Grab this boxed set. For this price it can't be beat!
J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 02/15/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am surprised, no shocked, that my customer review is the first to appear for this boxed set of the Sibelius symphonies a year after it became available. I would have imagined that SOMEONE would have written of their enthusiasm for the set. When I saw no one had done so, I had to stop what I was doing and start writing.Sibelius's symphonies are surely among the best of the 20th century. His unmistable sound world, his creative transformations of symphony form, his dramatic and lyric abilities all made him an original, a treasure. Certainly there have been other invaluable recordings of the symphonies - Berglund, Colin Davis, Karajan, Ormandy, Barbirolli. But for someone coming to the symphonies and wanting them all you couldn't start with a better set, not at THIS price. Petri Sakari and his Icelanders do a bang-up job. Don't be fooled, this Iceland orchestra is a fine group. For lagniappe there is fine performance of 'Kullervo' with Jorma Panula (another Sibelian) conducting. How can you lose?"
Fabulous Budget Recording
E. Murphy-Mancini | Wilbraham, MA USA | 03/12/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This complete recording of the Sibelius symphonies is more than just a budget recording. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra with Petri Sakari does a great job in all aspects of the performance. They seem to create a Scandinavian atmosphere that is inherent in these symphonies. One feels transported to the mountains, forests, and lakes of Lapland; the cool airs, the vast, open spaces. Very poetic, to be sure, but the orchestra really brings these qualities out in the music. Their technical skill is on par as well. These players could stand up to the best orchestras, but we get to hear them for a far lower price. The two suites that Sibelius wrote for Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" also accompany the symphonies. While they are obviously weaker works, the suites come alive in the hands of the capable performers. In addition, the set contains the dramatic tone poem Kullervo. It is an amazing work, though on first listen, one may feel that the piece drags on. It takes more than one listen to catch how packed it is with musical substance. The Turku Philharmonic Orchestra plays Kullervo, but with no less verve and competence than the Iceland Symphony. Kudos to Naxos on creating a box set collection at budget price with such great performances and such voluminous liner notes."
Not the best.
Alan Montgomery | Oberlin, Oh USA | 11/09/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The Icelandic orchestra plays these symphonies quite well, giving the conductor everything he asks. Naxos has given the performances rather bland sonics. They would be fine if the performances were better. But each symphony seems jerked and pulled around, going faster and slower at the whim of the conductor (changes not indicated in the scores). This means that CD1 - Symphonies #1 and #3 lose shape and seemingly go no where. Symphony #5 doesn't build the way it should. The heartwrenching emotional outbursts in the slow movement of #4 just don't grab us. Listen to Beecham or Bernstein or Rozhdestvensky (or Watanabe with Japan - nla), and you hear this. Symphony #6 and Symphony #7 fare better, but even they sound cautious and ill framed. Sibelius, after all, said that a symphony must be the supreme expression of logic (to which Mahler answered, "No, a symphony must embrace the world.") These performances do neither. The Kullervo (with a different orchestra and conductor), however, is wonderful. I'd suggest a buyer get that alone and leave the box to someone else."
Track Listings (7) - Disc #1