James DePreist and the
Oregon Symphony's 2002 recordings of
Sibelius' Second and Seventh symphonies are clean-limbed, strong-muscled performances of clean-headed and open-hearted interpretations captured in stunning, sometimes staggering sound.
DePreist conducting is bright and alert with subtle inflections and a firm, long line. The
Oregon's playing is hard and tough with warm woodwinds, smooth strings, and gargantuan brass. Delos' sound is as good as digital sound can get with an amazing sense of reality and an overwhelming impact.
All that said, however,
DePreist and the
Oregon's performances are no more than adequate in comparison to the great performances of the past. Compared with recordings by
Barbirolli,
Beecham, and
Berglund; or
Kamu,
Karajan, and
Koussevitzky; or
Saraste,
Segerstam, and
Vanska,
DePreist's is merely acceptable. And compared to the
London Symphony and the
Royal Philharmonic; or the
Berlin Philharmonic and the
Boston Symphony; or the
Danish Radio Symphony, the
Finnish Radio Symphony, or the
Lahti Symphony, the
Oregon's playing is merely acceptable. Even Delos' digital sound is merely agreeable compared with EMI or Deutsche Grammophon's lush stereo sound. A fine pair of performances and well worth hearing if you've already heard a dozen other performances of the same works.