Sibelius: Symphony No. I (New York Philharmonic-Symphony, John Barbirolli conducting; Columbia; 10 sides) and Symphony No. 7 (St. Louis Symphony, Vladimir Golschmann conducting; Victor; 6 sides). Two of the great Finn's finest. Golschmann's 7th, the only version available outside the six-volume collection of the Sibelius Society, is an ideal performance, magnificently recorded. Barbirolli's First is somewhat pedestrian, strongly rivaled by Ormandy's excellent Victor album.
Shostakovich: Quartet, Op. 49 (Stuyvesant String Quartet; Columbia; 4 sides). Like Shostakovich's 8th Symphony, written at about the same date, this quartet bristles with crackling rhythms and ingratiating...
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