Sibelius Symphonies - which Colin Davis cycle do you prefer?

[Barbirollians]

I see in Classics Reconsidered in Gramophone this month that GR and AA rave about Davis's Boston 3 and 6 . I only had the Second from that set on a Silver Line cassette and it did not blow me away . I am tempted now to ctahc up on the cycle which remains available on CD.

I recall Robert Layton was very complimentary about his RCA set which I bought and have enjoyed but this now seems out of favour . I then really liked KUllervo and the Third from his final LSO Live set but though they were good none of the others really thrilled me .

Which set do you prefer ? Or do you dislike them all ?

[visualnickmos]

I see in Classics Reconsidered in Gramophone this month that GR and AA rave about Davis's Boston 3 and 6 . I only had the Second from that set on a Silver Line cassette and it did not blow me away . I am tempted now to ctahc up on the cycle which remains available on CD.

I recall Robert Layton was very complimentary about his RCA set which I bought and have enjoyed but this now seems out of favour . I then really liked KUllervo and the Third from his final LSO Live set but though they were good none of the others really thrilled me .

Which set do you prefer ? Or do you dislike them all ?

His Boston set is by far my personal fave. I have listened to the RCA set (LSO) and it fell far short of Boston. His live LSO set is very good, but the accoustics are below par, which takes the shine off this set.

[pastoralguy]

I picked up his Sibelius 3 & 7 on LSO Live for 50p today and thought it was very good indeed. I know the Barbican takes a lot of stick re its acoustics, ( or lack of them!), but having visited recently it’s possible to ignore the carping and simply imagine actually being there.

Having listened to the cd, I posted it off to Mrs. PG’s Godmother who was with us to hear the London Symphony Orchestra recently. She doesn’t know these works at all so I’m sure she’ll enjoy this cd.

[Barbirollians]

I picked up his Sibelius 3 & 7 on LSO Live for 50p today and thought it was very good indeed. I know the Barbican takes a lot of stick re its acoustics, ( or lack of them!), but having visited recently it’s possible to ignore the carping and simply imagine actually being there.

Having listened to the cd, I posted it off to Mrs. PG’s Godmother who was with us to hear the London Symphony Orchestra recently. She doesn’t know these works at all so I’m sure she’ll enjoy this cd.

Its very fine - when on BAL last the rather surprising reviewer of the Third was RO and he chose this performance as his library winner.

[Pulcinella]

I think I've mentioned before that I was given the Boston set on LPs as a thank you for some babysitting when I lived in Canada by friends who went to Boston (and a BSO concert: I don't know if it included one of the symphonies or not) for the weekend. I was disappointed by the sound on their Philips Duo releases, finding it rather dull.
Have later releases been remastered, I wonder.

[smittims]

I was very impressed by his 1990s performances of the Sibelius symphonies following his rapprochement with the LSO, and the subsequent studio recordings on RCA Victor remain my favourites, except for certain individual historic recordings (Mravinsky's 7th, Beecham's 2nd, Kajanus' 3rd, etc.).

I did enjoy the 1970s Philips set with the Boston S.O and I still have all the LPs with their wonderful Edvard Munch paintings on the covers.

I was surprised to see the more recent LSO Live set called the finest ever. Yes, the performances are very good , better than those by many other conductors, but, as others have said, the sound is not so good. I wonder just what it is about these Barbican recordings which fails to sparkle.

When I was a boy starting to listen to classical music Colin Davis was in the first phase of his fame and he was on the radio (and TV) quite a lot, and conducting the sort of music I wanted to hear then: not just Berlioz and Tippett, but things he didn't later perpetuate on disc: Rachmaninov 1st (tremendous Prom performance from 1969) and the Vaughan Williams F minor. As a result I probably overrated him for some years (e.g. I don't now think his Berlioz was as good as Charles Munch). But I retain an admiration for him as a whole.

[Petrushka]

I agree with smittims that the best Colin Davis Sibelius cycle is the RCA box made in the 1990s with the LSO. I have all three sets and agree with other posters that the Boston and LSO Live recordings are hampered by less than ideal sound. There are no such problems with the RCA set and I'd rate that one the best overall.

Having said that, I'd rate the Helsinki PO/Berglund set as my top choice with Davis second

[Barbirollians]

I agree with smittims that the best Colin Davis Sibelius cycle is the RCA box made in the 1990s with the LSO. I have all three sets and agree with other posters that the Boston and LSO Live recordings are hampered by less than ideal sound. There are no such problems with the RCA set and I'd rate that one the best overall.

Having said that, I'd rate the Helsinki PO/Berglund set as my top choice with Davis second

Interesting critical revisionism seems to have downgraded that RCA set . I bought them all and enjoyed them a lot - RL definitely gave them very good reviews in Gramophone. Perhaps that dull sound issue explains why I was not blown away by his Sibelius 2 - it was the first performance I owned and could not really see the fuss - but then I bought the Chesky CD of RPO/Barbirolli !

[Petrushka]

Interesting critical revisionism seems to have downgraded that RCA set . I bought them all and enjoyed them a lot - RL definitely gave them very good reviews in Gramophone. Perhaps that dull sound issue explains why I was not blown away by his Sibelius 2 - it was the first performance I owned and could not really see the fuss - but then I bought the Chesky CD of RPO/Barbirolli !

I care very little to not at all about 'critical revisionism' and a good recording will always remain a good recording. If they do the business for you that's all that matters. I take little notice of critics these days.

[richardfinegold]

The RCA set bombed in the marketplace. It sold around 800 copies after a pre release marketing by RCA and I remember reading an article in the NYT then the record executives were citing that debacle as a harbinger of doom for the Classical Music industry in general. I had one disc from that set and remember being disappointed.

The earlier Boston set was my gateway into most of the Sibelius symphonies. The recording quality is very good and I played the lps quite a bit. The LSO Live set sounds awful, even in SACD, and the performances are perfunctory at best.
I bought the Boston set when it was released on CD but it has been superseded for me by numerous other sets, some of which pre dated it (Barbirolli/Halle). I could name my current favorites but for me Davis has become a bottom of the pack Sibelian

[Barbirollians]

The RCA set bombed in the marketplace. It sold around 800 copies after a pre release marketing by RCA and I remember reading an article in the NYT then the record executives were citing that debacle as a harbinger of doom for the Classical Music industry in general. I had one disc from that set and remember being disappointed.

The earlier Boston set was my gateway into most of the Sibelius symphonies. The recording quality is very good and I played the lps quite a bit. The LSO Live set sounds awful, even in SACD, and the performances are perfunctory at best.
I bought the Boston set when it was released on CD but it has been superseded for me by numerous other sets, some of which pre dated it (Barbirolli/Halle). I could name my current favorites but for me Davis has become a bottom of the pack Sibelian

Is that 800 in the US or worldwide . It seems extraordinarily low considering it was released over four separate CDs .

[jayne lee wilson]

I could't choose one - I would pick and choose separate performances between them: the Boston for its orchestral excellence, freshness and sense of mutual discovery; the RCA/LSO for the deeper insights - haunting, lingering, drawn-out poetic qualities and fine, atmospheric sound; the LSO Live for its symphonic grip and tautness and dynamic drama (Davis at his most Berglundian, perhaps; shorn of excess).
The Barbican would be no-one's favorite acoustic, but it sounds well enough off CD here, especially the Tony Faulkner productions: the very plain-ness suits the musical approach, really. Space enough, the strings retain their sweetness, the bass its groundswell and punch, in No.6.
Good sound also on the revitalising SACD of 5 & 7 of the Boston set, if you can find it.

Berglund (Bournemouth SO or especially the revelatory COE, not Helsinki so much), Sanderling and Vanska in times past, but now I'm more interested in what those young guns Mäkelä and especially Rouvali have to tell us. They have begun a new chapter in Sibelius interpretation.

[richardfinegold]

Blomstedt/SFSO, Bergland/Bournemouth, both the Vanska sets, Makela, even Saraste/Helsinki have displaced the Davis/Boston set for me, even though I have affection for the latter as it introduced me to many of these works. I like what I have heard of Sanderling. Bernstein is the one major disappointment for me.

[smittims]

I'm with Jayne here in being unable to choose only one 'best' set; I think it's because these wonderful symphonies are so many-sided that, like Beethoven, no one conductor or orchestra will master them all.

I remember enjoying Berglund's Bournemouth set which appeared around the same time as Davis' Boston discs, but I think his later Helsinki set better still. No-one's mentioned Maazel/Vienna Phil. These were highly respected for their playing and recording but I think they became outdated as interpretations . And going back to mono, no true Sibelian would want to be without Collins and Kajanus.

Karajan, anyone? He had several goes at these symphonies though I think he really only liked the last four. But I think his late '70's First is the best of all, a stereo replacement for the otherwise superb Collins.

[jayne lee wilson]

I'm with Jayne here in being unable to choose only one 'best' set; I think it's because these wonderful symphonies are so many-sided that, like Beethoven, no one conductor or orchestra will master them all.

I remember enjoying Berglund's Bournemouth set which appeared around the same time as Davis' Boston discs, but I think his later Helsinki set better still. No-one's mentioned Maazel/Vienna Phil. These were highly respected for their playing and recording but I think they became outdated as interpretations . And going back to mono, no true Sibelian would want to be without Collins and Kajanus.

Karajan, anyone? He had several goes at these symphonies though I think he really only liked the last four. But I think his late '70's First is the best of all, a stereo replacement for the otherwise superb Collins.

Never find your way to the sublime COE with Berglund? Paavo in Helsinki was in many ways the Bournemouth set on a more disciplined orchestra, but almost a self-parody in its plain-spoken truths; some of that early thrill has subsided, the results just too ascetic again for me. But the heavenly (and musically very malleable) COE (variable in size according to the work) reawaken the excitement and freshness, and as with their Brahms Symphonies together, the love affair breathes out a musical renewal.

No cycle is without some problems, and the 3rd (intriguingly, probably the best from the Helsinki set) doesn't quite fulfil expectation here, but (with excellent sound) it is a Sibelian rapprochement of compelling fascination, which seems to fall off the musical radar too often.