The powerful first movement is like facing up to a bleak reality, and yet knowing somehow that you will cope and see it through until you emerge at the far end.

This great symphony sounds 'modern' because it is timeless. It is not a tragic symphony because that means failure in the face of overwhelming odds and despite all efforts. Instead Sibelius built from the simplified are pared back orchestration of his 3rd symphony (compared to 1 and 2) to concentrate on sonority and elusive 'micro themes' held together by a sort of internal architecture. Audiences were somewhat confused by this different way of conceiving symphonic structure yet it precisely follows classical structure and the overall effect is bleak yet astonishingly beautiful. It anticipated mature Bartok by a dozen years and was composed when Bartok was still courting impressionism and some Wagnerian devices yet very dark in nature. The 4th symphony was not revised as other works tended to be by Sibelius because he knew exactly what he wanted and it obviously reflects a troubled world but at a distance. His 5th symphony had 3 major revisions and not very much of the mysterious sonic world of the 4th but parts of 'Jederman' show that Sibelius was still wandering those regions. The 6th was what he called "plain cold, fresh water" but that was a humorous quip about its complexity posing as simplicity with not a wasted note. In the 7th symphony and Tapiola the mysterious, layered, integrated language was taken further and was seen by Constant Lambert as "the music of the future". In a sense that was correct and continues to be. What is so marvelous about Sanderling's version here is that it allows the severe beauty of the great work to be heard as written and there are no undue emphases.

Sanderling gets to the raw truth of this music. Wonderfully alive performance that tingles the spine as it should.

To me,one of the best 4th interpretations.thank you!