Search - Jean Sibelius, Petri Sakari, Iceland Symphony Orchestra :: Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5

Four and a Half

Whitacre For Ever | Michigan | 10/10/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Very good performances...such passion and power. For the most part this is an awesome cd with a lot of GREAT artistic quality. However the sound quality is not great. This is a really sweet cd and I highly recomend it for the quality and price!"

An average perfromance

David J. Turner | England, UK | 05/07/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A good and relatively inexpensive introduction to anyone new to Sibelius and these two very different symphonies. The fourth is a dark and sombre piece and is one of the more difficult of Sibelius' symphonies to interpret and understand with its intense sense of welling despair which persists throughout the symphony, most noticeably in the first and third movements. This performance by the Iceland SO is average and somewhat formulaic though Petri Sakari does successfully keep all his orchestral forces together to give a consistent interpretation that perhaps many more well known conducters have failed to do so in the past. So in summary an average performance which is just lacking that extra bit of inspiration to make it a worthwhile addition to any Sibelius libary. The Fifth is world apart from the sombre Fourth and is a piece of much more hope and of actual joy in life. It has been described as heroic in nature and it has certainly proved over time to be one of Sibelius' more popular works. The final third movement and its main theme which occurs twice in the movement is widely familiar, and when performed at its best is a powerful and forceful sequence. The fifth is one of the greatest symphonies of the 20th century without a doubt. The performance by Sakari's Iceland SO is committed and well held together though again, like the Fourth, a little formulaic. The first two movements particularly suffer from a lack of inspiration, but the concluding movement does redeem the recording somewhat and adequately gets across the power of the movements central theme. In summary a good introduction to the great Finnish composers music for those unfamiliar with his works, but otherwise one to miss for any serious collector."