Jean Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4 – Minnesota Orchestra & Osmo Vänskä

The seven Sibelius symphonies span a quarter of a century in all (1899–1924) and encompass a complete world. Were one to choose two that reveal the furthermost poles of his symphonic art, they would be the two recorded here, the First and Fourth; the one an essay in the received tradition, the other a work so original and inward-looking as to open up an entirely new world, and inconceivable from the vantage point of the 1890s.