storgards and Vanska do sound good?

I hadn't realised that Vänskä has re-recorded these symphonies with the Minnesota orchestra, and that's why that version is available as an SACD and in surround sound. I have the Lahti version which I downloaded - the performances are very good, though it seems that Kamu is now doing things all over again with the Lahti orchestra.

I find it a bit odd that Storgaard's version has been recorded in higher definition, and not available in surround, but that the disc version - normal CD is not the highest quality. Perhaps there's not a lot in this, but maybe there should be issues on Blu Ray, DVD, DVD-A or SACD. Having the highest quality versions only available via download just doesn't seem right to me.

Personally I still think there are merits in having some form of physical storage for music releases. If each symphony takes up a Gbyte or more, then downloads may occur additional costs for the data transfers, plus take time. If the recording companies don't want to put out disc formats, then surely they could provide a decent package with a USB memory. 8 or 16 Gbyte flash "drives" should be big enough to store hi-res lossless versions, and also be cheap enough, and they could provide a reasonable booklet to go with such to make a much better product.

[Nick Armstrong]

"Go on, ferney: you know you want to!"

The cry of "Go on, Cali: you know you want to!" was too strong...

B*ll*cks to it - just downloaded the hi-res lossless version

The urge to have it on the big HiFi via the Airport Express, and in the car on a business trip this week, banished my caution!

downloads may ... take time

You're not kidding. It took most of the Roland Garros men's final !

But it's now nestling on iTunes and on the iPod

Further reports to follow.

Bloody expensive CD Review this week!!