Search - Sibelius, Sir Adrian Boult, London Philharmonic Orchestra :: Sibelius: Tone Poems Vol. 2

Gutsy sibelius

Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane | Fife, Scotland | 03/04/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"there's a nice little letter from Sibelius quoted on the booklet with his disc - seems he was sent copies of the original LPs from the 50s. Anyway, the letter says he liked them. This is pretty gutsy stuff - a bit raw orchestrally (it was a London orchestra building itself up again after the War) - but real performances, very well-paced and pretty atmospheric. 'Tapiola' and 'Night-Ride' are probably best (there was a famous 78 r.p.m performance from Boult and the BBCSO in the 30s, part of HMV's Sibelius series), but there's no weak performance here. As for the recording, the remastering has given it breadth and ambience - it was always clear and well-balanced. - and it really sounds well. There's a kind of freshness about the whole approach which probably indicates that the music was still fairly new and unfamiliar and the sound is suitably clear-edged, no softness or glossiness ; pretty Sibelian, in fact. I liked this."

Disappointing

Troy Siiter | Chicago, IL USA | 03/26/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"while I enjoy the interpretation of the music, I am disappointed by some of the woodwinds not playing in tune. Bassoons in particular. I would have expected more from this orchestra."