SIBELIUS STRING QUARTET OP. 4 ARCHIVE

'The string ensemble at 12'06' is extraordinary and the power and confidence mustered after that delicate hesitance is awesome, not least as it recedes into nothingness.' To find the perfect subscription for you, simply visit: .uk/subscribeĪnne Sofie von Otter mez Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Hannu Lintu

SIBELIUS STRING QUARTET OP. 4 ARCHIVE

Subscribing to Gramophone is easy, you can choose how you want to enjoy each new issue (our beautifully produced printed magazine or the digital edition, or both) and also whether you would like access to our complete digital archive (stretching back to our very first issue in April 1923) and unparalleled Reviews Database, covering 50,000 albums and written by leading experts in their field. It finds Sir John at his inspirational best in a reading which marries outsize but never wilful temperament to edge-of-seat spontaneity and keen poetic instinct.'

'In the pantheon of essential Sibelius recordings, Barbirolli’s October 1962 account of the Second Symphony with the RPO deservedly occupies a place of honour. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Hallé Orchestra / Sir John Barbirolli That quiet intensity is maintained throughout achieving an extraordinary other-worldly quality in the recurring passage which feels its way like disappearing footsteps in the snow just prior to the first-movement coda.' The beautiful opening theme at first seems indivisible from the oscillating icy haze of the orchestral violins and maintains its mystery where other players might be inclined to exploit its beauty in riper tone and richer, more ‘expensive’ phrasing. 'Batiashvili homes in here on the ethereal quality of the lyricism. Lisa Batiashvili vn Staatskapelle Berlin / Daniel Barenboim Osmo Vänskä's Sibelius recordings are so warmly received by Gramophone's reviewers that we probably could have made a Top 10 comprised simply of his albums, but we have tried to widen the net a little to allow room for the likes of Sir John Barbirolli, Herbert von Karajan and Daniel Barenboim. If you are exploring Jean Sibelius's music for the first time, or want to discover a new recording of a long-cherished work, then we hope that you find this list of recommended recordings useful.

Sibelius string quartet op. 4