Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vanska - Jean Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 3, 6 & 7 (2016)

As Osmo Vänskä powers into the home straight of his Minnesota Sibelius cycle, the first thing that strikes one about his newly minted account of the Third Symphony is the keenness of the articulation. It’s the aural equivalent of crisp, cold air.

Vänskä’s Sibelius is all about clarity – of rhythm, of texture, of intention. It is zealously unfussy and entirely without exaggeration. But it can stop you in your tracks. The ‘no-man’s-land’ we enter a few pages into the Third – a moment or two of reflection in a barren landscape – can rarely have sounded more like Sibelius’s ‘pure spring water’. But in the suddenness of the hush Vänskä manages to change the way the air moves in Minnesota Hall. I love the simplicity and limpidity of the second movement, and the gathering of energy at the heart of the third movement is tremendous – that’s where the resplendent final procession is generated.

The Third and Sixth Symphonies feel even more closely related than usual. The quietism of the Sixth speaks volumes. If ever a piece existed between the notes, this is it. In the seemingly negligible the considerable is to be found – like the tremulous darkening before the close of the first movement; a major event writ small. And that is especially startling on account of the luminosity surrounding it. There really isn’t much to say about a performance that just feels perfectly balanced – in music as in nature. I will add, though, that the evaporating final chord is startling.

And so to the almost but not quite conclusive Seventh – epic in all but duration, as grand and elemental as it is concise. Small ideas grow great with inevitability – a testament to Sibelius’s genius and Vänskä’s integrity. And it sounds splendid. This of all the symphonies seems to come up through the bass-lines, and as we approach the second major upheaval, the chromatic undulation of strings – the movement of tectonic plates – is perfectly in balance with what is happening above.

One just knows that the ear-pricking clarity throughout these performances is of Vänskä’s and not the balance engineer’s making. And as for that eleventh-hour resolution into C major, it is as emphatic as it is precipitous. The full stop that’s more of a question mark.

Review by Edward Seckerson, Gramophone

Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä has conducted the music of Jean Sibelius throughout his career, and he first recorded the seven symphonies in the mid-1990s with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra on BIS. This 2016 release of the Symphony No. 3 in C major, the Symphony No. 6 in D minor, and the Symphony No. 7 in C major completes Vänskä's second Sibelius cycle, also released on BIS but performed this time by the Minnesota Orchestra. Comparisons between the two cycles are inevitable, and while the interpretations are rather similar in pacing and feeling, and the playing is excellent in both, the particulars are a matter of personal preference. However, there is an important difference in the quality of reproduction. The recordings by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra were issued as CDs and were fine for their time, but the Minnesota Orchestra's recordings benefit tremendously from the advances in audiophile technology, and the multichannel sound of this hybrid SACD is a big plus. Not only is the dynamic range extremely wide, all the details of the performances are absolutely clear, whether at pianissimo or fortissimo levels. The warmth and depth of the audio are extraordinary, and tone colors are varied and distinct, with ideal separation of parts. Sample the low brass in the third movement of the Symphony No. 3 to feel how vibrant they are, or try the marvelous string passage at the opening of the Symphony No. 6 to experience the utterly transparent sound. Highly recommended, along with the two previous volumes, which were released in 2012 and 2013.

Review by Blair Sanderson, Allmusic.com

Exact Audio Copy V1.1 from 23. June 2015

EAC extraction logfile from 16. October 2016, 3:25

Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä / Sibelius - Symphonies Nos. 3, 6 & 7

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foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-10-31 17:13:23

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Analyzed: Minnesota Orchestra, Osmo Vanska / Sibelius - Symphonies Nos. 3, 6 & 7
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
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DR14 -0.68 dB -23.12 dB 10:21 01-Symphony No.3 - I. Allegro moderato
DR14 -10.47 dB -30.62 dB 10:44 02-Symphony No.3 - II. Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto
DR15 -0.78 dB -22.54 dB 9:05 03-Symphony No.3 - III. Moderato - Allegro (ma non tanto)
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DR16 -1.27 dB -23.74 dB 3:48 06-Symphony No.6 - III. Poco vivace
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