Customer Reviews

Sibelius: Symphony No. 2

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sir John Barbirolli (along with Jascha Horenstein) was perhaps the most unjustly neglected of the great conductors of the 20th century. For years he recorded with the Halle Orchestra for a small label (which, in spite of the poor sound and flawed playing, yielded several gems, including Vaughan Williams' London Symphony, Elgar's First, Dvorak's Eighth, etc.). It was not until the last decade of his life (1960-70) that the major companies finally gave him the chance he deserved to record the major repertoire with top orchestras. Even then, his EMI recording of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony (one of the greatest ever) had to languish for decades in oblivion until rescued and reissued by the Barbirolli Society and Dutton. And this recording of the Sibelius Second with the Royal Philharmonic was (believe it or not) original made for the Reader's Digest, and available for years only in a boxed set by mail order. It was thanks to an enterprising company like Chesky that this treasurable performance was made available to the general public.

And what a performance! The best tribute one can pay to it is that, no matter how many times you have heard this symphony, and from however many other conductors, Barbirolli lets you hear it as if for the first time, and makes you fall in love with it all over again. Like any other great Barbirolli performance, it is deeply imbued with passion and nobility (no wonder he was the ideal interpreter of Elgar, whose music has nobility ('nobilmente') as its very soul). Witness the noble, grandly spacious climax of the first movement (which makes every other performance seem so ordinary), the deeply expressive and moving slow movement, the exciting third and the triumphantly uplifting finale, sweeping all before it like a tidal wave, and the final peroration is too glorious for words. But the finale is no loud, blustering hymn of victory -- the wistful, dirge-like interlude just before the recapitulation has never been played more touchingly. I read somewhere that this performance was recorded only a few days after the death of Barbirolli's own mother. Perhaps this was a moment that reminded him of his loss. Whatever it was, you will never hear a preformance of Sibelius Second that is so full of warmth and humanity, that sees so deeply into the life of things.

Sir John's understanding of Sibelius is complete, his grip on the composer's intentions undeniable. The music is brought to pristine clarity, with hidden melodic lines boldly forward and thematic unity urgently struck. The balance between grandeur, solemnity and emotional weight are perfectly judged.

Thus, the opening Allegretto masterfully builds to that most beautiful of climaxes--- the exact kind that sends empathetic shivers of joy down the spine!--- and then recedes in the faintest nostalgia. The Andante retains a unique blend of "misterioso" elements inevitably enmeshed with Sibelian romanticism and nationalist fervor. With the utmost command of the score, Barbirolli delves into the Finnish heart as no other.

With the final movements, Vivacissimo and Allegro Moderato, the real tour de force unfolds with sweeping majesty. The transitions within this combined finale are breathtaking: the brass ring out, the strings are full and potently effective. The threads that hold the symphony together are boldly bristling with a compelling unanimity that simply stuns.

Recorded in 1962, under the auspices of Engineer Ken Wilkinson and Producer Charles Gerhardt, Sir John's performance with The Royal Philharmonic is a timeless treasure of immense emotional impact. We owe a debt of gratitude to Chesky Records for committing such a masterwork to CD.

[Running time: 43:54]

Sibelius' Second Symphony is a personal favorite. I have recordings produced by Davis, Vanska, Bernstein, Beecham, Szell, Maazel, Van Karajan, Jarvi, Berglund, Jansons and Ormandy -- nothing else compares to this superb rendition. Relegated for most of his lifetime to a regional orchestra (The Halle) Barbirolli extracts from the magnificent Royal Philharmonic a performance of classic proportion. This recording is one of the finest in the entirety of the catalogue. The sound engineering provided by Chesky Brothers is absolutely superb. If you love great music, great interpretation, great sound and a great performance grab this CD quickly. It is a classic.

THIS version of 1962 is a treasure. Recorded at Walthamstow Town Hall in London, under the supervision of Charles Gerhardt and Ken Wilkinson (Decca), it was part of the famous Treasury of Great Music---a set of LP's featuring the Royal Philharmonic which was made by RCA for Reader's Digest. Audiophiles and music connoisseurs who know are after this grandiose Second from Sibelius, a reading comparable to the greatest---perhaps like those offered by Karajan or Beecham (among a handful of conductors who reached a level of excellence). Many years ago, i've had an old reading of the Second Symphony on LP, with Paul Kletzki (Philharmonia Orchestra, 1955), my first experience with a Sibelius symphony : A dry, cold, "stratospheric" traversal which crosses the line between a sort of "German sounding" Sibelius and that kind of tone we are familiar to with the "flat" sound of the 1966 Barbirolli/Halle. A substantial, really good version---but definitely not for everyone's taste. One of my favorites is an old mono Beecham/LPO recording (live), quite excellent if somewhat lacking in clarity and with narrowed dynamic range. A recording from the early 1930's by Kajanus, also marred by poor sound, documents one of the best and most "authentic" interpretations of the Second Symphony. There's also the terrific Barbirolli recording in NewYork (1940), played with plenty of power, drive and passion. The finale is nothing short of breathtaking in its tremendous flow and propulsive power. There are many other fine Seconds on the market today ; yet, i do not believe any of them can clearly surpass the great deeds of the past nor, let alone, equal this long-lived 1962 RPO.

"Barbirolli's version with the RPO is a performance of stature and is by far the finest of the four versions he committed to disc. There is a thrilling sense of live music-making here and a powerful sense of momentum. A high-voltage account, then, and very well recorded, though the upper strings are slightly drier than they were in the LP version on RCA . . ." - Penguin Guide
*****

When I first started collecting classical music performances almost 30 years ago, I purchased (on vinyl)the Barbirolli reading of Sibelius' 2nd Symphony. Little did I realize at the time what a gem I had purchased. Barbirolli masterfully changes tempo and dynamics in a way that completely communicates the triumphant mood of this symphony's final two movements. Barbirolli also captures the contrasting moods of the first two movements as well. The first movement exhibits a lightness and freshness seldom heard in other performances, while the brooding second movement, simply put, is so mournful, that it enhances the final triumphant movements all the more. Oh, yes, did I mention that The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's playing is both stirring and virtually flawless? This is a performance for the ages. Feel free to cheer after the final notes of this performance fade to silence.

Sibelius symphonies are great towering masterpieces.With Barbirolli in total command the Royal Philharmonic are in terrific form here.I do not want to add anything more to what other reviewers have already commented.I wish to recommend Sir John Barbirolli's complete set of Sibelius Orchestral works with The Halle Symphony Orchestra on the EMI label.Forget the stereotyped statement that The Halle orchestra was a regional one(implying it is not top grade?!!!)and trust your ears only.You will be richly rewarded.Also get Sir John Barbirolli's set of Delius Orchestral works performed by The Halle Orchestra-another marvellous set.
Another Stereotyping I want to debunk is calling Sibelius a Nationalist composer and that his music reflects Finnish landscape,etc,etc.Well I am from India and I can truly vouch that some of his melodies resemble Indian Ragas!Some are reminiscent of the Great Vedic Hymns!I assert from this standpoint that Sibelius is a truly universal composer.If Sibelius is to be called a Finnish composer,I can accept it only if Beethoven is called a German Composer!

My 2 favorite conductors of all time are Leopold Stokowski and John Barbirolli, two english conductors often accused of "changing notes" in order to give a musical work more "completeness", i.e., not believing that what is written down on the musical page is what the composer intended.
Sir John apparently changed the final movement notations enough to transform THIS symphony into one of the greatest musical works of all time! The Mahler 2nd with Bernstein and the Beethoven 9th with Furtwangler at the re-opening of Bayreuth in 1951 represent to me the three greatest recordings of all time.
Apparently, conductors fail to recognize the complex patterns of the Sibelius beat, which cannot be shown on paper. Stokowski often said that a musical piece cannot be "put on paper", because the complex beats and tonal timbres are far too complex for the limited language of sheet music.
This recording can take you places you have never been. I also posess the Colin Davis recording because my violin teacher, Schima Kaufman, 40 years with the Philadelphia Orchestra, spoke so highly of his talent. However, the Davis recording totally loses the momentum that Barbirolli's 4th movement generates. I have heard this in all other recordings of this, Sibelius' Masterpiece, and it makes you wonder why conductors cannot feel the true import of this symphony. Simply put, you must have this recording. I have the LP re-issue that came out of Minneapolis around 1981. I put equalization in the treble range higher before recording it to CD with my 24 bit Sony CD recorder, and the sound is wonderful!

This is the greatest performance of the Sibelius Second I have ever heard: strong, instinct with life, powerfully lyrical, blazing with nobility and exultation when required to do so. The recording is superb, spacious and warm. In fact, warmth is the key word in many respects when it comes to this performance. Here is the rich virility and opulence of life, all conveyed in a surging, flexible, self-assured reading. One can only go away from an audition of this disc convinced of the grandeur of human achievement in the realm of music. Buy and enjoy.

The more recordings I hear of performances conducted by Sir John Barbirolli, the more I am inclined to think he was one of the great conductors of all time. He was able to get orchestras -- even ones that were not first class -- to bring out the poetry and the character of the music.

This recording is beyond my praise. The Royal Philharmonic was (and is) a worthy group; under Sir John's baton, it transformed Sibelius's skillful if not particularly original late romantic symphony into something sublime, particularly in the last movement. If that isn't enough, Chesky -- an audiophile label -- has done an exemplary remastering job in converting the recording to CD. Although the recording dates from the early '60s, if I recall correctly, the Chesky engineers have worked their magic to give the sound an honesty and presence almost equal to the best that are produced now.

Listen to this and you'll hear what's missing from so many of our own time's note-perfect (thanks to re-takes and editing) but soulless recorded performances.

Barbirolli has always been a quizzical conductor to my ears. At least he seemed always to try to make something of the music he performed, which is my highest desideratum in readings. But his approach always seemed to emphasize the potential sound -effects in music. He seemed little interested in conveying the basic structure of the music, which to me seems to hold the most possibility for drama and beauty in great works. But, again, at least he tried to do something. Well, here is a performance where his approach seems to have hit a golden mean, and is spectacular. Oddly, his sound- effects approach is even more present than usual. But somehow it brings out the contours of this work in a very uncanny fashion. At the same time the music takes on a slightly altered character, as if it were a companion piece to the Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes by Britten. But who cares, it works.