With the obvious exception of Finlandia, I am not all that familiar with the compositions of Jean Sibelius. After listening to the first and fifth symphonies through these two exceptional recordings in the public domain, I must say that I have been deprived.

The recording of Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39 is especially historic. Recorded in 1930, Robert Kajanus conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in the premiere performance of this work. Kajanus and Sibelius’s careers were closely entwined. Kajanus hoped to have performed Sibelius’ complete orchestra works, a project that was interrupted in 1933 by the conductor’s death. As for Sibelius, he survived until 1957 but there is no doubt that he remain firmly entrenched in the late Romanticism of the 19th century. The First (1900) and the Fifth (1915) were stellar examples of clssical compositions of the late Romantic period. The 78rpm album set from which the First symphony is taken has a little bonus with Sibelius’ “March from the Karelia Suite“.

Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 82 is represented by a fine recording from 1941 by the Cleveland Orchestra which is conducted by Artur Rodzinski. More mature, more 20th century (but only slightly), and more dramatic than the First, many people believe it is the finest of the seven symphonies by this composer.

Both works are transferred from 78rpm to MP3 files by F, Reeder. The 64kbps files have an amazing sound consider the age of the recordings.

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Symphony no. 1
Symphony no. 5