[TR24][BR] Jean Sibelius: Symphonies 1-7 (Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle) - 2015 (Classical; Orchestral)

Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39
[01] I. Andante, ma non troppo - Allegro energico
[02] II. Andante
[03] III. Scherzo: Allegro
[04] IV. Finale: Andante - Allegro molto
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43
[05] I. Allegretto
[06] II. Tempo andante, ma rubato
[07] III. Vivacissimo
[08] IV. Finale: Allegro moderato
Symphony No. 3 in C Major, Op. 52
[09] I. Allegro moderato
[10] II. Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto - Un pocchettino con moto - Tempo primo
[11] III. Moderato - Allegro (Ma non tanto) - Sempre energico
Symphony No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 63
[12] I. Tempo molto moderato, quasi adagio
[13] II. Allegro molto vivace - Doppio più lento
[14] III. Il tempo largo
[15] IV. Allegro
Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82
[16] I. Tempo molto moderato - Allegro moderato - Presto - Più presto
[17] II. Andante mosso, quasi allegretto - Tranquillo - Poco a poco stretto - Tempo primo
[18] III. Allegro molto - Misterioso - Largamente assai - Un pochettino stretto
Symphony No. 6 in D Minor, Op. 104
[19] I. Allegro molto moderato
[20] II. Allegretto moderato
[21] III. Poco vivace
[22] IV. Allegro molto
Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105
[23] I. Adagio
[24] II. Vivacissimo - Adagio
[25] III. Allegro molto moderato - Allegro moderato
[26] IV. Vivace - Presto - Adagio - Largamente molto - Affettuoso

For Simon Rattle, Jean Sibelius is “one of the most staggeringly original composers that there is”. And indeed, this music has a unique musical language whose many beauties are particularly succinctly conveyed in Sibelius’s seven symphonies. There is sonorous warmth as much as there is austere Nordic folklore. Moreover, there is a conceptual boldness that takes the listener on exciting musical journeys of discovery. In 2015, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Sibelius’s birth, Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker presented the cycle live, which was met with unanimous delight by audiences and critics alike. “The Philharmoniker show that with them and Simon Rattle, Sibelius is in excellent hands,” wrote the Berliner Zeitung, “because the orchestra has that astringency and sheer power which is so important for this kind of music.”
Simon Rattle was familiar with the music of Jean Sibelius from childhood. When, as a ten-year-old, he heard the Fifth Symphony live for the first time, it struck him – to use his own words – “like a thunderbolt”. The Berliner Philharmoniker can also look back on a long Sibelius tradition and the orchestra was conducted by the composer himself in 1902. However, the first complete performance of the seven symphonies was not realised until 2010 under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle, with the Third Symphony being performed by the Philharmoniker for the first time. For many music lovers in Berlin, this new encounter with Sibelius was an exhilarating experience, and so it was only natural to repeat the performance of the cycle in Sibelius’s anniversary year.
The complete recording of the symphonies is now being released in an exclusive edition. The edition presents the symphonies not only on 4 CDs, but also on two Blu-ray discs as HD video, in uncompressed audio resolution and DTS surround sound. The extensive product features include a comprehensive booklet and an hour-long video interview in which Sir Simon Rattle talks about his views on Sibelius and introduces the seven symphonies.
The Guardian:
At the beginning of this 150th anniversary year for Sibelius, Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic gave cycles of the seven symphonies in Berlin and on tour; these recordings are taken from the performances given at the Philharmonie in Berlin. They are lavishly packaged in what is now the standard format for the orchestra’s own label, and as well as recordings in conventional CD format, the set includes Blu-ray discs offering HD video recordings of the concerts and audio versions in 24-bit, 96kHz sound.
When Rattle and the orchestra gave the cycle at the Barbican in London in February, what came across most forcibly was the depth and power of the orchestral playing. But despite the hi-tech sophistication of these recordings, there is nothing like the same presence to the sound here, which often seems curiously distanced and uninvolving, homogenised almost. And what in the concert hall seemed problematic about the way in which Rattle’s approach to Sibelius has changed over the years appears much more obvious when heard on disc, especially in the later symphonies.
The Fifth, in particular, seems perfunctory and glib here, by turns too ponderous, too lightweight and superficial. The way in which the first movement transforms itself into a scherzo – one of the great moments in the history of the symphony – is alarmingly glossed over, and the finale never hits the majestic stride it should. There’s something unresolved about this account of the Sixth as well, the opening string paragraphs self-consciously moulded, but Rattle’s account of the Seventh (thankfully not elided with the Sixth as it was in the concert hall) is much more convincing, rugged, uncompromising and all of a piece musically.
If it’s a cycle that ends well, it begins impressively too, with an account of the First Symphony sculpted on a grand scale. By the time it reaches the Third (which, astonishingly, the Berlin Phil had never played until Rattle first conducted it with them five years ago), though, the preoccupations with surface smoothness are beginning to be obvious and they diminish the raw, bleak power of the Fourth, too. While any one of these performances might leave a good enough impression in a concert, these endlessly fascinating works need something much less generalised for repeated listening on disc.