The Lahti orchestra bring total dedication to these great scores, and Osmo Vänskä is a Sibelian of substance. With this account of the Sixth and Seventh he brings his survey to a triumphant conclusion. Indeed this is every bit as impressive as the First and Fourth. To the Sixth Symphony he brings total concentration: a serene slow movement but a very fast Scherzo and tautly held-together finale. The Seventh is finely conceived and paced and though the Lahti orchestra aren't the equal of the Finnish RSO for Saraste or the Helsinki PO for Berglund (both conductors fine Sibelians), directed by Vänksä they give the more compelling and convincing performances. The Tapiola is thrilling: atmospheric and powerfully built up and though it doesn't displace Karajan, Koussevitzky or Beecham, it's a measure of its splendour and power – and the terror it evokes – that it invites only the most exalted comparisons. In the Sixth Symphony one wouldn't want to be without either Sir Colin Davis, the Beecham or any of the Karajan versions, and for the Seventh the roll-call must certainly include Koussevitzky's seminal account, as well as both Sir Colin's Boston and LSO accounts.
This is an impressive issue.The recorded sound is in the first flight, and there are excellent notes by Andrew Barnett.