SIBELIUS: Symphonies Nos. 5, 6 & 7; Karelia Suite & Overture - Collins, Jensen, London Symphony, Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra (2 CDs)

The second volume of Anthony Collins’s Sibelius cycle for Decca, expertly remastered for this reissue, brings the final three symphonies plus all the shorter works of Sibelius from Collins. As a bonus, Thomas Jensen’s Karelia Suite, trim, taut and vivid, brings the set to a blazing finish.

‘I think the star performance of these first three issues is that of the Sixth Symphony—so elusive, so easy to ruin by over-interpreting. I was fascinated by what seemed like a hint of Russian flavouring in the string chants of the coda—well why not?’ Gramophone

JEAN SIBELIUS
Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82
Symphony No. 6 in D minor, Op. 104
Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105
Karelia Suite, Op. 11+
Karelia Overture, Op. 10
Pohjola’s Daughter, Op. 49
Nightride and Sunrise, Op. 55 (1909)
Pelléas et Mélisande – Incidental Music to Maeterlinck’s Play, Op. 46 (1905)

London Symphony Orchestra
Anthony Collins
Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra+
Thomas Jensen+