Customer Reviews

Sibelius: The 7 Symphonies; Finlandia; Kullervo; etc. [Box Set]

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This 7 CD set includes all of Sir Colin Davis' second Sibelius symphony cycle recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra in the 1990's, along with almost all of Sibelius' other major orchestral works, most notably his tone poems (Some of these were recorded as recently as 2000 or 2001.). These are impressive, vibrant performances replete with exquisite playing by the London Symphony Orchestra. Critics have praised Davis' first Sibelius symphony cycle with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as among the best; without question, his second symphony cycle is not only just as fine, but comes with better quality digital sound (However, with respect to sound, the best Sibelius symphony cycle that he's recorded may be the recent one with the LSO Live CD label.). I especially enjoyed the recordings of Sibelius' 2nd, 5th and 7th symphonies, and the tone poem En Saga, but all of Sibelius' works in this CD set are quite fine. Those interested in hearing music made by Sir Colin Davis, widely regarded as our foremost interpreter of Sibelius, with one of the world's greatest orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra, will not be disappointed with this CD set.

I generally agree with the other reviewers that Davis's second Sibelius cycle makes a fine choice for those on a limited budget who want a reliable survey of Sibelius's most important orchestral music. The LSO play well for Davis, and many listeners may like their rather lean tone better than I do. Arguably one does not need a plush sonority for music inspired by bleak nordic landscapes; but after hearing Karajan and the BPO, Ormandy's Philadelphians, or Davis's earlier cycle with the BSO, one senses that something is missing with the LSO. The brass, in particular, play with a distractingly nasal timbre--at least to my ears. Now these defects (if they are defects) may well be due to the engineers not the players; nevertheless, for listeners who crave more color in Sibelius the rather grey wash provided by the LSO under Davis doesn't quite satisfy.

That having been said, I must note that the Third, Sixth and Seventh symphonies all receive superior interpretations here (as they did in Davis's BSO Sibelius cycle), and many of the Tone Poems are quite good, even if they don't efface memories of Beecham, Boult and (much more recently) Järvi with the Gothenberg orchestra (now housed in a generous and very inexpensive "Trio" from DG). I'm ambivalent about Davis's "Kullervo" Symphony. Taken on its own, this performance is quite haunting; but when compared with the truly great interpretations of this still-underrated score (Berglund, Vänskä to name two), Davis seems a wee bit tepid. Indeed, boldness is precisely what I miss in Davis's latterday Sibelius performances: There's plenty of nuance, and much atmosphere, but little of the heroism I associate with the Finnish lore that inspired the composer.

So even though you will probably not regret purchasing this box, I would urge you to consider some alternatives, such as Davis's earlier set (a greater sense of heroism there plus the refulgent playing of the BSO), Berglund/EMI, Barbirolli/EMI (despite some untidy playing and inconsistent sonics); or, better yet, avoid a single-conductor-led symphony cycle and try one or more of the following: Ormandy in 2 & 7 (Sony); Bernstein in 5 (Sony); Karajan in 4-7 (DG or EMI); Maazel in 1, 4, 7 (Decca); Kamu in 3 (if you can find it); Sakari in 3; Koussevitsky in 2, 5, 7 (historic, from 78 rpm era, on various labels); Beecham in 6 & 7 (also historic, but more modern sonics). Mix and match these and then add on Järvi's three-CD box of Tone Poems and miscellaneous orchestral pieces, and you will have a satisfying basic Sibelius collection.

At less than 20GBP, this set offers a most excellent initiation to the world of Johan Sibelius s'masterly work. A nice collection, that includes the symphonies (1--7) with important compositions such as the ever fascinating Kulervo and myriads of "TonePoems". The L.S.O play together with dedication, the sound and direction by sir Colin Davis increase the impression of greatness in the music. I was a little skeptical of the new Davis Kulervo "live", of which I prefer this one on rca, but been of course amazed by the L.S.O.Live powerful versions of symphonies 3 & 7. Otherwise, I generally love this uniformly excellent set, even more so than the earlier cycle in Boston of which I still like, above all, symphonies 5&6. Here, with this rca set, the "highlights" are to be found in symphonies 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6, as well as in a bracing and quite dramatic Kulervo. Among the poems, En Saga and Pohjola really shine along with a wonderful Suite Karelia. Of course everything is not perfection, but who will pretend to be anyway? I recommend highly this important box set, even more than the competitive 5CD Naxos however very good it is. Davis is a master Sibelian, no doubt about that. Kind regards. m.vuriling

This is excellent - it might easily be the set of choice if you are looking for a complete cycle. Colin Davis has recorded two other cycles - an earlier one in Boston, and a later one with the LSO again. The playing on this set, made at the time Davis was closely associated with the orchestra, is outstanding, and RCA's engineering is also fine, making the most of LSO's distinctively clear tone at the time. The Boston set is very good, but not quite as responsive to Davis as his own LSO, and his interpretation had developed. The later LSO set was recorded in the less favourable acoustic of the Barbican. Davis has also recorded other versions of some of the symphonies - an excellent Symphony No 2 in Dresden, for example - but even in that case, this version is the most effective. This set is conveniently packaged and presented but something seems to have gone wrong in the choice of cover photo on the box - Finland is a land of lakes and forests, and the mountain scene is about as little like Finland as could be imagined - a quick online check revealed that the photo was taken in California! Red faces in the prestentation department, but it shouldn't put buyers off.

Apart from somewhat subdued dynamic range from CD the music is pleasent and well performed. A satisfying collection of Sebelius music. Amazon delivered quickly and in good condition.

These were the first recordings I heard of much of Sibelius' music, and they left me with the idea that it was boring and emotionally shallow music. Here, Davis has produced 7 discs of an orchestra sounding like they are bored with repertoire. It took me over a year to hear how incredible most of this work truly is. These recordings are simply a disservice to the music! Listen to it right, get exciting and emotionally invested recordings of this music (Suggestions: Segerstam with the Helsinki PO, Szell with the Concertgebouw for Symphony No. 2).

Superlative seven-CDS hyper-bargain bid from BMG can't never beat that!!Over-all an allround best buy If you snooze you lose