RECORDING OF THE MONTH RECORDING OF THE MONTH BARGAIN OF THE MONTH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A London Symphony Oboe Concerto £11 post free World-wide RACHMANINOV Elegy, Preludes, Piano concerto 3 £12 post free World-wide CHAUSSON, DEBUSSY RACHMANINOV TRios 2CDs £16 post free World-wide

BUY NOW  Crotchet   AmazonUK   AmazonUS Midprice

Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957) Symphony No. 2 in D [41:54] Finlandia [7:43] Cleveland Orchestra/Yoel Levi Rec. Masonic Auditorium, Cleveland, 2 April 1984, DDD TELARC CD-80095 [49:37]

Levi is too easily forgotten amongst the welter of complete Sibelius recordings. Who pays attention to his versions when there is Maazel (twice), Ashkenazy, Berglund (three times mark you), Gibson, Colin Davis (twice - just coming up to third time around), Oramo (outstanding), Rattle, Segerstam and so many others? In fact Levi’s Sibelius is well worth your attention. Anyone who knows his Atlanta Symphony Orchestra disc coupling Sibelius 1 and 5 (Telarc CD80246 - also reviewed here) will not be surprised to hear that the present disc presents a very considerable reading of the Second Symphony. This Second combines the opposite poles of incendiary emotion (Beecham) and ramrod-tight control (Karajan). Levi delivers a reading that is pin-sharp and deeply chiselled. I suppose some may find this just too affected; too self-consciously shaped. It is in fact an inspirational performance and anyone who picks this CD up on spec will feel rewarded. After all, the tawnily magnificent tone produced by those Cleveland hornists is no common commodity. This is not a mundane Sibelius 2. It stands in all its individuality beside the great Seconds including Ormandy’s Sony version and Barbirolli’s ‘ice and fire’ with the RPO on Chesky. Even the tired and over-played glories of Finlandia take on an added glamour with Levi and the Clevelanders although I would not prefer this to the imposingly black-toned Horst Stein version with, of all orchestras, the Suisse Romande. Marc Mandel provides a useful scene-setting note. Strangely this disc has had precious little critical commentary perhaps it is the short-playing time; the only real demerit now that this splendid-sounding disc has dropped to mid-price. Rob Barnett   Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage There will be NO VAT Rises [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

Return to Index

Reviews from previous months Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.