Sibelius Symphony 7

With this 2014 Chandos box set of the symphonies of Jean Sibelius, John Storgårds joins the relatively small company of modern conductors who have recorded the full cycle, and his set as a whole is persuasive, despite some unusual choices. As a Finnish conductor with a strong incentive to interpret these works faithfully, Storgårds is quite true to Sibelius' intentions, even though the sound of the BBC Philharmonic is not as lush or as homogenous as might be expected.

Some critics claim that Karajan's 1965 recording of Sibelius' Symphony No. 5 with the Berlin Philharmonic is the greatest performance of that symphony ever recorded. Some claim that his 1967 recording of the Sixth is the greatest performance of that symphony ever recorded. And a few critics even assert that his 1965 Fourth is, if not the greatest ever recorded, at least the most beautiful ever recorded. Beautiful? Yes, certainly; all of Karajan's mid-'60s recordings of Sibelius, like all of his mid-'60s recordings of everything, were opulently, sumptuously, voluptuously beautiful.

This volume concludes the complete Sibelius symphonies performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Santtu-Matias Rouvali. This series has already won numerous awards around the world and reaches its climax here with two of Sibelius’ greatest symphonies: Andrew Mellor writes in his introductory text that "we hear music carried by forms of gravitational energy reminiscent of those that govern the course of a river". Rouvali has also chosen to record eight extracts from Sibelius’ incidental music for Shakespeare’s The Tempest. First performed in March 1926, it is one of Sibelius's final orchestral works and is certainly his most fascinating composition for the theatre.

This volume concludes the complete Sibelius symphonies performed by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Santtu-Matias Rouvali. This series has already won numerous awards around the world and reaches its climax here with two of Sibelius’ greatest symphonies: Andrew Mellor writes in his introductory text that "we hear music carried by forms of gravitational energy reminiscent of those that govern the course of a river". Rouvali has also chosen to record eight extracts from Sibelius’ incidental music for Shakespeare’s The Tempest. First performed in March 1926, it is one of Sibelius's final orchestral works and is certainly his most fascinating composition for the theatre.

Fans of Leonard Bernstein will not want to miss the chance to snap up this limited edition 60-CD set, Bernstein Symphony Edition. With a list price of just over two dollars per disc, it's a bargain not to be missed. What's most impressive about these recordings of well over 100 symphonies made between 1953 and 1976, almost all of which feature the New York Philharmonic, is the scope and depth of Bernstein's repertoire.

Fans of Leonard Bernstein will not want to miss the chance to snap up this limited edition 60-CD set, Bernstein Symphony Edition. With a list price of just over two dollars per disc, it's a bargain not to be missed. What's most impressive about these recordings of well over 100 symphonies made between 1953 and 1976, almost all of which feature the New York Philharmonic, is the scope and depth of Bernstein's repertoire. The complete symphonic works of many of the great symphonists are here.

Sir Colin Davis was instrumental in the development and success of LSO Live, including the label’s first Grammy award. He also played a huge part in the pre-eminence of the LSO across the globe for more than 50 years. A ‘master Sibelian’ his landmark cycle of the complete symphonies on LSO Live has been described as possibly "the finest Sibelius cycle on disc" by The Observer.

The Chief Conductor of Oslo Philharmonic and Music Director of Orchestre de Paris, Klaus Mäkelä announces his debut album; the complete Sibelius symphonies plus the fragments of the unfinished 8th and his last symphonic poem Tapiola. The orchestra has been performing the music of Jean Sibelius for over 100 years, with the composer himself conducting three concerts of his music in 1921. Together they form the Scandinivian Trio.

The final volume of the complete Sibelius Symphonies from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Owain Arwel Hughes contains the ever popular 5th coupled with the beautiful less well known 6th, and the ground breaking single movement 7th, the composer's final word on the symphony. His 8th, apparently completed, was consigned to the fire by Sibelius. The first volume in this cycle was made a Gramophone Editors Choice and was praised for the performances, interpretation and the recorded sound.