Never officially released in the UK, Beecham’s 1946-7 recording of the Second Symphony with his newly-founded RPO was masterminded by HMV for their transatlantic partners at RCA Victor. I have to confess that a first-time encounter with the performance in Mark Obert-Thorn’s worthy remastering for Biddulph from last year provoked decidedly mixed feelings within me; now, Mike Dutton’s altogether more vivid new transfer forces something of a reappraisal. Not only does Beecham’s unhurried conception generate a thoroughly authentic atmosphere, it also displays much poetic insight (I don’t think I’ve ever heard those soft, rising string chords between 3'40'' and 4'05'' in the finale sound more magical than here). More worryingly, however, there remains (to my ears, at any rate) a pervading, ever-so-slight inhibition about the finished article, and it would be foolish to pretend that the present display has anything like the iron grip or burning intensity of Koussevitzky’s glorious 1935 Boston set (where the orchestral playing is in an entirely different league), let alone Beecham’s own celebrated live RFH account with the BBC SO from December 1954 (EMI, 7/90 – nla).
The 1947 Sixth is something different again, a performance of great expressive warmth, irresistible humanity and moving dedication. In Beecham’s hands the main portion of the first movement attains a bracing momentum, but I’d have preferred perhaps just a touch more dynamism in the finale. That apart, there can be no complaints whatsoever about a display of such idiomatic freshness and tender poignancy (speaking in 1959, Sibelius’s eldest daughter was able to confirm that there was in fact no recording of any of his symphonies that her father loved more). Many Sibelians will doubtless already have Mike Dutton’s own earlier, excellent transfer of this famous account on EMI’s Beecham Edition (3/92); by its side, the new version boasts a quieter background and wider dynamic range, but loses something in sheer body and naturalness of timbre (the RPO strings now sound a touch hollow and synthetic). A useful pairing none the less.'