Colin Davis’ first Sibelius cycle with the Boston Symphony blows away his later, slower, heavier, coarsely recorded and indifferently played remake with the London Symphony on RCA. His initial take on the Fifth and Seventh Symphonies certainly withstands the test of time. The Fifth, in particular, reveals Davis’ approach as effortlessly shaped, ideally paced, organically conceived, and wonderfully played with a fantastic first movement coda (underpinned by spectacularly precise timpani), and a really exciting finale. Naturalness and cogency also characterize this performance of the Seventh. The BSO strings render the opening pages with extraordinary tonal purity, and the sunny pastoral as the symphony’s center sings with unaffected charm. The only question about this reissue, which does not sonically improve on previous releases in any major way, is why Philips offers such meager value when Davis’ complete cycle, plus tone poems and the Violin Concerto, can be had on two Duos, each two discs for the price of one. In fact, there’s a complete disc of tone poems that Davis recorded in Boston that has never made it to CD at all (including En Saga, Pohjola’s Daughter, and the Karelia Suite). Great performances, then, but poor value.
