The Symphonies 1-7

There's a real sense of excitement in these recordings and they are full of vitality and character. The Vienna players bring obvious enthusiasm and drive to these wonderful works but there's great subtlety and a deep understanding of the music too. So much so that just hearing them play the 1st (a performance that crackles with an energy that matches the vitality and invention of the writing) reminded me of the awe I felt when I first discovered Sibelius several years ago, and I don't think any CDs I've bought since my first purchase of these symphonies has had that effect.

I'd agree with most in saying that the highlights are the 4th and 7th - the latter performance really capturing the epic sweep and intense beauty of this masterpiece. In passing, is there anything more sublime in all music than the first 10 minutes or so of Sibelius' 7th (and the remaining 10 minutes are pretty good too)? The 1st and the 5th deserve very high praise as well. The 5th is a work I've always admired more than enjoyed but this account grips me from the first note to the last chord. I gather that true aficianados of the 5th have reservations about it, however. Sadly, the 6th is a big disappointment: after a very beautiful opening section it's ruined by very fast tempi in the inner movements and some very rough-hewn playing, and sound, indeed. The first movement of the 3rd is also taken at breakneck speed but still manages to be a rewarding performance.

True, the '60s sound is a bit on the bright side, very occasionally even coarse, and the discs are not completely free of muddled playing and even a little questionable intonation, but these are rare blemishes so don't be put off. You can hardly go wrong at this price anyway, can you?

My only caveat would be that I wouldn't really recommend this as your only source of these symphonies - some of the performances are a bit idiosyncratic by current standards for that. Get some good modern recordings as well. For very little money you can't beat Adrian Leaper's superb cycle on Naxos or indeed his later recordings for Arte Nova; both of these contain 7ths that - sorry, purists - leave even Mr Maazel's in the shade. Petri Sakari, also on Naxos, is a good bet too, if a little over praised. But do invest in this excellent little box.

In short, this is a good bet for Sibbe ;-)

But where Schoenberg and Stravinsky were the highly publicized polar opposites of the tumultuous stylistic changes through the course of the 20th century, this was one march with which Sibelius did not feel obliged to keep step. The fact is, for every composer who proclaimed that the only way for music to go was forward (or in some other "interesting" direction), there was another composer who - without simply (and lazily) "re-writing" the Music of the Past - quietly and calmly insisted that the roots of the past were needed, for the shoots of future growth.

Indeed, Stravinsky himself (though in his characteristically flamboyant manner) drew attention to the importance of the past, in the many famous pastiches of his Neo-Classical period.

The musical development of Sibelius had little to do with this argument of Who the Future of Music Belongs to; indeed, for his own reasons, Sibelius was so disenchanted with the gap between what he felt his music ought to be doing, and what All the Musical Rage Was, that he struggled with an eighth symphony, put in a good deal of work on it, but at the last decided to destroy all trace of it.

My favorite among the Sibelius symphonies is probably the sixth. There is a directness, and an economy of expression, which taken together with the instrumental ingenuity which characterizes all of his work, plus an affinity I have for his musical materials - al of this make the sixth one of my favorite symphonies, by any composer.

Notwithstanding the occasional quibble with slight infelicities of detail, there is fine musicianship which carries most of the symphonies in this set. I find no particular disappointments in the sixth and seventh, and much to the contrary, I find these to be particularly convincing performances. I think that Maazel's muscular, at times brisk, approach to Sibelius' work is truer to the composer's spirit than is the Ormandy whoosh. Ironic that a fellow reviewer should mention Ormandy, as we do have an Ormandy recording of the Sibelius second; for the most part, I far prefer Maazel on this set.

It is possible that more people are talking about the Mahler symphonies, and that more conductors are taking up more orchestral time with rehearsing and performing the Mahler symphonies; but apart from this superficial sense, there is no case to be made for Mahler's work "replacing" Sibelius'. Mahler's work is easier to follow, and often has a maudlin, sentimental character with which it is easier for the average listener to "identify"; but Sibelius' music is well made, and uses the orchestra for the incredibly subtle and expressive macro-instrument which it is. Sibelius writes for the orchestra in a manner which enables a conductor to lead, and an orchestra to play, without any need for a medium to seek the composer out in a crystal ball to ask what he meant, really, by writing such-and-so a passage.

Sibelius is a great antidote to Mahler, for his work demonstrates that music can be exciting and emotional, without being antisocial and narcissistic. There is something lastingly wholesome about Sibelius, and inescapably morbid about Mahler.

The Great Pendulum will turn again, and Mahler will be a footnote; and Sibelius will be the magnificent saga, seemingly rough-hewn, yet in fact carefully shaped and marvellously balanced.

These recordings are spacious, and well defined. The remastering is a bit grainy, but the performance qualities overwhelm any worries about sound quality.

Maazel here conducts Sibelius with an urgency, with a rush, that I haven't heard anywhere else. His sense for the architecture of Sibelius's symphonies is greater even than Berglund's, and his orchestra, the VPO, responds to his every whim like a well-trained gymnast.

One other reservation is the Second symphony, most people generally prefer a more "Ormandy-esque" approach, but for those looking for the music to have more impact than beauty, this recording will not disappoint.

Since the 1960s, Mahler's music has claimed the place once occupied by Sibelius'. Given, Sibelius' symphonies weren't typically greeted with the near-religious awe Mahlerians feel for their Master's, but only Mahler achieved in the post-war era what Sibelius had during the pre-war. It is interesting to compare their music. Personally, Mahler and Sibelius are two of my favorite symphonists, though their approach to symphonic form and their orchestral philosophies couldn't have been more disparate. A famous conversation took place between the two in 1907 in which Mahler said the symphony should be like the entire universe, vast and all-encompassing, while Sibelius stated that he was always striving for perfection in form and flawless symphonic architecture (these aren't verbatim quotes). Their differing philosophies are reflected in their lives: while Mahler died at 50, his Tenth symphony incomplete and his life in tatters, Sibelius made peace with both the world and himself, and spent the last thirty years of his life in musical silence, while the world awaited an Eighth symphony that never materialized. Clearly, after the revolutionary Seventh symphony, Sibelius had said all he had to say.

Which brings us to Lorin Maazel's cycle of Sibelius symphonies. Many love Colin Davis' justifiably praised cycle with the BSO, but for me, Maazel's is the finest Sibelius cycle. Maazel was young when he recorded these (in his early- to mid-30s), but his interpretations are mature, penetrating and often deeply moving. These recordings range from good to superb, with Maazel's First, Second, Fourth, Sixth and Seventh standing out as absolutely first-rate. The recordings of the Third and Fifth are good, but (for me) don't reach the rarified heights of the others. All in all, this is an excellent Sibelius cycle and the price is amazing. Whether you already love Sibelius' symphonies or have never heard any of them, you won't regret owning this set. Highly recommended.

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