CD Review: Sibelius: Symphony No 5 - Bournemouth & Berglund

Paavo Berglund’s recording of the Sibelius symphonies in Bournemouth may seem a bit incongruous now. But the orchestra was in a purple patch in the mid 70s, Berglund had been chief conductor since 1972 and refined their sound but not to the point where it lost its individuality.

The reading is a gutsy and dynamic one, the woodwinds play like Gods and the brass section wasn’t yet suffering from the loss of voice definition afflicting orchestras later that generation.

Berglund doesn’t add much new in terms of interpretation. He picks out details but he doesn’t underline them. He doesn’t make points for the sake of making them more he inflects lines and maintains them wonderfully especially in those familiar quiet episodes. 

I enjoyed the performance - it is one where the music moves with determination which is confident and wonderful. What may please others less is that getting to the destination sometimes becomes more of a priority than exploring the music under his feet - by which I mean the harmonic backdrop to this great symphonic journey. The shifting colours of this work reward scrutiny and rehearing, one feels it was not a priority for Berglund.  It is nonetheless a very fine and satisfying reading and performance. #sibelius #symphonyNo5 #bournemouthsymphonyorchrstra