Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5

Jean Sibelius (Composer), Herbert Blomstedt (Conductor), San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Herbert Blomstedt
• Composer: Jean Sibelius
• Audio CD (May 10, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records / Decca
• Run Time: 67.5 minutes
• ASIN: B00000E467
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,346 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63: I. Tempo Molto Moderato, Quasi Adagio

2. Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63: II. Allegro Molto Vivace

3. Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63: III. Il Tempo Largo

4. Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63: IV. Allegro

5. Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82: Tempo Molto Moderato - Allegro Moderato - Presto

6. Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82: Andante Mosso, Quasi Allegretto

7. Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82: Allegro Molto - Un Pochettino Largamente

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful Performances, October 10, 2008

By 

D. A Wend (Arlington Heights, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 (Audio CD)

I recently heard Sibelius' Fourth Symphony performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas which led me back to this memorable recording of the symphony by the San Francisco Symphony with their then music direct Herbert Blomstedt.

The Sibelius Fourth is the least popular of his symphonies but it has this dubious distinction not from any defect in the music itself but from the forward-looking aspect of the music: it remains today as problematic as it was when it was written almost 100 years ago. At the time he composed the Fourth, Jean Sibelius had several operations to remove a cancerous tumor from his throat. The music seems an expression of his anguish. The four movements are characterized by somber and grave melodies. Each of the movements ends as if Sibelius had just ceased writing. Even when a lighter tone is developed, as in the second vivace movement it is not true rejoicing and is quickly tempered by a return to the bleak, if not hostile, theme. The heart of the symphony is the slow movement where full expression is given to quiet despair, gradually building in volume to a climax with the full orchestra. The strings dominate the movement with the woodwinds and horns providing development. The Finale begins with a more joyous melody punctuated by a glockenspiel (but here tubular bells are used). After exploring a more heroic melody the music gradually returns to its former mood of bleakness and closes with the strings fading away.

Herbert Blomstedt provides an even tempo for this performance with marvelous playing by the San Francisco Symphony. By contrast, Sir Thomas Beecham adopted much quicker tempi that tend to make the music seem a bit less bleak. The use of tubular bells was rather controversial when this CD appeared and their use does go against the score. It is interesting to hear them but they are a far heavier sound than Sibelius intended.

The Fifth Symphony, with its heroic character, is the antithesis of the Fourth. Sibelius revised his original four movement concept down to three movements, with the scherzo integrated into the first movement. The symphony is one of the most engaging written. The second movement is a charming theme and variations with the theme announced by the flute. The energetic Finale is exhilarating and contains the "swan" melody that is played by the horns after the initial introduction. Sibelius was moved to write this music after watching a flock of swans in flight. This is a masterful performance by the San Francisco Symphony that is beautifully phrases and the recording is absolutely perfect.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Decent performance; black marks for recording engineers, March 30, 2011

By 

Jurgen Lawrenz (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 (Audio CD)

As it happens, the 4th is my favourite Sibelius symphony. This performance: unadventurous, unexciting, though meticulously executed is a testimony more for the excellence of its orchestra than its conductor. Blomstedt paints the whole thing in pastel colours, which I think is contrary to the character of the work, and certainly contrary to those performances that may claim fairly to represent the composer, of which at least four are much to be preferred to the present album (in no particular order Beecham, Karajan, Davis, Ormandy, Maazel, Barbirolli). Indeed, the conductor is somewhat leaden-footed throughout, and as far as the spiritual dimension of the music is concerned, he does not seem to know what it is, nor how to project it. But without such an element in a performance, it is in trouble, namely at the risk of sounding like wallpaper. The 5th Symphony suffers from a similar under-powered approach. All this is bad enough, but the most distasteful issue is the recording engineer's monkey tricks with the aural perspective. When I heard the solo cello at the beginning right in my head, while the double basses seemed to be about 20 metres distant, I almost stopped listening. This treatment, as if the cello was a concert soloist, strikes me as both idiotic and unconscionable. Moreover, the cello is lifted out of the texture in the same way twice more, and then both string soloists again in the finale. In addition, the wide spread of the sound canvas seems to have induced the engineer(s) to continue this game of highlighting, so that various groups seem each to be placed in their own sound cocoon, while the rest of the band sound as if they provide the accompaniment; Whenever bassoons, flutes etc, play solo, they are brought forward. In consequence there is no blending -- absolutely essential to the Sibelius canvas! The effect in the long run is like a Concertante posing as a symphony. You never hear an actual tutti. Frankly, this is a scandal. If this is typical for the whole Sibelius set, I for one will not go near it.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Surprising 4th; lead-footed 5th, September 16, 2010

By 

Stephen Foster (Seattle, WA United States, via Scotland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 (Audio CD)

I didn't come to Sibelius for profundity; I came for pleasant engagement, so the midnight-dark 4th, which I had never before heard, completely surprised and interested me. All of my most-favourite music is at least morose if not downright suicidal (I unsurprisingly adore Gorecki's 3rd), and I can tell that the 4th will become a new favourite as soon as I can get past the fact that - while dark - it displays several of Sibelius' signature tics and mannerisms that I usually associate with lighter works.

Lighter works like the 5th should be. It was a personal favourite back in my salad days, but I hadn't heard it in at least 30 years. I strongly feel that Blomstedt's interpretation here completely and ponderously misses the point, and it will send me scurrying back home to the Scottish National Orchestra and the Sibelius-friendly arms of Sir Alexander Gibson. It's seemingly available here only as unacceptable-quality mp3 download, but at least you can hear how the 5th perhaps should be approached: Sibelius:Symphonies Nos. 2 & 5 (and pairing it with the 2nd is an excellent idea).