Sibelius Symphonies Jarvi

Jean Sibelius - Tapoila / En Saga / Finlandia / The Oceanides / The Swan Of Tuonela
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra / Sir Andrew Davis
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 230 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Apex # 0927 40620 2 | Country/Year: UK 2001, 1997
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

…the highlight of this excellent disc is Davis' outstanding account of The Oceanides, more rapturously evocative and atmospheric than Järvi's and better recorded than Rattle's EMI version. A wonderful disc.

This new release features the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sakari Oramo performing Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6. These two symphonies, composed in 1944 and 1947, are very different in mood, but stylistically closely related. The Fifth was written amid the chaos of the Second World War and seeks to find a positive solution; but in the Sixth, completed soon after war, the mood is darker. Both feature Prokofiev’s melodic writing at its best.

Right from the start Liss makes it clear that this is going to be a gripping and urgent account of the Myaskovsky Sixth Symphony. It’s a reading of elemental spontaneity seemingly swept along by the fire or poetry of the moment. That flame, in the first movement, can produce moments that teeter close to a gabble. One wonders whether the young Golovanov produced similar results for his premiere at the Bolshoi on 4 May 1924.

Paavo Järvi’s outstanding reputation makes him one of the most sought-after conductors on the international stage. Born in Tallinn, Estonia, he studied percussion and conducting at the Tallinn School of Music before moving to the USA in 1980, where he continued his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute with Leonard Bernstein.

A 50-CD set of legendary recordings celebrating the world-renowned Decca Sound. Classic-status pioneering stereo recordings from the past 60 years and starring a galaxy of internationally-acclaimed artistic talent.