It seems to me that Previn's interpretation of this superb example of the English romantic symphony has broadened and, in no pejorative sense, softened since his famous LSO recording for RCA. There is less steely tension in the first movement in this new RPO version, more inclination to point out details of effect scoring, and a tendency to indulge in a few more rubato underlinings. In particular, the closing pages of the movement have a stately grandeur in place of a tragic inevitability.
The con malizia scherzo is as sharp-toothed as ever, though quite how malice can be conveyed in music has never been clear to me (yet Sir Adrian Boult found this movement so malicious that eventually he no longer wanted to conduct it!). In the slow movement, the string counterpoints to the woodwind solos are most clearly recorded and beautifully played, while the violins' tone at the climax is strong and sweet and the final flute solo is highlit just enough. What a great movement this is, and so (I think) is the finale, a really grand summing-up of this tempestuous work. Previn relaxes his grip in the middle, but the finale salvoes are fired with splendid ceremony. It is a rich, admiring performance, very well played, although the recording seems to me a little backward and to lack the atmosphere Previn is creating.
Everybody used to drag Sibelius's name into discussions of this symphony, but it scarcely seems Sibelian any more. A closer comparison might be with Prokofiev. Its emotional rawness is vividly conveyed in Gibson's Chandos performance, which is brisker and tauter than the new Previn, but not quite so well played by the SNO strings. Gibson keeps the finale on the move and the solo trumpet plays most movingly. His interpretation of the first movement is more turbulent than Previn's, the nerves are more exposed and the ending emerges as more agonized. He is just as intense in the slow movement, but it is here that one misses that extra ounce of certainly that Previn obtains in the orchestral playing. The recording is excellent. Neither disc is indexed, but the Telarc is better value since it also contains the two Coronation marches, Crown Imperial and Orb and Sceptre, the latter work markedly inferior to the 1937 vintage. At just over 43 minutes playing time, Chandos are not being over generous.'