SIBELIUS. ORCHESTRAL WORKS. *Moscow ® Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra both conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky HMV Melodiya ASD3672, ASD3699 (two records, £540 each). AS03672. Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 (from Melodiya C10-05637-8, 9/77). Rakastava, Op. 14* (appears for the first time).

ASD3699. Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63* (CM03189-90, 9/77). Belshazzar's Feast, Op. 51t; Romance in C major, Op. 42$ (ASD2407, 10/68).

SIBELIUS. Symphonies: No.3 in major, Op. 52; ® No. 7 in C major, Op. 105$. Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gennady

Rozhdostvensky. HMV Melodiya A5D3671 (g4-40). From Melodiya ClO 05639-40 (9/77), -fClO 05643-4 (9/77).

I discussed these performances in the context of a longish article on imported records in September 1977 and found them impressive. Rozhdestvensky's readings were "refreshingly free from eccentricity, and have a splendour and power that make them well worth investigation". This verdict stands particularly now that they appear in excellent transfers with even quieter surfaces and a more cleanly focused sound image than the Melodiya originals. The orchestral playing, though not of the same order as the Berlin, Vienna and Boston orchestras, is generally responsive and the only serious drawback is the brass players, whose subtlety is at times in question. Rozhdestvensky's version of the First Symphony is an excellently proportioned and thoroughly idiomatic reading that holds up to the current competition surprisingly well. The recording was made in 1975 though it is not quite as impressive in range or as freshly detailed as the Maazel account on Decca, now obtainable on the mid-price Jubilee label (JB42, 9178). I prefer Rozhdestvensky's more eloquent slow movement, which is bettei paced and goes deeper than the Maazel but otherwise the latter still remains a firm front runner in this work. Perhaps choice will depend a little on the fill-up required: the Decca offers the Karelia Suite, while Rozhdestvensky's moving account of Rakastava dating from the same early sixties period is a strong attraction. As a reading of the Symphony the Rozhdestvensky strikes me as well worth considering even if the orchestral playing isn't quite in the same league as that of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for Maazel or indeed the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Cohn Davis (Philips 9500 140, 3/77).

Rozhdestvensky's record of the Fourth Symphony is one of the finest now available. There is a wonderfully unforced, mysterious quality about the first movement, and Rothdestvensky has the measure of the slow movement's pantheistic musing as well as its great emotional depth. Though the recording is not quite as transparent and finely detailed as Maazel's (JB45, 9/78), the reading is more searching and full of insight, it seems to me worth the extra outlay, though again the fill-up may tip the scales in Maazel's favour. He offers an impressive Tapiola, whereas Rozhdestvensky has the only stereo version of Belshazzar's Feast, a wonderful work that is beginning to return to favour, and the Romance in C for strings, both of which were recorded in the 1960s. If the Rozhdestvensky account of the Fourth does not displace either Cohn Davis (Philips 9500 143, 8/77) or in its very different way Karajan (DG 138 974, 6/66), it is a useful alternative to either. I see no reason to modify my original response to this as being among the most thoughtful and deeply-felt Fourths.

The coupling of the Third and Seventh Symphonies is familiar from the early days of LP when Anthony Collins's cycle first appeared on Decca, and even earlier from the pre-war years of the Sibelius Society when Kajanus's Third and Koussevitzky's Seventh shared an album (reissued on World Records mono SHI73-4, 4173). 1 wrote in 1977 that no one paces the first movement of No, 3 better than does Rozhdestvensky, nor has so fine a command of its structure, and that climaxes are superbly controlled and phrases are articulated with unfailing authority and naturalness. I stand by this, save for the exception of Cohn Davis's superb record (Philips 9500 142, 8/77), which I had not heard at that time, though the reviews were published out of order. Rozhdestvensky's slow movement still sounds a shade brisk. He recorded the Seventh Symphony in the early 1960s (MK DOl 1339—not generally available in the UK) but his reading was impaired by a ruinous trombone vibrato. Things are a good deal better in this newer version though the Soviet trombonist is still sufficiently wanting in nobility to rob the reading of its full majesty. But it is impressive all the same and though not my first choice (Maazel—Decca JB44, 9/78, Koussevitzky, Mravinsky—at present deleted— and Cohn Davis—Philips 6500 959, 11/75, offer equal intensity and finer orchestral playing from the brass), it would still figure high on my list. Rozhdestvensky is a Sibelian of no mean stature, and his thoughts on this great work are worth having. R.L.