A Survey of Sibelius Cycles
Update 19/01/2013: Colin Davis' second (first LSO) cycle is being re-issued and already available in Europe.
Update 12/01/2013: Abranavel's, Karajan and Bernstein's incomplete, and Ashkenazy's Stockholm cycle added. Links and images updated and Amazon-links internationalized. Ionarts's Choice cycles updated. Misdirecting links double-checked after initial posting.
Update 04/01/2013: Paavo Berglund's first cycle with the Bournemouth SO, long out of print, has been re-issued as a super-basement bargain by EMI. It's been included below, replacing the Royal Classics release.
Update 12/12/2012: Colin Davis' third cycle (on LSO Live) is out in a box and has been included below. His first cycle has been boxed by Decca, and has been added in place of the two Philips twofers. To keep the symmetry, Sixten Ehrling's Stockholm cycle (available on German Amazon and on HMV.co.jp) has been added.
Like the Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle Survey, this is a mere "inventory" of what has been recorded and whether it is still available. Favorites are denoted with the "ionarts' choice" graphic.
  P.Berglund (III) COE Finlandia ~$45 UK | DE | FR (Avail. in Europe) | |||
  J.P.Saraste (II) Finnish RSO Finlandia ~$55 (oop) UK | DE | FR (RCA cycle hopelessly oop) | |||
 S.Ehrling Royal Stockholm PO Finlandia ~€45 UK | DE | FR (Germany only) | |||
 L.Bernstein (II) Vienna Philharmonic DG ~$18 UK | DE | FR (Partial: 1•2•5•7) |  A.Wanatabe (II) Japan Phil SO Denon ~$35 (Import) UK | DE | FR (Earlier Sony cycle oop) | ||
 H.v.Karajan "0.71" Berlin Phil EMI ~$25 (oop) UK | DE | FR (Partial: 1•4•5•6; EMI Sy. 2) | |||
= recommended
1 comment:
I snapped up the Berglund/Bournemouth cycle the moment EMI released it digitally for $10. (It's now a couple bucks more.)
Believe it or not, Amazon offers an even better bargain for Sibelians. The Vanska/Lahti set you list, in a specially-packaged and -promoted digital-only edition, is just $7.99. And it comes with some good fillers too--the violin concerto, karelia suite, and more.
I believe this is the same set of recordings that forms the basis of the recent impressive and exhaustive BIS Sibelius Edition. This is very well performed and well-recorded, and pretty idiomatic. It's a little bit of a departure from the romantic (Segerstam/Helsinki) and classical (Davis/BSO), but refreshing.
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