As one who owns ten sets of Sibelius' symphonies, if I were forced to
confine myself to just two, I would take Barbirolli/Halle on EMI and
Sanderling/Berlin SO on Berlin Classics.  Davis' second collection for
RCA is a very good contender and has received wide acclaim.

Barbirolli takes all the best of Berglund, Davis, Jansons, Bernstein,
Rattle, Maazel, Ormandy, etc., while Sanderling's recordings are much more
punctual, pointillist, and definitive in taking the best of Segerstam,
Sakari, and aspects of Bernstein.

These two conductors are very much complementary despite the significant
differences in sonics, approach, and clarity.  But the Barbirolli is
probably the most endearing of them all.  I don't know how many symphonies
Sir Adrian Boult recorded of Sibelius, but he's the only conductor left I
would include in the above list.  (I don't have the Askenazy, which I still
doubt I'll acquire.)

Maazel used to be the recommendation to make to neophytes.  But given
that Sanderling, Rattle, Bernstein, Davis (first series), and Rattle are
available at about the same price, this recommendation is no longer a first
choice.

"D. Stephen Heersink" <[log in to unmask]>