Sinding Symphonies 1-4

[Alan Howe]

...forthcoming from Capriccio:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9727382--christian-sinding-the-symphonies

Norrköping Symphony Orchestra/Karl-Heinz Steffens

[Ilja]

Oh, yummy! I'm very fond of these works, and they deserve a more frequent outing. For the most part, timings in the Capriccio set are pretty similar to the old (but very good) Dausgaard set; in the First, Steffens and Dausgaard are only seconds apart. The exception is the Third; here, Steffens shaves a whopping three minutes off the Andante, while adding more than two to the finale. I'm inclined to favor Steffen's approach on the basis of what I'm hearing here. There are also some differences in sound engineering and particularly phrasing which favor the new set, but we'll have to wait with a final verdict until we've heard the whole thing.

And it's quite a wait. I do find it a bit disappointing having to hold my patience almost until March to download the thing, also because it's evidently a finished product already. I was quite prepared to part with my money today, not so sure how things will look next year.

[Febct]

What may be said of the Rasilainen/Norwegian Radio O set on Finlandia?  It's served me well and therefore no desire to replace it.

[Ilja]

I find there's generally little difference between Rasilainen's approach and Dausgaard's, except for the First, where I think I prefer Rasilainen in the finale. Overall, the Finlandia recording is somewhat too brass-centric for my liking, though.

In any case, I'd rather talk about supplementing than replacing. Again, the jury is still out because of necessity, but it sounds as though the Steffens adds something new.

[Alan Howe]

I think I'll stick with Dausgaard/Porcelijn on cpo. I suspect that they might have the best orchestra...

[eschiss1]

Their first recordings in 2 decades, apparently...

[Ilja]

Which for me is enough reason to make this a must-buy. In the case of these pieces I don't mind some duplication, particularly as there appear to be interesting differences.