Search - Jean Sibelius, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Philharmonia Orchestra of London :: Sibelius: The Symphonies; Tone Poems; Violin Concerto [Box Set]

Great Sibelius among much great Sibelius

J. F. Laurson | Washington, DC United States | 11/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is no dearth of great Sibelius cycles - many are very good and all are less controversially regarded as good than most cycles of other symphonists. Small countries have gone to war over which Mahler cycle is the best, families have separated over Bruckner questions along Wand vs. Celibidache vs. Jochum lines... and small arms fire must on occasion decide which LvB cycle is primatur.



No such emotions when it comes to the cool Sibelius symphonies. Wouldn't be prudent. Too much good stuff is out there... and even if it were not the necessary top choice, few lovers of Siblius would claim not to be able to live with any of the three Colin Davis cycles or Osmo Vanska's or the almost-complete Karajan cycle on DG or Berglund's EMI traversal. Some English people might even accept the Rattle cycle as sufficient - and only a few people would sneer at the Barbirolli set of Sibelius' 7... although that's already one step out of the mainstream.



I personally hold Vanska in the highest regards - but Vladimiar Ashkenazy makes a good point in his recordings for those who claim he's a better conductor than a pianist. Indeed, if price is to play an issue, too, I'd place his cycle at the very top of my list. He's improved as a conductor over the years, but in this one he was already ahead of himself. It is solidly played throughout all the symphonies and then some. Not as 'safe' as Jaervi in either of his two cycles, not quite as all-out and 'reduced' as Vanska. Nearly as sumptuous as Maazel/Vienna, except with that 'cool', kindled by a northern fire. Excellent attacks and a lyrical side. In the reissue Decca threw in the tone poems and the violin concerto - all at a great price. These performances might be supplemented in individual symphonies according to ones own taste and preference - but they leave little to desire.



Very much recommended."

Fire and ice ...

Pater Ecstaticus | Norway | 01/30/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The glorious First Symphony in this Sibelius Cycle for this particular listener immediately sets the scene: bold and full-bodied playing, truly opening up all the warmer and darker sentiments of Sibelius' music, which to my ears has always, underneath a certain 'cool reserve', been deeply emotional and deeply 'human': how very 'Northern' in its sensibilities. Fire and ice. How intensely sweet and sad at the same time the main theme of the andante is played here! Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia Orchestra to my feeling dig deeply into all the emotions, really making the heart-strings of this particular listener resonate. The orchestral playing is both powerful/'muscled' and flowing, with nice legato. The same can also be said for the performances of the other symphonies. I will mince no words: just buy this if you love Sibelius' symphonies recorded in full, wide and directly recorded sound (typically Decca/London?), played in an unabashedly bold (romantic) way, letting bloom to the full all of the emotions.

But if you love this, I urge you to sample the (recent) Sibelius cycle by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam (on Ondine). These lively, fresh but sturdy and full-bodied, romantic interpretations by Segerstam and the orchestra that premiered many of Sibelius' works under the composer's own direction, are simply revelatory (well, certainly to the ears of this particular amateur listener) and at least as well played - helped by a typical (for Ondine) crystal clear, perfectly balanced soundpicture."

A Distinctive Sibelius Cycle

Johannes Climacus | Beverly, Massachusetts | 02/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ashkenazy's Sibelius cycle was one of his early successes as a conductor, and as such helped to launch what has latterly become a distinguished "second career." Decca/Universal have now collected together all of Ashkenazy's Sibelius recordings--including the Seven Symphonies, the Violin Concerto, some of the better-known tone poems, and four shorter works with violin and orchestra (the latter particularly welcome given that they remain under-appreciated).



Ashkenazy's approach to the composer is fresh-faced and vital, though not entirely idiomatic. What it lacks is that northern chill, that brooding sensibility, which some listeners would regard as a sine qua non of Sibelius interpretation. On the other hand, Ashkenazy effectively conveys the dramatic tensions of these works as well as their their bardic-heroic qualities. Moreover, the sumptuous playing of the Philharmonia, vividly captured by the Decca engineers, will draw you in regardless of any initial reservations.



Ashkenazy is at his best in the tone-poems and other short orchestral works ("En Saga" has rarely if ever been surpassed, and "Luonnatar" is not far behind; "Tapiola" is first-rate also, if not ideally chilling), and in Symphonies 1, 2, 3 and 7. Indeed Ashkenazy's rendition of the elusive Third must join the short list of unqualifiedly successful versions (right up there, in my estimation with Kamu/Helsinki, though much better played, and Davis/BSO or LSO). Ashkenazy's Fourth is as atmospheric as one could wish, yet in the final analysis doesn't plumb its tragic depths as fully as Karajan (EMI or DG), Davis/BSO, or Maazel/VPO. For all its popularity, the Fifth is a difficult work to bring off--largely a question of getting the transitions and tempo relationships just right in the complex first movement. Ashkenazy brings a splendid lilt to the pastoral intermezzo which functions as the second movement and an appropriate grandeur to the finale, but that first movement just doesn't quite cohere as seamlessly as it ought. Karajan/DG and Bernstein/Sony are preferable here. But I don't want to dwell on the flaws in 4 and 5: there is far more to enjoy than to criticize. Probably the majority of listeners will be swept away by both performances. The one outright disappointment among the symphonies comes with the Sixth. This, too, is a difficult piece to get right, and in my listening experience only Davis, Järvi and Karajan have really cracked this toughest nut in the Sibelian canon. Ashkenazy gives an entirely pleasant, somewhat pastoral, reading--but in the end it is too emphatic of gesture and too plush of texture for a piece which, above all, needs to be trim and lithe.



The concertante works with violin are a very positive asset as well. Boris Belkin and Ashkenazy give one of the most soaring accounts of the overexposed Violin Concerto I have heard. Their incisive and atmospheric renditions of the under-appreciated shorter works for violin and orchestra are also impressive. Belkin's technique may not be as immaculate as Heifetz, Oistrakh or Accardo (my current favorites in this repertoire), but he and Ashkenazy are more fully inside these works than most of the competition.



My verdict on this set is overall quite positive: Ashkenazy gives a distinctive take on the great Finnish master that may downplay some of the melancholy, but which manages to convey a compensatory spontaneity and sense of enjoyment throughout. Ashkenazy's Sibelius is as colorful and sensuously alluring as Barbirolli's, but not nearly as heavy of texture and emotionally overwrought. Whether you are new to Sibelius, or a veteran collector, do give this inexpensive set a try. For a more comprehensive "basic Sibelius library," (excluding the concertante works, but including all of the important shorter orchestral pieces in addition to Tapiola and the Seven Symphonies), I would choose DG's bargain box featuring Neeme Järvi and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Järvi's interpretations are even more bracing than Ashkenazy's and the Gothenburgers offer playing of stunning virtuosity."