Search - Jean Sibelius, Adrian Leaper, Kenneth Schermerhorn :: Best Of Sibelius

Solid value

Instrumentalist | Michigan United States | 12/02/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD offers the right "best" selections and the orchestra(Slovak, most often noted as CSR on most labels) is very, very good. If there is a 3% difference between the major US or Europe orchestras, it is hard to discern."

Sibelius Stew

Mathias | 04/18/2000

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Seeking the Valse Triste, I ordered this collection and found it less than satisfactory. To me, the sound was often harsh and the tempo sometimes lagged. It sounded like a student orchestra, and a small one at that. The violin solo in the concerto (excerpt) was weak. I'm giving my copy away."

Fine orchestra; excellent sound; strange conducting...

acominatus | Johnson City, TN United States | 04/20/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The orchestra deserves a 4 or 5, the recording a 5,
and the conductor a 3, or 2.
This CD produced by Naxos has excellent Sibelius
selections on it. The orchestra is very good; the
sound is excellent, with up front microphone
placements...the drawback is the conducting by
Kenneth Schermerhorn. Mr. Schermerhorn "favors"
slow pacings...which makes the "Finlandia" wind
up sounding mawkish (at times, it seems on the
verge of stalling out!); "The Swan of Tuonela" isinteresting, because the slowing down actually
allows the listener to more clearly hear the
changes in the various intonations and the
individual instruments caress the melodic line
with more sinuosity; the "Karelia Suite" sounds
a bit better, to me, slowed down to a sprightly,
instead of galloping, pacing.
This orchestra sounds as if it might have done
much better with a more spirited, but spiritually
acute, conductor. The engineers have produced all
that could be asked. Only buy this CD if you
want slowed down pacings...even though the sound
is great.
Cavet emptor -- buy at your own caution."