Simon Rattle - Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1-7 (5CD) (2007)

English conductors, including Thomas Beecham, John Barbirolli, Anthony Collins, and Colin Davis, have an excellent track record recording the symphonies of Jean Sibelius. Thus, when Simon Rattle first took a shot at Sibelius with his 1981 recording of the Fifth with the London Philharmonia, hopes were high that the next generation of English Sibelius conductors was ready to take up the torch. EMI was sufficiently impressed with the results to sign Rattle for a complete cycle of the symphonies with his City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The results were popular enough, especially among British record buyers, that EMI regularly reissued Rattle's mid-'80s recordings in subsequent decades.
This 2007 edition includes not only the seven symphonies and the Violin Concerto (with Nigel Kennedy as soloist), but also a few select tone poems and Rattle's original 1981 recording of the Fifth as a bonus. Generally speaking, Rattle's Sibelius is less epic and bold than it is eccentric. He pulls tempos in unexpected directions in the Third's closing movement and the Fifth's opening movement, but he always seems to end up where he started: somewhat becalmed in the doldrums, and unable to keep sufficient wind in the music's sails. Sibelius' melodies never seem to soar in Rattle's performances; instead, the big themes of the First's Andante or the Second's Finale mutter to themselves. As a result, the signal emotional traits of each work (the First's tragedy, the Second's triumph, etc.) are either muted or altogether missing. Even the Violin Concerto, with the always-flashy Kennedy, fails to catch fire. EMI's sound is cool, clear vintage early digital. In all, this package suggests that if one wants to hear Sibelius as realized by the best of English conductors, one should look elsewhere.