Karajan was a chord guy, and his DG Sibelius recordings arguably find him and the Berlin Philharmonic at their creamy-textured, soft-edged, tensionless but gorgeous peak. These EMI remakes, on the other hand, lack the same degree of discipline, nor are they so well (or at least consistently) recorded, but they also do selectively greater justice to the composer’s craggier textures and tendency to favor winds over strings as the bearers of significant thematic material. Unfortunately, because life is never simple, these are also rather heavier readings, a function of rhythm and accent rather than speed (the Sixth is in fact the swiftest of Karajan’s three (!) recordings).
The Fourth Symphony reveals this shortcoming most clearly (Vänskä on Bis, slower still, has far more tension), as do the outer movements of the Fifth. The First Symphony, though, offers real excitement, with a particularly savage finale, and the Sixth never sacrifices detail for velocity, save perhaps in the somewhat scrambled scherzo. Blatting trumpets, often inaudible percussion, and a clod-footed tread characterize Karajan’s Karelia Suite, adding to the impression of this set as very much a mixed bag. Still, for the First and Sixth Symphonies, the first movement coda of the Fifth, and the slow movement of Fourth, this is worth a listen for Sibelians not already in the know.
