Deutsche Grammophon has offered Karajan's performances of these four works before, drawn from various fill-ups recorded in the 1960s (SLPM139016, 3/68—nla), but these are new digital recordings. Karajan first recorded Tapiola with the Philharmonia (Columbia mono 33CX1125, 4/54—nla) coupling it with the Fourth Symphony and then again in 1965 (HMV ASD3374, 12/77) both with the Berlin Philharmonic. This is his fourth and undoubtedly his greatest account of this score, for it has the full measure of its vision and power. Never has it sounded more mysterious or its dreams more savage. The passage for wind at letter G is really played pianopianissimo and the wood-sprites weaving their magic secrets come vividly to life. And I have never heard the strings in the preceding episode (from letters C to F) so richly textured and the dynamic nuances so subtly shaded. The great classic accounts from Kajanus, Koussevitzky and Beecham (the latter still available on HMV Concert Classics SXLP30197, 4/63) are all imaginative in their very different ways but while they offer different insights, they are not superior to the new Karajan. And the build-up to the storm has never struck such a chilling note of terror. Incidentally, the small lapse I noted in the 1977 EMI account at bar 598 where the cellos betrayed a slight uncertainty about their D sharp (some playing a natural) also crops up here, so that this must be embedded in some but not all sets of parts. Strangely enough, the earlier Berlin version is unanimous at this point. A small smudge on this most awesomely impressive musical landscape.
The present issue is Karajan's third account of ''The swan of Tuonela'' and I only regret that he has never committed to disc the four Legends in their entirety. It is as powerful and atmospheric an account as I can recall on LP, and the remaining two pieces, ''Valse triste'' and Finlandia reinforce one's feeling that this partnership has never been equalled. On paper this looks like short measure but in fact the disc runs to 43 minutes and the stirring account of Finlandia is so wide ranging that it occupies most of Side 1. As a recording I would hesitate to say that it surpasses the Philharmonia version under Ashkenazy coupled with the Fourth Symphony and Luonnotar (Decca SXDL7517, 5/81) but it does not fall far short and the orchestral playing is really in a class of its own. This Tapiola is a great performance.'