Vladimir Ashkenazy’s Decca recording of the First Symphony is one of the best available, and this one shares that earlier version’s exciting climaxes at generally flowing tempos. Where it differs is in the more heavily inflected lyrical climaxes of the finale and in the slightly more indulgent treatment of the opening movement’s first theme. This works well in the former, but to my way of thinking it holds up the forward motion a bit in the latter. Ashkenazy also places the movement’s single cymbal crash a few beats later than usual (though it works quite well). Is this a revision we can expect in some new edition? No matter: this is a fine performance, particularly in the aptly flowing Andante, for once not too slow.
If anything, the Third Symphony is even finer. The horns could ring out a bit more jubilantly in the first movement, but in almost all other respects the performance is just about perfect. Tempos move flexibly but effortlessly forward. The central slow movement, again, isn’t taken too slowly, and unlike Ashkenazy’s earlier Decca recording he times the finale’s closing pages extremely well, providing a naturally satisfying conclusion to a movement that remains one of the toughest challenges to any Sibelius interpreter. Rakastava makes an excellent, hardly over-exposed bonus, eloquently played by the Stockholm strings (with a few additions). Demonstration-quality sound in all formats, including 5.0 surround.
