...forthcoming from Capriccio:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9727382--christian-sinding-the-symphonies
Norrköping Symphony Orchestra/Karl-Heinz Steffens
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.
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.
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.
I think I'll stick with Dausgaard/Porcelijn on cpo. I suspect that they might have the better orchestra...
Their first recordings in 2 decades, apparently...
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.
This set has now been released (https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9727382--christian-sinding-the-symphonies), and is also available at Presto Streaming and on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw9Pi4JqFaY&list=OLAK5uy_nu9mcbEREgpgoxOXISLY_P8dMlA3UiqL0).
Hurwitz has now uploaded his take on this set (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P8K3Otca_E&t=1s), but unfortunately it's a very lazy review - one that could have been made after the most superficial of listening sessions, which is what I expect has indeed happened. All he has to say in terms of specifics is that Steffens et al. are "very good"; the review is then padded with some general remarks of Sinding's music and the symphonies in particular.
Not that these are incorrect or off the mark, but I do think that Sinding's symphonies deserve a more individual, and more precise, treatment. In one aspect Hurwitz is quite correct; for a set that spans almost a composer's entire creative career (published 1890-1904-1920-1936) they are very consistent - to a fault, one might argue. They're also quite melodically and harmonically conservative for the most part, by German standards at least. One needs to keep in mind that the Norwegian music scene at the turn of the century was much more conservative than the one in Germany, where Sinding lived, and he was supported by Norwegian government grants.
Particularly the 1st and 3rd seem to share a very similar approach, and the former's key of D minor and the latter's F major are related. The fourth is a seven-movement "Symphonic Rhapsody", and is similar to Parry's "Symphonic Fantasia" (also known as Symphony No. 5) in that regard. Because the movements are played attacca and there's a fair bit of reiteration, it feels less of a "regular" symphony than Parry's does in a formal sense. However, in terms of thematic material it's clearly part of the set. The exception, for me, is the 2nd. It's a three-movement work which incorporates Norwegian folk motifs and is far more rhythmically and harmonically intricate than any of the others. For that reason it also comes across as the most ambitious of the set.
In addition to the new Steffens set we have previous ones by Dausgaard (1&2) and Porcelijn (3&4) on cpo and Rasilainen on Ondine. There are also two worthwhile archival recordings of No. 1 by Øivin Fjeldstad with the Oslo Phil, and of No. 2 by Sverre Bruland with the same orchestra.* After having re-listened all of them, I was struck by how dated and relatively bland the Rasilainen set comes across. The sound on this set, while not bad per se, is however a bit dull and the orchestra is quite closely miked; the result is a definite lack of contrast, and sometimes the percussion disappears from the image altogether (e.g., beginning of the seventh movement of the 4th). The cpo set, by contrast, is much more spacious, which really benefits the dynamic side of this music and helps to make it a bit more lively. The Steffens set is close: very transparent and with the best orchestral balance.
Overall, if I had to choose a single set, it would be the cpo one; both Dausgaard and Porcelijn have proven their affinity with this repertory, and their work doesn't disappoint. Dausgaard is sometimes given to over-articulation (not only here, by the way), which can take the flow from more lyrical passages, but his sense of dynamic contrast more than makes up for it. Steffens is a good second, and - At least for me - Rasilainen a solid but distant third. In individual symphonies, the story is a bit different. In the first, I'd give the edge to Fjeldstad. A very good performance, with a very good orchestra and in decent sound for the time (mid-1970s). In the 2nd, my vote goes to Dausgaard; Bruland delivers a sensitive performance, but the sound quality of that recording is just not very good. Steffens is very good overall here, but unfortunately he fails to keep it together as tightly in the "witches sabbath" section in the first movement (8:30) as Dausgaard does. Third goes to Porcelijn, Fourth to Steffens. Mind you, the differences are quite marginal, and you won't go wrong with either set. Moreover, the Norrkoping Symphony punches above what one expects to be its weight.
*I'll make both these archival recordings available on the Downloads board if Admins permit.
FWIW I think only Symphony No.1 is a work of real distinction; Dausgaard would be my recommendation, but I haven't heard Steffens, so I'm grateful for Ilja's extensive assessment.
My first hearing of a Sinding symphony, on a radio station back in 1987 or so and announced as his 3rd symphony, was probably his 2nd. At the time I couldn't abide it - bombastic- and stopped listening as the slow movement began. A year later I heard and enjoyed most of a strong minor-mode symphony which turned out to be Sinding's first. (Both from their LP recordings though CDs existed and I even was starting my collection.) That kindled my interest in hearing his better work as the other piece did not.