The list of recordings of Sibelius’ most popular symphony is formidably long. Nevertheless, Sibelius’ countryman, outgoing LA Philharmonic conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, achieves a recommendable if unusual version of the work in this DG Concerts download from an October, 2007 concert. Since Sibelius never suggested–or endorsed or rejected–any program for his Second Symphony, differing views of its meaning are possible. Standard interpretations often relate the symphony to Finland’s struggle for national liberation, playing the majestic elements of the finale with triumphant feeling.
By contrast Salonen presents a more internal drama. The opening movement is unusually hesitant. Weirdly enough there are moments in it that recall Bernard Herrmann’s Vertigo film score–those lonely passages where James Stewart shadows Kim Novak around San Francisco. The second movement is unusually slow. Salonen uses beautifully controlled rubato that suggests purely personal sadness rather than political repression. The scherzo balances an unusually brisk basic tempo with a much slower trio. While the finale retains its majestic quality, the usual triumph is mostly downplayed: the bass pulse is deliberately de-emphasized to the point that the reading, actually one of the swifter ones on disc, sounds slow. Unresolved tragedy emerges frequently even here, right up to the next-to-last episode of the movement.
This view of the symphony might unsettle many Sibelius fans, but Salonen’s reading holds up as credible and justified by the score; this is not one of those willfully deconstructive misreadings of basic repertoire that too many conductors are dishing up these days. By all means get a standard reading (Szell/Sony or Philips, or Barbirolli/Chesky) first, but otherwise this release is well worth acquiring, especially on websites where the price is reduced, because the download (containing only the symphony) is relatively short.
