BaL 5.01.13 - Sibelius: Symphony no. 2 in D

[Barbirollians]

RPO/Barbirolli for me too . Stupendous

Have a very soft spot however for the deleted Philharmonia/Kletzki .

I also like the RCA LSO/Davis but have always been disappointed by the Boston .

The Bournemouth Berglund set looks a must buy .

[Nick Armstrong]

Have a very soft spot however for the deleted Philharmonia/Kletzki .

This is the one my parents had at home on LP, they loved it. Has it ever been on CD?

[cloughie]

This is the one my parents had at home on LP, they loved it. Has it ever been on CD?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mahler-Sibelius-Rimsky-Korsakov-Tchaikovsky-Schubert/dp/B000002SC4/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1357056331&sr=1-3

A conductor double - getting more expensive!

[Nick Armstrong]

Cheers cloughie, was about to search! Bit steep ain't it... It'll appear cheaper somewhere soon (Brilliant Classics etc) and I'll spit if I shell out more than £20 now and it pops up for 3 quid next week...

[cloughie]

Cheers cloughie, was about to search! Bit steep ain't it... It'll appear cheaper somewhere soon (Brilliant Classics etc) and I'll spit if I shell out more than £20 now and it pops up for 3 quid next week...

I bought a few of the series - some interesting contents for reasonable prices when they came out including the Kletzki - a coductor I've long admired eg his RK Scheh... and Tchaik 6.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Symphonies-1-3-Kletzki-Po/dp/B000003XIV/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1357057188&sr=1-1

is a good companion disc to the Sib 2 albeit in mono.

[verismissimo]

Aside from the excellent Vanska and the VPO/Maazel, both listed, I have two nla - Hannikainen with the Sinfonia of London (late 1950s?) and Dorati with the Stockholm Philharmonic (1967).

I'll enjoy re-listening.

[verismissimo]

Oh, and I've got LSO/Monteux. Probably my winner?

[Barbirollians]

Monteux just re-appeared on Eloquence. The Kletzki artist profile set I picked up second -hand - the Mahler 4 is equally superb with Emmy Loose a delight in the finale.

Shame that Kletzki occasionally cut works he recorded like Manfred and Mahler 1 . An Icon set is however well overdue of his EMI recordings.

[Petrushka]

Go for it. PLEASE!

HS

Am I correct in thinking that you are playing on this set, HS?

[verismissimo]

Kajanus a revelation.

[Barbirollians]

Not an impressive BAL . The Barbirolli " had a lot going for it " but then was ignored thereafter for reasons I could not hear as a taxi hooted just outside the window ! The LSO Live Davis version she chose has a rather harsh recording sound to my ears creditable performance as it is I prefer the RCA Davis version. Liked the Collins though . Didn't hear Monteux even get a mention .

The RPO/Barbirolli extract was the highlight of everything she played - and remains a clear No1 for me .

[pastoralguy]

Well, for me, the SNO under Gibson got a credible mention so that's a result in itself!

I enjoyed the BAL and feel that the LSO/Davies is a worthy winner although I do agree that any LSO Live recording is going to have compromised sound quality.

[Barbirollians]

Well, for me, the SNO under Gibson got a credible mention so that's a result in itself!

I enjoyed the BAL and feel that the LSO/Davies is a worthy winner although I do agree that any LSO Live recording is going to have compromised sound quality.

The extract she played at the end - to me showed all that was wrong with the recording and frankly was a bit of a let down as far as the performance was concerned . An odd choice to my ears .

Did she even discuss his earlier versions ? I cannot remember hearing a word about them ?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The extract she played at the end - to me showed all that was wrong with the recording and frankly was a bit of a let down as far as the performance was concerned . An odd choice to my ears .

Did she even discuss his earlier versions ? I cannot remember hearing a word about them ?

No - as in other recent BaLs where there are so many available recordings, she seems to have pre-selected about 10 versions and used the programme to whittle down to Davis. Her chief criterion seems to have been the best performances; recorded sound was (IIRC) restricted to a single comment on the Timpani balance in the Collins recording.

[rank_and_file]

This was Erica Jeals’ first attempt to irritate me with her review of the recordings of the Sibelius 2nd symphony. It makes me groan when reviewers ram subjective views down our ears, tell us what to listen for, and spend time on an extra drum stroke, but refuse to let us hear why she thought it so wrong? As for any comparisons - were there any, and so many were far too short? Correct me if I am wrong, bit her choice, the LPO/Davies version was only introduced at the very end - we heard no other excerpts from recollection. Whilst I agree that the ending of the symphony should (and does) move us, the Davies version did not to this listener, as listening in FM the Optimod sound compression system had throttled it to death. In any event, most of the Conductors she played excerpts from can hardly get the long closing coda wrong.

I had never heard of her, and googling returned a youngish looking woman who is (a) the music critic of the Guardian, a paper I rarely buy. No idea of her background but her presentation was akin to a music teacher looking for praise from her students. I bet you that listeners did not know Decca had worked on recordings that enabled the allies to track German U boats from their screw sound. What it had to do with the available recordings is beyond me, but, wow, isn’t Miss clever! A programme almost devoted to the clever Jeal who struggles with the proper use of the English language - pity about Sibelius. I will stick with my Beecham and Kletzi versions.