Just wanted to let how impressed I was by Colin Davis' (kinda) new Sibelius
symphony cycle on RCA.  I felt as though I was listening to Sibelius for
the first time.

A few observations: The woodwinds really chatter, the string tremolos
sizzle with electricity, and attention is paid to more than just the
dynamics--there are so many moments of exquisite timbral shading--even
the tympani rolls are riveting!

Davis seems specially attuned to Sibelius' sound world and special brand
of orchestral color.  *Finally* those isolated bass/tympani "garumphs" in
the fourth mov't of the Second Symphony, (just a little beyond the Allegro
Moderato marking), sound rough-hewn, rather than reminding one of a bizarre
Shostakovich parody.

Davis never lets the rhymic underpinnings flag--especially helpful in
the lush massed-string/harp moments of the first symphony, (which can sound
too much like Tchaikovsky), and the finale of the Fifth.  The finale of
the Fifth has always perplexed me.  I love the grand chorale-like ending,
but I have never been persuaded by the hammer-stroke coda.  Davis brings
out the contrapuntal/rhythmic elements of the chorale so that the hammer
strokes grow out of the mass textures, rather than seeming tacked on.

The recordings are first rate.  I have to repeat again how enjoyable and
enlightening these performances have been--this is music I've been
listening to since high school.  A cliche I know, but the music really
comes to life.

John Smyth (oh, and the Sixth is a beautiful work--esp.  the first mov't)