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Symphonies Nos 1 2 5 & 7

20.72

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Symphonies Nos 1 2 5 & 7

4.5

Highest ranking 101

4 comments

$20.72

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trastevereReviewed in the United States on June 8, 2010

First, let me admit I have only recently received this set and had time to review only Symphonies #1, #2, and #5. First: the competition: I have never understood the detractors of Karajan vis a vis Sibelius. His monolithic performances seem to summon up the very atmosphere of the north. Vanska's more intimate approach conjures its own poetry and seems equally appropriate. Davis offers something in between. Ashkenazy, on the other hand, lights the ice on fire. For a newcomer to Sibelius, I'd start with his Decca set. Now to Bernstein: Symphony Number One is quite simply superb. This is an uncontroversial interpretation which finds Bernstein at his most concentrated. I'm tempted to say this is the finest thing I've ever seen him do. The entire work seems to give birth to itself before our eyes and ears in the most ideal manner imaginable. There is nothing exaggerated, even at the height of intensities that are encountered here. Bernstein was many things at many times, but never before have I been compelled to describe what is in evidence here by one word: noble. But nobility there is here in spades. Symphony Number two, too, exudes nobility. But here there is also something else: eccentricity. What Bernstein does in this fascinating performances is break the music down into studied, yet emotionally charged atoms. I suppose it could be argued that he is fighting against Sibelius' own instincts towards greater and greater unity. I've never heard so much silence offered between these phrases. And frankly, there are moments when the connections almost are lost. But, for every near miss, there is an even larger hit-- for Bernstein's vision is never hard to perceive. This is paradoxical Sibelius: big band, but stripped down. One is tempted to say de-constructed, but it is never cold, calculated, or ironic. Bernstein seems to be courting the ghosts of Furtwangler or Klemperer-- without ever losing track of his own musical soul. Fascinating, yes, not always enrapturing, but finally, most compelling stuff. Oh, what's with the Vienna crowd-- so many of them walking out during the ovation? Were they sticking their noses up? Or-- like L.A. folks-- did they want to be the first out of the parking garage? Makes one remember that Vienna was the city that snubbed Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. So much for Austria as the land of universal musical enlightenment! (They stay in their seats after Number One, though, which was recorded later. Maybe by then they were learning to appreciate the gift of Bernstein-- which was about to leave the Grosser Musikvereinsalle of the World, forever...ewig...ewig....) Finally: Symphony #5. This interpretation is closer to that of #2 than #1. Bernstein sets a slow but inexorable pace and reveals all the subtleties that the Vienna players can bring out. All the interplay between woodwinds and bass fiddles stands out in brilliant relief. Of course this symphony calls for brass and here we get astonishing transitions as these rays of sunlight break through the shifting weather of the middle sections. Does the finale work? Up to a point. The sense of holding back achieved by Bernstein's hypnotic pacing builds a remarkable aura that feels as much human invention as primal creation (the music has never sounded as "composed"). Those ultimate "exposed" blasts are here reduced to "bursts," eruptions in the longest rings of silence I've heard attempted with this, one of the most audacious of all endings. For my taste, I want the primordial eruption here-- and Bernstein doesn't give it to you. There's a touch too much of virtuosity in his conception. But what virtuosity!

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Honey WestReviewed in the United States on October 10, 2024

Bernstein/Vienna Philharmonic/Sibelius Symphony No. 2 (1988): For years I watched/listened to this on the 'Tube and then one day, it was taken down. I bought the CD but I missed seeing the actual musicians and Bernstein's emotive conducting [I see I am alone in this]. It was only recently that I thought to google the tv director which lead to IMDb which led me to this specific dvd out of all the myriad Bernstein or Sibelius performances (hundreds) and now I finally own it. Digging out my dvd player and hooking it up correctly was another trial--don't get me started on attaching speakers or headphones, those will come another day--but for now (sigh) I can rest easy.

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David M. GoldbergReviewed in the United States on April 30, 2012

My approach to reviewing any DVD is to evaluate the visual and musical experiences it offers the viewer/listener. On both counts, this is some distance from perfection. On the former count, I have no complaint with the camera work of Humphrey Burton and his team, but I found the conductor's antics hard to watch at times. When Bernstein exerts his dignity and restrains his physical activities to interpreting the music itself and regulating its performance, he can be magisterial and charismatic, with one of the best stick techniques of any conductor. However, too often as in this case, he prances around on the podium like a great uncouth self-indulgent bear and is a sight to make the eyes sore. If one focuses solely on the acoustic experience with the eyes tight shut, then it is only fair to compare what he offers with CDs of these symphonies. Those with which I am familiar are the performances directed by Collins, Davis and Karajan, all of whom impress me with their strong grip on the structure of these difficult works ------ difficult in the sense that they are prone to sudden and dramatic changes in mood, tempo and volume, with the underlying pulse as unrelenting as that of an ocean even though its surface is disrupted from time to time by wind and storm. Bernstein exaggerates these changes to the point of abruptness. All movement comes to a complete stop as in the middle of the 2nd movement of No 2, or rushes headlong without warning as in the 3rd movement of the same symphony. I do not believe that this is congruous with the composer's intentions, and it has not been recognized as such by those interpreters mentioned above. For me, the overall performance of the 2nd rated no more than 3 stars. I was happier with the 1st, where Bernstein allowed the music to flow more smoothly, although the visual uncouthness of his conducting was still evident ( 3.5 stars). The performances of Nos 5 and 7 left nothing to be desired, and that of the last was sheer inspiration. In both, the tonal complexity of the composer's scores take the breath away: one melodic phrase grows out of another and in turn gives birth to a third, all three playing concurrently in a lattice-work of sound where they can easily lose their individual identities. Not here. Bernstein's understanding of the music and firm control of his players allow every harmonic fragment to stand out with clarity and precision. The attentive listener has no difficulty in following these concurrent melodies as they weave their ravishing way in and out of the tonal texture. These symphonies have rarely sounded greater. In the 7th, Bernstein abandons his ursine antics and conducts with magisterial dignity ------ one of his greatest triumphs, and a benchmark in the entire repertoire of Sibelius recordings (5 stars). The 5th also rated 5 stars, although a little more grudgingly. Bernstein had discovered another fetish to irritate the viewer: a pair of spectacles ( I have never seen him with them previously) that he took on and off, passed from hand to hand, and even used them in lieu of his baton to bring in the solo instruments. To compensate for this visual irritation, Burton provides us in the slow movement with some of the most detailed and technically exciting close-ups of members of the string section and their instruments. Regrettably, this work is saddled with the ugliest ending in the entire symphonic repertoire with which Bernstein does no worse a job than anyone else. 4.5 stars for the entire collection, but there is still room for an improved version.

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neapaReviewed in the United States on August 23, 2010

Simply: i dont like this versions. i bought this dvd in part because there are not many dvds performing Sibelius symphonies and because i like to view the concerts of bernstein in dvd. older bernstelin's recordings whit the new york philharmonic are better than this ones. these dvds are just a rare videos. bernstein cant get in toch with the spirit of sibelius. i think in part due to the orchestra not very familiar whit the marvelous finnish composer. if you are interestes in Sibelius buy the KARAJAN recordings, very far the better of all.