The present discs are a record of a unique event: Sir Thomas Beecham's 1955 Royal Festival Hall concert celebrating Sibelius's 90th Birthday. Sound is often rough, and the playing occasionally falters in the heat of the moment, but the conductor's conviction in this music is as consistent as ever. There is an incisive account of the tragic Fourth Symphony, still a "difficult" piece at this time, and a visceral reading of Tapiola --its starkness of vision all the more powerful for being the composer's last major work. Beecham enhances the impact of these works by alternating them with two of Sibelius's most attractive sets of theatre music--lighter in scale, but not, in the case of Pellas and Mlisande , in expression, and sounding magnetic in these readings. As bonuses, a taut, rugged live performance of the Seventh Symphony from 1954 has been included, as well as a radio talk by Beecham on the appeal of his music and its place in the European Classical tradition. Representative of a time gone by, this is a real slice of history, and a fascinating way of providing a context for some truly historic performances. -- Richard Whitehouse

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The Second is Sibelius's most popular symphony, thanks to its surging melodies and glowing orchestration, and also because it calls for the absolute, standard Romantic orchestra with no "extras," making it economical to perform. But it's by no means easy. The finale, in particular, often seems to come around one time too many when the conductor fails to keep the music moving smartly along. John Barbirolli made a specialty of this symphony, and clearly he solved all of its interpretive problems. He just plays the music as excitingly as possible, all the way through, and the result blazes forth from your speakers like a comet flashing across the night sky. --David Hurwitz