Sibelius Sym 4, Colin Davis, SO Bayerischen Rundfunks, 2006

If we are remembered by what beauty we leave behind, Sir Colin Davis, you are unforgettable.

Thank you, Maestro.

Jean Sibelius
Symphony No. 4

Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Runfunks
Sir Colin Davis

?? ?? 2006 performance


My favorite Sibelius Symphony. To repurpose a Billy Collins joint, the sound here “...starts out like a lone traveler heading into a blizzard at midnight, tilting into the wind, one arm shielding his face, the tails of his thin coat flapping behind him.” The late Sir Colin Davis' LSO performances of Sibelius
always took me to places utterly and completely. Here you are: my new top pick for
that work (previously given to the Berliner Philharmoniker under Karajan in their early 80s take).  As Darkling Angel confides, it is an,

"[e]pic, monumental and utterly bleak performance of Sibelius' Fourth from the late Sir Colin Davis and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (no one else could really have got away with a performance like this apart from Davis). I absolutely love it. I didn't write the full date down but remember it to be from 2006. "

It runs minutes longer than his contemporary LSO live official CD performances. As with
these cases, you do not feel the passage of time on way or the other.

Turn it up loud and get all Hafiz on the world:

...God wants to manhandle us,

Lock us inside of a tiny room with

Himself

And practice His dropkick.

The Beloved sometimes wants

To do us a great favor:

Hold us upside down

And shake all the nonsense out...

Guillermo