Yup, "Still the best all-round version of the complete Sibelius cycle". And the sonics are phenomenal. But for me the CDs are just as good as the Blu-ray (included in this set). I did try putting in a CD and the Blu-Ray to compare; and even switching back and forth to hear the same passage immediately... I absolutely cannot hear the difference. Maybe you young-uns can.
Maazel performs Symphony No. 1 as satisfying as anyone, although I still like my recording of Barbirolli, 1957.
Symphony #2: maybe not as spectacular as George Szell or Toscanini, but excellent.
#3: as good as any, although i won't give up my Bernstein, NYP; or Rattle and his City of Birmingham S.O. recording.
#4: Maazel is one of the few who take the scherzo at the proper tempo (it is, after all, marked MOLTO vivace). AND you can actually hear the bells. (Bernstein is the ONLY one who uses tubular bells all the way through. Which means you can ACTUALLY hear ALL the pitches and rhythms AND dynamics every time they come on. I always imagine that recording when I think of this symphony.)
#5: Excellent... although I suppose Ormandy and Karajan make the most of the ending.
#6: As good as anyone.
#7: Also as good it gets. Although again I wouldn't give up the Bernstein/NYP, and his fabulous trombone player.
#8: Eight? Ha—yes, for my money there IS a Symphony no. 8, and Maazel includes it in this set. That is, the 'tone poem' TAPIOLA, which seems to me the true heir to Symphony no. 7. And it's the last major work Sibelius composed...
...Although he did write a short ... wait for it ... violin concerto! It's called, "Suite for violin and orchestra" op. 117. And it's delightful.
So there you have it. If you MUST have a single collection, I do think Maazel with the Wiener Phil is the most overall satisfying. And the Decca/London engineers seem to have been the only ones who ever figured out how to record this orchestra and give the timpani an attractive sound. I guess Deutche Grammaphone never did. (Well—maybe they did... by Karajan's final two recordings, which are with the Wiener, they seemed to have worked it out.)
Of course, there's nothing stopping you from getting this compilation... AND another one. Can you really listen to just *one* interpretation of these endlessly fascinating compositions?
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