Don Satz wrote:

>I have the Finlandia set and like it very much.  These are not heavy
>peformances and might seem underpowered to some folks.  I would have liked
>a more "icy" interpretation, but that's my only regret about the set.

I am also extremely fond of the Berglund/Chamber Orch. of Europe
Finlandia set, in part because it serves as a memento of one of the
greatest live performances I have ever heard.  Berglund/COE performed
Sibelius 6 & 7 at the Barbican in '95, and it was one of those freak
occasions where the players' level of concentration and "bond" with
the conductor was far beyond what we usually hear in even the best
performances.  Perhaps so as not to break the spell, Bergund immediately
shushed the applause at the end of the 6th and launched into the 7th.
Heard this way, the two pieces seemed perfectly wedded as one statement,
and I was disappointed that Finlandia didn't arrange them on disc that way.
My only complaint.

Art Scott
Livermore, Cal.