SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 2 Op 43, Finlandia Op. 26, En Saga
Op. 9. Pelleas et Melisande Suite Op. 46, Romance in C Op. 42, Andante festivo,
Valse Triste, Suite champetre, Suite mignonne Op. 98, Rakastava Op. 14.
Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra/English String Orchestra William Boughton
Nimbus NI7716/7 137m
DDD.
This is a useful Sibelius collection in that it couples works of rousing
nationalism with the intimate and rarer string pieces. Boughton's rough and
ready interpretation of the Second Symphony is useful but at the end he is
no match for Ashkenazy (Decca), Karajan (1960, EMI), Anthony Collins (Beulah,
recently deleted) and obviously the highly desirable 1947 Beecham (available
on Dutton). The playing of the RPO is sleek and vivid but ultimately the
performance fails to catch fire. 'Finlandia' is beautifully played and the
rich central theme is of a true noble stature. 'En Saga' suffers from lack
of character and I would refer readers to Collins (Beulah) and the
much-underrated Horst Stein on a Decca twofer for a more cogently urgent
reading of this magical score.
All is not lost however as the second disc in this collection breeds a host
of dividends. The doleful and sensual 'Pelleas' music is very captivating;
indeed I was many times reminded of Sir Thomas Beecham's magisterial account
recently surfaced on a BBC Legends collection. 'Melisande' is particularly
mysterious and the polish of the ESO is effective throughout. The same goes
for the short Romance and the stirring Andante Festivo. I retain a marked
affection for a late 70s EMI Greensleeve LP where Charles Groves recorded
most of these works together with the Suites mignonne and champetre although
Boughton runs him very close especially in the latter. 'Rakastava' is very
pensive and profoundly played. There is more to this music than meets the
ear on first hearing. Strong resonant recordings add to the allure of this
budget price set which is colourfully annotated. For the second disc alone
it is well worth the outlay.
Reviewer
Gerald Fenech
Performance:
Symphony/Symphonic Poems:
String works:
Sound:
