Magnificent sound and very impressive playing. Vladimir Ashkenazy's accounts both of the symphony and Tapiola have many insights, and the Decca recording is of the very highest quality with altogether splendid range and presence. The Philharmonia play superbly throughout and are superior in every department to their recent LP rivals: the SNO under Gibson (Chandos) or the Helsinki Philharmonic on the new Berglund record (HMV). Ashkenazy does not build up the symphony quite so powerfully as Berglund (for example, he rather undercharacterizes the string threnody 14 bars before letter B and then suddenly increases the tension 9 bars before C, unlike the gloriously shaped and finely-paced climax Koussevitzky gave us) but he has the measure of its nobility. His Tapiola is atmospheric and keenly dramatic and my only quarrel is with his frenetic storm whose very speed diminishes its overall impact, detracting from the breadth and grandeur that inform this otherwise distinguished reading.
So far this is the only version of either piece to appear on CD, though Chandos have announced the Gibson version of the symphony, and apart from these minor qualifications, there is much to admire—indeed, much that is thrilling—in these interpretations. And in any event I cannot imagine the recorded sound being surpassed for a long time to come.'