There have been many fine recordings of the four Lemminkäinen Legends, not least an earlier one by Jukka-Pekka Saraste himself on RCA, coupled with the Seventh Symphony. His basic problems this time around concern tempo. For example, the central section of “Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island” flies by more quickly than his players can comfortably handle. The result is scrambled rather than exciting. On the other hand, the conductor’s refusal to follow Sibelius’ clear instructions to speed up at the end of “Lemminkäinen’s Return” makes it one of the dullest versions on disc. “Lemminkäinen in Tuonela”, here placed second rather than third, keeping with Sibelius’ original movement order, suffers from thin string playing and poor articulation of the music’s thematic fragments. “The Swan of Tuonela” takes care of itself, as usual, but “Night Ride and Sunrise” is simply boring. But perhaps the most serious defect in these performances is the complete lack of mystery and atmosphere, evident from the very opening woodwind solos and the abrupt treatment of the French horns’ first entrance. There was no need and even less reason for Saraste to re-record this music. Disappointing.
