Sibelius Symphonies

vanska on bis - all 7, my favorites. also ashkenazy, blomstedt on all 7 and levine on 2 & 5.

otto, blomsstedt with the sf. i note you like russians - if your not familar with the ashknazy versions you might give them a try, i like #4 best. you can just feel the cold wind of the artic...........

for otto: out of curiosity i picked up sanderlings' #2 and 3. both are very good performances, i liked 3 a bit more than two but he keeps the pace up. i'm not fond of performances in which the conductor tries to make sibelius into a "romantic". very good recordings, especially at budget price (7.49 at alldirect.com). i'm going to get the rest.

otto, you like strauss and sibelius, have your tried bantock? this is a composer from the british isles who should be heard, not your typical bucolic english music. he was a contempoary of both strauss and sibelius. his music was influenced by liszt and wagner. talk about a convergence of the planets! if you haven't, try hebridean symphony on hyperion label for starters. excuse the presumption.........