Customer Rating: 
Summary: Best 7th
Comment: This is a superb set, with an arresting, slightly odd 5th. But the recording of the 7th is the best ever made. The sound is splendid.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Karajan At His Best
Comment: The recordings of Jean Sibelius' symphonies Four through Seven made by Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic are the best that Karajan conducted and are considered in the top five records made by Karajan and the Berliners (most recently by NPR). I had the Sibelius Seventh on LP and always regarded the performance as my favorite, so I was very pleased when I found it had been transferred to CD.
I do not think that I have heard a more moving or powerful performance of the Fourth Symphony with its somber slow movement (perhaps reflecting what Sibelius thought was a fatal illness) with a more joyous finale. The Fifth Symphony is beautifully paced with the soaring theme of the swans in the last movement truly reaching for the sky and the triumphant ending certainly one that inspires awe. The Sixth Symphony is probably the least known of Siberlius' symphonies and receives an insightful and glorious performance. The recording of the Seventh, for me, has been the most moving and engaging that I have heard and the final bars never fail to bring tears to my eyes. I have performances of the Seventh by Beecham, Ashkenazy and Colin Davis but the energy of this performance and the sound of the Berlin Philharmonic has a depth that I have not heard surpassed.
The set also includes a stunning performance of Tapiola and an atmospheric Swan of Tuonela. This DG set (recorded in the mid 1960s) may not have the sonic range that recent digital records benefit from but the performances, arguably, have a place among the best. Certainly for me they have had a permanent place with my other CDs of Sibelius' music.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Fine recordings. But is it Sibelius? Is it Finnish? NOT!
Comment: These recordings of the last 4 symphonies of Sibelius date from the mid 1960s, when the Karajan/BPO/DG team were at their finest. The accoustic is reverberent enough to add atmosphere but not too much so as to seem cavernous. The playing of the BPO is perfect. And the restoration in first class digital sound makes this seem like a highly recommendable package. And there was a day when I might have recommended it wholeheartedly. But not any more.
Many fine recordings of Sibelius from native Scandinavian conductors have made their way into the catalog since these recordings were made, and those recordings prove once again that Karajan does not understand the cultural flavor of some music. When I hear these now, I have the same reaction I do when I hear Karajan's Mahler; it sounds more like Richard Strauss than like the music the composer wrote. I just listened to the sibelius 4th from this set; I thought at moments it was some lost movements from Also Sprach Zarathustra or Ein Heldenleben.
And the other symphonies similarly lack the Scandanavian flavor.
Some western recordings are exemplary (the Davis BSO 4th, the Maazel 6th), and I could certainly not leave out Barbiroli in any discussion of the major Sibelius orchestral works.
But, if you want to experience pure Sibelius, get the BIS recordings, preferably the Vanska with the Lahti orchestra. Neeme Jarvi on BIS is good, but no where close to Vanska.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This is the finest ever!!!
Comment: To say in one word...PERFECTION!!!
Karajan has a grasp of structure and tone few others ever come close to in this music.
I also love Davis with Boston for different reasons..
Finland is a cold frozen arctic country and this music reflects it...there is one whole piece Tapiola which evokes this country wonderfully....
You have to go to Finland to understand this vision of music, but if you can't get there Karajan has an understanding of the desolate north...
I live in Canada so comply that this interpretation has that feeling of the North!!!
For serious collectors indeed!!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Simply
Comment: I understand that many are sceptical towards Karajan. Often his sound becomes slick, I simple "hate" his version of Shostakovitch 10 for instance.However: This is Karajan at his very, very best, and therefore it is also the best of Sibelius.
This is the standard. I`ve listened to Rattle, Janson, Sanderling... They don't come even close.
Sibelius said it himself: Karajan understands me...
Indeed.
