Not As Wintry As The Cover Art

Sir Colin Davis is acknowledged as a bit of a Sibelius specialist and although the repertoire has been reclaimed by Baltic conductors and record labels in recent years, the Colin Davis cycles are still much respected. This disk has him conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in Symphony No 1 and Symphony No 4. Sibelius composed them a decade apart and that is noticeable from the music. The first symphony is still under the influence of the 19th century, especially to the Russian school and with typical youthful touches of exuberance and self indulgence. The fourth is clearly looking forward rather than back but interestingly, forward to paths that other composers were to tread rather than those Sibelius himself was to go on to cultivate. It was seen as a protest against the overt emotional displays and giganiticism of Strauss, Mahler and Scriabin. Saddled with that tem "enigmatic" it is nevertheless a much respected work, notably among other composers. As an aside, this cycle by Colin Davis is packaged with photographs of bleak wintry landscapes, the sort of Sibelian cliche that isn't really borne out in the musical evidence.