Favourite Sibelius cycle

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

A very good argument, well put, FHG - but if you already have those favourite interpretations as singles why buy a set containing other conductors' readings of your favourite symphonies?

Well - if it were a set by a performer I admired and didn't already own, and was on sale at a ridiculously cheap price, then I wouldn't hesitate. With Sibelius (or any of the greatest works by the finest composers) I don't have "a favourite" recording - the works are far better (as Schnabel wisely said) than any single performance can communicate. The more insights, the better my "view" of the work.

Besides, in the OP, MrGG specifically asked for advice on complete sets of the Sibelius symphonies.

How much shelf space has the average record collector got?

Ah! But there are very few "average record collectors" on this Forum. (As for my far-from-average record-collecting self, my sole DIY-skills lies in shelving to accommodate books and CDs. Whenever I need more space, I put another shelf up! It's cash I find limited!)

[Roehre]

A very good argument, well put, FHG - but if you already have those favourite interpretations as singles why buy a set containing other conductors' readings of your favourite symphonies?

Although in this instance, I have cited Sibelius as an example, surely the argument must apply to full sets of any composer's symphonic output - or total range of orchestral work for that matter.

How much shelf space has the average record collector got?

HS

Well put HS, plus (for me) the additional arguments that by revisiting works over and over again they become too familiar and you are left with less time to explore other works of the same or by other composers.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Well put HS, plus (for me) the additional arguments that by revisiting works over and over again they become too familiar

Hasn't happened to me, yet - only third-rate works can ever become "over-familiar".

and you are left with less time to explore other works of the same or by other composers.

There is that, of course. (Who is it that has the "I intend to live forever: so far, so good" motto? )

[Petrushka]

Hasn't happened to me, yet - only third-rate works can ever become "over-familiar".


There is that, of course. (Who is it that has the "I intend to live forever: so far, so good" motto? )

Pianorak.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Pianorak.

Of course!

[BBMmk2]

Sibelius Symphonies

With much talk about Sibelius symphonies, I thought it be a good idea to have a separate thread going? I don't know whether admin can gather together existing posts, but with the Rattle cycle concluding tonight, and other threads taking over to discussion, be a good idea hmmmm.

I am just wondering about the LSO Live set of sir Colin Davis's. The other sets, that spring to mind are Rattle/Birmingham and Berglund/Bournemouth. I am surprised that no one has mentioned Osmo Vanska at all?

[Beef Oven!]

More than happy to talk about Sibelius, especially in the 150th anniversary of his birth!

Petrushka said something that resonated with me - "It took me a long time to realise that Sibelius is one of the truly great composers instead of one on the edge of my musical consciousness. These Rattle concerts are confirming this view in a big way"

I always had JS up there as a symphonist , but just 'bubbling under' the top flight of LvB, Haydn, WAM, Bruckner and Mahler (I've never been huge on Schubert) He was 'on the bench' just behind DSCH, just ahead of Tchaikovsky.

Thinking more and more about JS lately, and these marvellous Simon Denis/BPO concerts has really made me think that he is up there with the biggies, now. Bona fide.

[BBMmk2]

Your right there, Beefy. JS has a more subtle approach, imo, with the way he works his marvellous ouevre. Certainly Rattle has made his cycle of these works, in more substantial way. I think there is a case for No.5 being the most popular but quite honestly No.4 has to be there as well, hmmm

[richardfinegold]

I did a thread on the 6th recently.
I have the Vanska cycle on my phone as a cheap download and I have the Minnesota recordings as well. I also have parts of every Davis cycle. My favorite cycle is Barbirolli/Halle, but as with every great Symphonist, I don't think that one Conductor can do equal justice to each Symphony and that individual
Recordings should be purchased.

[BBMmk2]

Ok, for the more discerning amongst us then, with each of the symphonies, what conductor be best?

[Barbirollians]

Not sure about best but the records that have given me the most pleasure are Kletzki in 1-3, Barbirolli's RPO second and his whole Halle set , Berglund's Bournemouth set with much my favourite Kullervo and Sir Colin Davis's RCA set , Szell's sensational Cgebouw Second ,Karajan's chilling EMI Fourth and Ashkenazy's underrated Seventh

[Beef Oven!]

Your right there, Beefy. JS has a more subtle approach, imo, with the way he works his marvellous ouevre. Certainly Rattle has made his cycle of these works, in more substantial way. I think there is a case for No.5 being the most popular but quite honestly No.4 has to be there as well, hmmm

On the fourth, Rattle nailed it last night, IMV. The risk is that a performance can end up as four tone-episodes. Rattle delivered an integrated symphony. Can't explain more than that.

[richardfinegold]

We all have our personal favorites and I have not heard many of the choices out there.

1. Davis/BSO
2. Monteux /LSO
3. Saraste/Helsinki
4. Von K/Berlin
5. Barbiroli
6. Vanska Lahti
7. Blomstedt/S.F
Tapiola Von K

[Beef Oven!]

I did a thread on the 6th recently.
I have the Vanska cycle on my phone as a cheap download and I have the Minnesota recordings as well. I also have parts of every Davis cycle. My favorite cycle is Barbirolli/Halle, but as with every great Symphonist, I don't think that one Conductor can do equal justice to each Symphony and that individual
Recordings should be purchased.

Interestingly, although I have about 300 Mahler and Bruckner CDs combined, I only have one Mahler complete set and four Bruckner complete sets. However, with Sibelius, apart from the Testament Barbirolli 2, some Alexander Gibson odds and sods,and a handful of others, all my Sibelius collection consists of complete/near complete cycles.

[Nick Armstrong]

Ok, for the more discerning amongst us then, with each of the symphonies, what conductor be best?

I've said it before, but for me Vanska does something special with No. 5 which I can't explain but as Beefy says about the Rattle No 4 last night, he makes it cohere and gives it a structure and a meaning which is more than the sum of its parts.

I often like Colin Davis's Sibelius but in No 5, for some mysterious reason, he was at the other end of the scale - his various performances of No 5 always felt oddly 'wrong' somehow.

Then again, I think Colin Davis is the best of all (both Boston and LSO) in No 3. He imparts a hypnotic lilt to the repetitive slow movement that makes it work for me (though the Rattle last night sounded pretty damn good too!)

Don't have a view on the others, I like several recordings. I've never felt I've heard the definitive No 7 yet - no one gives it the 'grunt' in the opening crescendo that I hear in my mind's ear. I'll just have to learn how to conduct, I s'pose!