Richard Pennycuick wrote of Osmo Vanska:

>I'm currently getting used to his Lemminkainen Legends CD, which includes
>original versions of Lemminkainen and the Maidens of the Island (aka other
>translations) and Lemminkainen's Homecoming.  These IMHO are even more
>interesting than the other original versions Vanska has given us, eg the
>5th symphony.  As the CD runs nearly 80', that might be enough to make the
>temptation irresistible.

Is that 80 minutes for JUST the 4 Legends?!  If so these original versions
must be much much longer than the final ones!  I've been really digging the
Legends lately in my Horst Stein/OSR recording, and I was thinking about
getting a second one, maybe the Vanska.  (Like with Kullervo, I sort of
think of the 4 Legends as an extra unnumbered early Sibelius symphony...
after all, the 2nd sym was at first going to be a set of four programme
pieces, just like the Legends are).

One other question on this repertoire-- does anyone know if Ormandy's early
recording of all four is available on disc, and if not how does his later
EMI version hold up? His later rec's have a reputation for excessive
smoothness, and I don't want that for these pieces!

Jon Lewis
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