Sibelius - The Seven Symphonies

The Guardian 60

(Orchestre de Paris/Paavo Järvi; RCA, three CDs)
Järvi brings deep knowledge and affinity to this music, but the results don’t generate the thrills they should

New recordings of Sibelius’s symphonies, both single discs and complete cycles, are not exactly uncommon, but few of those that have appeared in recent years have threatened to rival the best already available. Simon Rattle’s studied performances with the Berlin Philharmonic seemed disappointing after the freshness of his 1980s Birmingham set, for instance, and even Osmo Vänskä’s second cycle, recorded with the Minnesota Orchestra, rarely matched his earlier pioneering work with the Lahti Symphony for BIS Records. That version, and John Barbirolli’s 1960s Hallé cycle on Warner Classics, arguably remain the best all-round recommendations.

Paavo Järvi comes to these symphonies with pedigree. Not only has he strong family connections with them – his father, Neeme, has recorded two complete cycles – but he has established his own credentials with a fine series of recordings that included versions of the early symphonic suite Kullervo, rarely heard cantatas and Sibelius’s only completed opera, The Maiden in the Tower. The symphonies, though, present an interpretative challenge on a different level altogether, especially when working with the Orchestre de Paris (where Järvi was music director from 2010-16), an ensemble with relatively little experience of playing them. He took the project slowly, too. The recordings – from concerts in two Paris venues, the Salle Pleyel and the Philharmonie – were stretched over five years.