Neeme Järvi’s re-recording of this repertoire with the Gothenburg Symphony for Deutsche Grammophon does not improve upon his earlier versions on BIS. In fact, his reading of Tapiola is, if anything, a retrenchment. Where before Järvi was fierce and mysterious, he is now contemplative and brooding, choosing Karajan-like tempos, though without that conductor’s icy ferocity. (BIS has since released an incredibly powerful recording by Osmo Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra.) Järvi’s En Saga remains a well-thought-out interpretation (even with the subdued bass drum in the climax), but it makes little of the impact of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s terrific rendition with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Sony Classical.
Of greater interest are the rarely heard Spring Song, Kuolema excerpts, and The Bard, reflecting Järvi’s characteristic Sibelius style. Again, these are available in just as fine readings on BIS, though not coupled as such. Oddly, the more recent DG recordings are less impressive sonically, with a flatter perspective and a tendency to congest in the loud passages. So, while this release is not as ridiculously redundant as DG’s issuing the very same Järvi recordings of Nielsen’s Fourth and Sixth symphonies contemporaneously available on BIS, it’s hard to understand how the label justified the undertaking of these remakes. Targeting those who only buy yellow-banded CDs maybe?
