BERGLUND / HELSINKI PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, PAAVO

The first of Paavo Berglund's cycles of the Sibelius' symphonies was with England's Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. It had the merits of lushly sumptuous orchestral playing and masterfully direct interpretations and the demerits of less than wholly authentic orchestral playing and a less than entirely copasetic relationship between conductor and orchestra. The second of Berglund's Sibelius cycles was with Finland's Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. It had the merits of lean and muscular orchestral playing and even more masterful interpretations plus the inestimable merit of wholly authentic orchestral playing -- almost all the players were trained in Helsinki's Sibelius Academy -- and the crowning merit of an entirely sympathetic relationship between the conductor and the orchestra. In this two disc set of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Symphonies coupled with the symphonic poems "The Oceanides," "Tapiola" and, inevitably, "Finlandia," Berglund leads inspired and inspiring interpretations which capture the heroism, the pastoralism, the lyricism and the individualism of Sibelius scores in performances which ideally balance line and harmony and drive and weight and clarity and color. Although those who prefer the opulent playing of English orchestras and the sensual interpretations of German conductors may be disappointed by the austere sound of the Helsinki and the severe interpretations of Berglund, those who prefer their Sibelius straight will be well pleased. EMI's early digital sound is clearer, deeper and warmer than most early digital sound. ~ James Leonard, AMG

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