Search - Jean Sibelius, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Gidon Kremer :: Sibelius: Violin Concerto / Symphony 2

Fabulous Sibelius - but not quite what it seems.

Alan Montgomery | Oberlin, Oh USA | 09/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording includes the Violin Concerto of Sibelius with Gidon Kremer playing the violin and Gennady Rozhdestvensky conducting. The recording is first rate and the performance is one of the best of this piece. The rest of the recording is conducted by Sarastre. I find his way with Sibelius to be quite persuasive, but Amazon does not list him in any way in their listing. The performances are A-one, and the thrilling Second Symphony is one of the tops - although I find the furious scherzo tempo to be faster than I prefer. The lesser pieces are hardly that, and they are given great performances. Don't pass this up just because you, like me, wanted Rozhdestvensky in these pieces. They are finely conducted and recorded."