Kar-Ming Chong: >I'm considering to purchase the BIS series (with Vanska) on Sibelius >(symphonies, suites etc) and I need list members' opinions on this >on-going series. After listening to Paul Kletzki's Sym 1 & 3 >(Testament), Mravinsky's Sym 7 (Melodiya) and Sakari's 1 & 3 (Naxos), I >feel that there is much to offer in Sibelius symphonies besides the >Berglund interpretations (EMI and Finlandia). So, any opinion for the >BIS series? I think you'd be very lucky to find a Sibelius symphony cycle by anyone that's uniformly satisfying but Vanska, IMHO, is very near - if not at - the top of the pile. Some of his tempos are unusual, eg a faster than usual first movement of #1, and a v-e-r-y slow slow movement of #4, but ultimately I found them convincing. The only performance I felt any disappointment with was #2, and even that was minor quibbling. You also get some first versions which are more than makeweights. I've not heard all of his other orchestral Sibelius recordings, but those I have are worth the money. The most recent was his Lemminkainen Legends about which I wrote a complimentary post when I first got it - again, this includes original versions of two legends. Don't forget the CD with the original and final versions of the violin concerto played by Leonidas Kavakos. The one I'm waiting for Vanska to do is Kullervo - that should be very special. Richard Pennycuick [log in to unmask]