Paavo Berglund (1929-2012) recorded the complete symphonies of his great compatriot Sibelius no fewer than three times.
This set, central in every respect, was made in the 1980s with the Helsinki Philharmonic and includes the early Kullervo Symphony and several tone poems. Berglund, a former music director of the Helsinki Philharmonic, was renowned internationally as a master interpreter of Sibelius’s extraordinary music. In Gramophone’s words, he conducted it “with an unhurried, controlled inevitability that allows the music to unfold in its own time without any loss of tension or excitement”.
Sibelius: Finlandia, Op. 26
Sibelius: Kullervo, Op. 7
Sibelius: Oma maa, Op. 92 (Our Native Land)
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1-7
Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43
Sibelius: Symphony No. 3 in C major, Op. 52
Sibelius: Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82
Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D minor, Op. 104
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105
Sibelius: Tapiola, Op. 112
Sibelius: The Oceanides, Op. 73
Sibelius: Tulen synty, Op. 32 (The Origin of Fire)