Classical CDs Weekly
theartsdesk.com
Graham Rickson
6.04.2019
Sibelius: Symphonies 1-7 Orchestre de Paris/Paavo Järvi (RCA Red Seal)
There’s a section in the first movement of Sibelius 2 that sounds here uncannily like Debussy’s La Mer, more so than in any other recording I can remember. Attributing this purely to the playing style of Paavo Järvi’s Orchestre de Paris is probably fanciful: Sibelius was well-versed in fin-de-siècle musical movements and pieces like The Oceanides sound very impressionistic. Still, this new set, taped live between 2012 and 2016, marks the first recorded Sibelius cycle from a French orchestra, and to hammer home the point there’s even a picture of the Eiffel Tower on the cover instead of the customary pine forests. Järvi’s Symphony No 1 isn’t as idiomatic as Santti-Matias Rouvali’s recent Gothenberg version but the remaining six are well worth hearing, Järvi securing vivid, colourful results from his musicians. There’s more to Sibelius than Nordic gloom, and No 2’s finale is swift, bright and exhilarating. Similarly, No 5’s epic “swan theme” is genuinely ecstatic here, the Parisian horns raising the roof. And listen out for the thwack of the lower strings when the motif shifts into C major, an effect I’ve not heard before.
No 4 is stoic rather than tragic, with magnificent brass in the opening movement. Järvi’s approach won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it convinced me. 3, 6 and 7 are the set’s highlights. No 3’s first-movement recapitulation is brilliantly realised, as if we’re moving out of dense fog into bright light. Rhythms are beautifully articulated and the music sounds deliciously fresh and buoyant. Excellent upper strings make the opening of No 6 shimmer, and the symphony’s hushed close doesn’t disappoint. I enjoyed 7 too, Järvi’s big-hearted approach making his 21-minute running time feel much longer, in a good way. The trombone theme’s incandescent final appearance brings with it a glorious sense of returning home, the mood exhausted but upbeat.
https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music/classical-cds-weekly-brahms-haydn-sibelius
Graham Rickson
6.04.2019
Sibelius: Symphonies 1-7 Orchestre de Paris/Paavo Järvi (RCA Red Seal)
There’s a section in the first movement of Sibelius 2 that sounds here uncannily like Debussy’s La Mer, more so than in any other recording I can remember. Attributing this purely to the playing style of Paavo Järvi’s Orchestre de Paris is probably fanciful: Sibelius was well-versed in fin-de-siècle musical movements and pieces like The Oceanides sound very impressionistic. Still, this new set, taped live between 2012 and 2016, marks the first recorded Sibelius cycle from a French orchestra, and to hammer home the point there’s even a picture of the Eiffel Tower on the cover instead of the customary pine forests. Järvi’s Symphony No 1 isn’t as idiomatic as Santti-Matias Rouvali’s recent Gothenberg version but the remaining six are well worth hearing, Järvi securing vivid, colourful results from his musicians. There’s more to Sibelius than Nordic gloom, and No 2’s finale is swift, bright and exhilarating. Similarly, No 5’s epic “swan theme” is genuinely ecstatic here, the Parisian horns raising the roof. And listen out for the thwack of the lower strings when the motif shifts into C major, an effect I’ve not heard before.
No 4 is stoic rather than tragic, with magnificent brass in the opening movement. Järvi’s approach won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it convinced me. 3, 6 and 7 are the set’s highlights. No 3’s first-movement recapitulation is brilliantly realised, as if we’re moving out of dense fog into bright light. Rhythms are beautifully articulated and the music sounds deliciously fresh and buoyant. Excellent upper strings make the opening of No 6 shimmer, and the symphony’s hushed close doesn’t disappoint. I enjoyed 7 too, Järvi’s big-hearted approach making his 21-minute running time feel much longer, in a good way. The trombone theme’s incandescent final appearance brings with it a glorious sense of returning home, the mood exhausted but upbeat.
https://theartsdesk.com/classical-music/classical-cds-weekly-brahms-haydn-sibelius
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