Sibelius: Lemminkainen Legends, Op. 22 / En Saga, Op. 9
Esa-Pekka Salonen's performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic are rapidly coming to represent the last word in technical excellence. He has the orchestra playing at top form, and his own superbly musical and clear-sighted interpretations make this Sibelius disc something special. The music comprises all of his early tone poems, though the composer suppressed two of theLemminkainen Legends(for no good reason) late in his life.En Sagafeatures a central climax with thundering bass drum that will wreck your sound system if you're not careful. The performance is so exciting, however, that you may well find it worth the risk.--David Hurwitz