Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

“If Beecham's mood-finding in Pelléas et Mélisande is hit-and-miss, his and the RPO's way with the other works is spellbinding: Tapiola here has an almost agonising wildness and beauty. Clear, substantial sound for the vintage.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2008 *****

“EMI’s Great Recordings of the Century is exactly what it says: these classic interpretations warrant a place in everybody’s collection” The Times

“In the pantheon of essential Sibelius recordings, Barbirolli's October 1962 account of the Second Symphony with the RPO deservedly occupies a place of honour. Recorded at Walthamstow for Reader's Digest with Charles Gerhardt producing and Decca's legendary Kenneth Wilkinson as balance engineer, it finds Sir John at his inspirational best in a reading which marries outsize but never wilful temperament to edge-of-seat spontaneity and keen poetic instinct. The experience is very much akin to attending a live concert of one's dreams.
The deceptively tricky slow movement is particularly remarkable for its daring flexibility of pulse and line yet never threatens to run aground, while the stirring finale (its big string tune so fervently sung both times round) will have you on your feet long before the end. If you haven't yet made this famous performance's acquaintance, don't hesitate for an instant.
The coupling is a Fifth Symphony with Barbirolli's beloved Hallé from the 1968 Proms which, in strength of personality and palpable depth of feeling, has a lot going for it. As on this team's 1966 EMI recording, the opening pages have exactly the right sense of awe-struck wonder and pregnant growth, and in the second movement it's a joy to hear Sibelius's delicious pizzicato writing “speak” with such clarity and eloquence. The first half of the finale has vitality and atmosphere in abundance, but you might crave a greater nobility of utterance in the towering epilogue. A commendably unbronchial audience roars its approval. Despite any minor quibbles, JB's many fans should be well pleased that Testament has salvaged such a typically vibrant display from the BBC vaults.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Barbirolli's October 1962 account of the Second Symphony with the RPO… finds Sir John at his inspirational best in a reading which marries outsize but never wilful temperament to edge-of-seat spontaneity and keen poetic instinct. The coupling is a Fifth Symphony with Barbirolli's beloved Hallé from the 1968 Proms which, in strength of personality and palpable depth of feeling, has a lot going for it.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2008

“Two of the finest Sibelius perofrmances that Sir John ever recorded.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“These are…engaging performances… in spacious modern sound…” BBC Music Magazine, December 2007 ****

“This is a work that should be done far more often… The clamour of bells, large and small, and of celebration prepare any audience to go out glowing into the snowy night and home.” MusicWeb International

“Norman Del Mar's effervescent pairing of Romeoand Juliet (1924-25) and Pomona (1926) ranked high on many an enthusiast's Lyrita wish-list and the first thing to say is that the 30-year-old Kingsway Hall production leaps out of the speakers with startling bite and tangibility in its silver-disc reincarnation. Although the intervening years have brought other rewarding versions of these two delicious ballets, Del Mar's vintage performances project with a tangy zest, charisma and infectious rhythmic spring all their own. The ECO's distinguished woodwind roster leave an especially personable impression and both scores.
The fill-ups (recorded in 1989 and 1993 but previously unreleased) are worth having too.
King Pest (a scary helter-skelter ride fairly grinning with malice) comes from Lambert's towering 1932-35 'masque' Summer's Last Will andTestament and Simon Joly's spirited realisation with the RPO makes an enjoyable pendant to the complete work. More valuable still is the long-overdue revival of Music for Orchestra (completed in 1927, when Lambert was still only 22). Barry Wordsworth and the LPO strain every sinew in what, amazingly, appears to be this little masterpiece's first stereo recording.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Normal Del Mar's effervescent pairing of Romeo and Juliet (1924-25) and Pomona (1926) ranked high on many an enthusiast's Lyrita wish-list… Del Mar' vintage performances project with a tangy zest, charisma and infectious rhythmic spring all their own. The ECO's distinguished woodwind roster leave an especially personable impression and both scores (which find Lambert the student composer rubbing shoulders with Stravinsky and Les Six) really do come up as if newly minted.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2007

“Jablonski, whose credentials include having been voted best jazz drummer in Sweden at the age of seven (!), revels in its high jinks, and Ashkenazy and the orchestra just manage to hang on to his coat-tails... an exciting end to an admirably played and recorded disc.” Gramophone Magazine