Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82

“…Glenn Gould and Herbert von Karajan gave six concerts between May 1957 and September 1959 featuring Beethoven's C minor Concerto… This… Berlin performance is notable for the sense it brings of the work's incipient lyric beauty. At Karajan's more flowing tempo, Gould's account of the Largo has an airier, more improvisatory feel.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2008

“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

“For all the lustrous Berlin playing, this is Karajan at his strangest. His approach to the Fourth Symphony's chiselled spareness is conducting-as-juice-extraction. And in the Fifth, the insistent effect-consciousness soon palls. Really for Karajan fans only.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2008 ***

“I think the star performance is that of the Sixth Symphony - so elusive, so easy to ruin by over-interpreting. I was fascinated by what seemed like a hint of Russian flavouring in the string chants of the coda - well why not?” Gramophone Magazine

“Both interpretations have impressive strengths, with Berglund's familiar and admirable no-nonsense directness everywhere in evidence, and with much fine and vividly focused orchestral playing to match...The special experience here is Berglund's unlingering, atmospheric way with The Swan of Tuonela, whose cor anglais solo - flowingly and beautifully phrased, and flawlessly in tune - is as spellbinding as you'll ever hear.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 ***

“Berglund's earlier recordings are undoubtedly the more consistent and enduring readings but this new disc casts a different light on his views of these great works. Nicely remastered” Gramophone Magazine, November 2012