Atterberg: Symphonies 3 and 6
10/10 Kurt Atterberg's richly romantic, colorful orchestral vistas require excellent recorded sound and a no-holds-barred performance to make their best effect, and both of these symphonies previously have been well served in this regard, the Third by Sixten Ehrling on Caprice, and the Sixth by Jun'Ichi Hirokami on BIS (earlier versions of this latter work by Beecham and Toscanini remain mere historical curiosities). This new recording, though, sets a new sonic and interpretive standard in both works. The Third Symphony, really a sequence of three tone poems, has a thrilling second movement "storm" that sounds just like a film score to some high-octane disaster epic, and Ari Rasilainen plays the living daylights out of it, as he does both symphonies in general. His swift tempos and generous exploitation of dynamic extremes give the Sixth Symphony (sometimes nicknamed the "Dollar" Symphony because it won Atterberg a handsome international competition prize, and thus all that early recorded attention) a sharper profile than in the competing BIS version, with the finale's abortive fugal efforts coming off funnier than ever. The sound on this disc is simply stunning, as spectacular as Atterberg's music. Don't miss it! --ClassicsToday.com, David Hurwitz, June 2008Kurt Atterberg's richly romantic, colorful orchestral vistas require excellent recorded sound and a no-holds-barred performance to make their best effect, and both of these symphonies previously have been well served in this regard, the Third by Sixten Ehrling on Caprice, and the Sixth by Jun'Ichi Hirokami on BIS (earlier versions of this latter work by Beecham and Toscanini remain mere historical curiosities). This new recording, though, sets a new sonic and interpretive standard in both works. The Third Symphony, really a sequence of three tone poems, has a thrilling second movement "storm" that sounds just like a film score to some high-octane disaster epic, and Ari Rasilainen plays the living daylights out of it, as he does both symphonies in general. His swift tempos and generous exploitation of dynamic extremes give the Sixth Symphony (sometimes nicknamed the "Dollar" Symphony because it won Atterberg a handsome international competition prize, and thus all that early recorded attention) a sharper profile than in the competing BIS version, with the finale's abortive fugal efforts coming off funnier than ever. The sound on this disc is simply stunning, as spectacular as Atterberg's music. Don't miss it!  --From ClassicsToday.com