# Sibelius Cycle--Sir Colin Davis with London Symphony Orchestra



## KevinW (Nov 21, 2021)

Hello People,

I have just viewed another Hurwitz video on Sir Colin Davis' Sibelius Cycle with the LSO. He said it was the worst cycle did by him, but I did see tons of positive reviews about it on Talk Classical. I hate to be mislead by this guy. I haven't had a chance to listen to that cycle, although Sir Colin Davis on the album photo has already been my avatar for a while. So does anyone of you have this cycle, and what do you think of it? Do you think it is worthwhile to purchase, if I have that budget?

KevinW


----------



## FrankinUsa (Aug 3, 2021)

I think this “thing” with Hurwitz has gone beyond putting any faith in one person. Take his info and listen and make up your own mind. 
I don’t have the complete Davis/LSO/LSO LIVE recordings but I like what I hear.


----------



## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

There are two Davis/LSO/Sibelius cycles, the more recent on LSO Live, also one which appeared on RCA, so which is being referred to.

P.S. There is also an earlier cycle done with the Boston Symphony.


----------



## KevinW (Nov 21, 2021)

Becca said:


> There are two Davis/LSO/Sibelius cycles, the more recent on LSO Live, also one which appeared on RCA, so which is being referred to.
> 
> P.S. There is also an earlier cycle done with the Boston Symphony.


It's the one shown in the picture.


----------



## FrankinUsa (Aug 3, 2021)

KevinW said:


> It's the one shown in the picture.


That pic looks like the RCA cycle. But that's just a guess.


----------



## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

I have Davis doing the 3rd, 6th, & 7th Symphonies with the Boston. IMO, nothing to write home about. Decent renditions of those symphonies, but there is nothing that stands out. Rather bland performances. I also have Herbie on the 6th and Lenny on the 7th. They both are head and shoulders above Davis' efforts.

V


----------



## KevinW (Nov 21, 2021)

I think it is the RCA Cycle. I can find it in Sir Colin Davis the Complete Legacies. Sibelius Symphony Cycle starts at music No. 196 in this playlist, I think.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kOgWZvrtaai-VdIR0QrWo-nB2IEJzbc9Y


----------



## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

The Davis LSO live cycle has the dullest Sibelius 2nd I've ever heard. It was bad enough that I stayed away from the rest of the cycle. So, I can't comment on the cycle as a whole.

On the other hand, I recall that the RCA Davis LSO studio cycle received excellent reviews years ago. & I believe that's the one you're asking about.

Personally, I prefer Paavo Berglund's Bournemouth Sibelius cycle from the 1970s, as well as Berglund's live London Philharmonic recordings from the Barbican to what I've heard of Davis's Sibelius. I'd also opt for the Sibelius cycles by Okko Kamu, Sir Alexander Gibson (on Chandos), & Leif Segerstam's two cycles, as well.

For me, Davis was at his best in the music of Haydn, Mozart, Berlioz, & Brahms.


----------



## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

I have the whole Davis/LSO Live cycle. It has attracted positive reviews, so it's possible that this is the one talked about on TC. The picture in the OP is not from the LSO Live cycle.

I like most of it. His 4th comes out well. The 5th is slightly spoiled by his humming and a mismanaged climax.


----------



## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

I am not a Sibelian but the 1970s cycle with Boston used to be rather highly regarded and recommended. The twofer with 1,2,4,5 was maybe my first Sibelius symphony purchase and I still have it and liked it (although I never goth the second "half") but again, I appreciate these works without being a huge fan or avid collector of them.

10 years ago or so, a guy (I think a professional musician or music professor, forgot the name) made a huge Sibelius survey (maybe findable with "Sibeliusaurus") and although he seemed to be a bit biographically biased some recordings of that Boston cycle were among his top recommendations.
In any case it seems to me that among the three options with Davis the Boston is still the favored one. Of course there are many options besides Davis...


----------



## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

I'm not particularly a Sibelian either, nor always a Davis fan if it comes to that, but I have some of those Davis/Boston performances and find they make rewarding listening.


----------



## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

I think Davis' LSO cycle (his 2nd, so not the LSO live one) is perfectly fine. I've owned it for years and I always found that it presents a fresh, sometimes idiosyncratic view on Sibelius. Davis sometimes highlights details that other conductors don't and his tempo choices can be surprising too. So I wouldn't recommend it as a first cycle but it offers nice contrast to more literal interpretations.
Of course some symphonies benefit from Davis' sometimes unpredictable decisions more than others, and I agree that 1 and 2 are probably weak and a bit dull, but the way he emphasizes the modernity of the music and relishes in the abundance of dissonance in 4 and 5 is very convincing, at least to me.
So I don't know what Hurwitz is talking about. He says it's badly played and recorded too. Sorry, I don't hear it. The LSO plays as well as ever, and the sound is good too.


----------



## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

FrankinUsa said:


> That pic looks like the RCA cycle. But that's just a guess.


Sony bought RCA and is reissuing their recordings.
Davis Boston cycle was my introduction to most of the Sibelius Symphonies. When the LSO cycle on RCA came out I bought one as the Phillips had not been digitalized yetand was very disappointed. I thought that the playing was markedly inferior to Boston. Boston and Davis had a special chemistry and the Phillips recording team did a much better job than RCA ( the Boston SO previous label) at capturing the unique sonority of that Orchestra. The first Davis/LSO cycle also only sold a few hundred copies at it release and the Classical Music press regarded that catastrophe (RCA had spent some dosh promoting it) as a harbinger of things to come for the demise of the industry.
I actually bought the SACD LSO Live because it was sold at a fire sale price and I have multichannel systems in my home. My expectations for the system were low and they weren't even met. The sound is terrible, as no recording technique can overcome the dry as dust Sonics of the Barbican. The performances are tired, blasé. One can imagine an elderly Sir Colin sitting in a wheelchair waving a baton for a minute and then dozing off while the Orchestra continues on autopilot. Caveat Emptor


----------



## MatthewWeflen (Jan 24, 2019)

I think it's a creditable cycle. It's recorded very well and is mostly brisk and entertaining. I also think it's the best Davis/LSO cycle, despite being the older of the two. The digital LSO Live performance is not very exciting, and there are weird sonic issues, almost as if Davis is humming along audibly.

Of my cycles (and partial cycles), I would rank them as follows:

Paavo Berglund/Helsinki
Karajan/BPO (1-6 EMI, missing 3, 4-7 DG)
Davis/LSO (1997, pictured in OP)
Rattle/BPO (2017)
--sharp drop in quality--
Davis/LSO (2016)

I would be very interested to hear others' evaluations of the other big complete cycles out there. But the Berglund/Karajan combo does not leave me wanting for anything, really.


----------



## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Personally I view the idea of "consistently good cycle" as being an oxymoron  Every one that I have listened to has weak points such that my preferred symphony collection has almost as many conductors as symphonies :lol:


----------



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I have the Boston cycle and the LSO Live cycle but have not heard most of the first LSO cycle. What I did hear sounded OK, tbh, and far from the borefest that Hurwitz describes. Please do yourself a favour and trust your own ears not Hurwitz's. Btw, Of the two I own I prefer the Boston cycle. It's better played and realised.


----------



## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Becca said:


> *Personally I view the idea of "consistently good cycle" as being an oxymoron * Every one that I have listened to has weak points such that my preferred symphony collection has almost as many conductors as symphonies :lol:


...and that goes double for Mahler & Bruckner!!


----------



## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Kevin

I have that set and will say as follows:

Stream and listen to it, and make your own bloody mind up.

Henry



KevinW said:


> Hello People,
> 
> I have just viewed another Hurwitz video on Sir Colin Davis' Sibelius Cycle with the LSO. He said it was the worst cycle did by him, but I did see tons of positive reviews about it on Talk Classical. I hate to be mislead by this guy. I haven't had a chance to listen to that cycle, although Sir Colin Davis on the album photo has already been my avatar for a while. So does anyone of you have this cycle, and what do you think of it? Do you think it is worthwhile to purchase, if I have that budget?
> 
> ...


----------



## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

I have all three of Colin Davis' cycles. Honestly I am not a big fan of his ways in Sibelius. The one thing that I remember from his RCA cycle is that I found his 7th annoying; but I also remember his RCA Kullervo being rather good. But that's just my reaction. You might love his ways, so like what Henry said, why don't you sample it through streaming and tell us if you like it?


----------

