Sibelius - The Symphonies - Jarvi, Gothenburg SO [SACD]

 

 

There is no shortage of competing Sibelius Symphony sets to this one if you ignore the SACD exclusivity. Some of the top contenders would be Colin Davis on Philips, Osmo Vanska conducting the Lahti orchestra on BIS, and Paavo Berglund with the Helsinki Philharmonic on EMI Seraphim. Sibelius himself conducted the Gothenburg Symphony, and the DGG set reveals the orchestra to be right up there with the best of the world's orchestras.  The performances are full of life and expression, the equal of some of the individual recordings I have on SACD by the London Philharmonic and the London Symphony. The familiar last movement of the Fifth, with its "swinging hammer" theme, was glorious in its sweep and drama - one of my favorite moments in the whole set. Järvi's Seventh runs longer than most of the competing versions but it flows along so beautifully and makes more musical sense out of this complex work. It may be the best of the excellent complete set.--John Sunier

CD INFO

 

Ape, covers