Segerstam Sibelius

Darryl · Post by **Darryl** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 10:07 am

Does anyone like the Segerstam Sibelius on Ondine? I got the discs with 1/7 and 3/5. The recordings are gorgeous and the playing exquisite. They may be the best Sibelius discs I've heard.

Any opinions?

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 12:26 pm

I picked up the disc with 2 & 6, and the sixth especially blew me away. It's tremendously atmospheric playing.

Darryl · Post by **Darryl** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 1:17 pm

I've also heard wonderful things about that 6th. Unfortunately my supplier has that disc on backorder.

Does the 2nd stand up to Barbirolli/RPO?

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 1:32 pm

I just bought it recently and haven't really had a chance to seriously listen to the second yet. I went on a mini-binge recently and have some catching up to do.

And I bought it for the sixth. I actually wish a different one of the symphonies were coupled with it. I am extremely happy with what I have already for the second, but that wasn't the case with the sixth, at least until now.

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 3:07 pm

Barry Z wrote: mini-binge

How many, exactly, constitute a "mini-binge?"

The answer is important, because the only standard we have here so far is Lance's: binge=2 or more orders in excess of 20 cds per order.

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 3:09 pm

Well.......I called it that because it's the first time I purchased more than one or two CDs at a shot in a while. I received a couple Tower giftcards for my birthday and also was contacted by someone who does private transfers, so I may have picked up about a dozen new discs over a period of a week or two.

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 3:26 pm

Barry Z wrote:Well.......I called it that because it's the first time I purchased more than one or two CDs at a shot in a while. I received a couple Tower giftcards for my birthday and also was contacted by someone who does private transfers, so I may have picked up about a dozen new discs over a period of a week or two.

Okay, that's sounds like a reasonable standard to me: mini-binge=a dozen cds in a week.

I thought your birthday was sometime in the summer. Happy B'day.

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 3:28 pm

Thanks. Enjoy your free time

.

12tone · Post by **12tone** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 6:58 pm

What does anyone here think of Maazel's reading of the Sibelius symphs on London (the box set)?

I just got it and heard #1...sounds pretty good. But then I can't compare it with anything yet.

Harold Tucker · Post by **Harold Tucker** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 4:25 am

The Ondine Segarstam with No. 4 and the choral Finlandia is a fabulous recording. No. 4 is the personification of grim and the glorious Finlandia an ideal antidote. I wasn't all that enthusiastic about the series until this this disc, but I will certainly go back. The Maazel is certainly worth a listen, especially 4-7. As Leonard Bernstein proved later for DG, the Vienna Philharmonic is an unlikely Sibelius orchestra.

Peter Schenkman · Post by **Peter Schenkman** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 8:19 am

Personally I’ve always found that between Koussevitzky, Beecham and von Karajan you pretty much have all bases covered when it comes to the symphonies of Sibelius. I find that there is still a tendency on the part of many to dump on von Karajan, which I understand less and less as I listen to more of him. The man conducted a huge repertoire and most of it is damn good be it symphonic or opera.

Peter Schenkman

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 9:54 am

Peter Schenkman wrote: I find that there is still a tendency on the part of many to dump on von Karajan, which I understand less and less as I listen to more of him. The man conducted a huge repertoire and most of it is damn good be it symphonic or opera.

Peter Schenkman

I agree with that statement generally. But I'm not crazy about Karajan's DG Sibelius 4-7. I have a couple of his EMI recordings and like them more. I want to explore those further.

I also think Ormandy was one of the better Sibelius conductors. In fact, I think I may like him more consistantly in the music of Sibelius and Prokofiev than just about any other composers. His Sony recordings of 2 and 7, along with the Tone Poems, his RCA 5 with En Saga and Tapiola, and his EMI Four Legends are all top notch recordings.

Peter Schenkman · Post by **Peter Schenkman** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 10:47 am

Ormandy has never been one of my favorite conductors for any one composer although he’s never less then highly professional. Perhaps the biggest compliment that one can pay him is that he inherited a great orchestra from his predecessor in Philadelphia, Leopold Stokowski and maintained it for many years at the very highest level. Ormandy was a superb accompanist and it this facet of his art that is most remembered today.

I would marginally prefer the EMI von Karajan Sibelius Symphonies over the DG remakes, although either will suffice. To my ears some of the best work that he set down were the recordings done in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
.
Peter Schenkman

Darryl · Post by **Darryl** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 8:16 pm

I'm very fond of Davis/Boston. It's still my favorite 5th.

Both Szell and Barbirolli have high-powered 2nd's. I'm amused that some British reviewers say Szell sounds too much like Tchaikovsky in 2. And Barbirolli doesn't? (not that I'm agreeing with the statements about Szell)

Thanks for the input on this series.

The Classical Music Guide Forums

Segerstam Sibelius

Segerstam Sibelius

Who is online