Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D, Symphony No. 7 in C [Hybrid SACD - DSD]

Jean Sibelius (Composer), Paavo Berglund (Conductor), London Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Paavo Berglund
• Composer: Jean Sibelius
• Audio CD (November 15, 2005)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
• Label: London Philharmonic
• ASIN: B000B865B4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,960 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Master's Sibelius in SACD Sound, December 13, 2005

By 

J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D, Symphony No. 7 in C (Audio CD)

Paavo Berglund has been intimately associated with the orchestral music of Sibelius for decades. He has recorded the complete set of symphonies three times, if I recall, and here we go again with another recording of the Second and the Seventh, this time in dazzling SACD sound. Further, these are live performances and for me that makes a big difference. Live performances seem to catch fire more often than studio efforts and that is the case here. The Second and Seventh were recorded in 2005 and late 2003 respectively and the LPO's engineers do a wonderful job of catching the rich, subtle, exciting sound of the orchestra. One wouldn't know there was an audience present until the burst of applause at the end of each work. But one can hear Berglund's urgent vocal exhortations to his forces about three-fourths of the way through the Seventh.

To be honest, I don't think I've ever heard a bad performance of a Sibelius symphony. Perhaps its my love for the works that makes me ignore any failings, or perhaps it is that orchestras and conductors tend to love these works and give them their all. Certainly in these two performances the latter seems to be the case. Berglund, of course, has been conducting these symphonies since the early 1950s and indeed he even wrote a book about the Seventh Symphony back in the 1960s. To say he knows these works backwards and forwards is an understatement. The architecture of these two works, although with many differences between them, are examples of Sibelius's striving for organic unity in his works. The Seventh is the crowning glory of that search. In one movement, although it has what could be taken as an Andante and a Scherzo, it actually drops in and out of those moods repeatedly so that there is not the usual four-movement sense that other one-movement symphonies tend to have. If ever there was an exemplar of Sibelius's success in finding a way to write an organic symphony, this is it. Berglund understands that; his transitions are seamless, he maintains a steady pulse that underlies the entire symphony, even though the listener is generally not aware of that because of the multitude of changes in the materials being presented. I've listened to this performance five or six times now and I keep coming away with new things to marvel at and a profound sense of satisfaction with the performance.

The Second, which is surely Sibelius's most popular symphony, is, in Berglund's presentation, less strikingly unique among recorded performances but Berglund's and the LPO's traversal brings a wholly justified roar of approval from the audience present in the Royal Festival Hall this past February when the recording was made. I don't know that I've ever heard a more 'triste' rendition of that mournful oboe melody in the trio of the Scherzo, the one that begins with nine repetitions of the initial note. The finale is as exciting as any you're likely to hear, building up to its shattering climax and ending with that radiant D major chord.

The sound on this disc is an example of how superior SACD sound can be. As far as I know this is the first recording of either of these symphonies in that sound format. The plain vanilla stereo, though, is also quite good.

A strong recommendation.

Scott Morrison

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be a cult recording, June 12, 2008

By 

M. Henri De Feraudy (France) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D, Symphony No. 7 in C (Audio CD)

This was my first purchase of a SACD, even though it do not have a SACD player of my own. So I organised a play with some sound engineers from
downstairs, who had a mix of players: an old, but modified Marantz and and a newer (relatively inexpensive) SACD player.
1) Everyone was taken by the extremely majestic interpretation of the 7th (which the object of study), the slow build up of tension, the unity of the orchestra. Lots of goose-bumps sprang up.
2) Everyone preferred the impression of 3D on the old (non SACD) player that the newer player did not have. So I am glad to hear that another reviewer noted the superiority of the SACD recording, because our SACD player just didnt have the right stuff.
3) After I lent the recording to my neighbours they played it continously the whole day they were so wrapped up with it.
4) You better be warned that this is a live recording and there are passages where the conductor can be heard coaxing his orchstra.
5) This is by far the best 7th I have heard, in every way.
6) The 2nd is excellent too.
It's a bargain as well!