Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 3, 6 & 7

This new release from BIS is the final installment in the Sibelius cycle from Osmo Vanska and the Minnesota Orchestra. The prior albums found incredible success upon their release, with the second receiving a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance. This album combines Sibeliuss Third Symphony, completed in 1907, with his two final symphonies, Nos. 6 and 7, which were composed between 1922 and 1924. The Third Symphony is his most classical symphony, which was a radical direction change after the opulence of his second. Conductor Koussevitzky called the work music far in advance of its time. The Sixth Symphony again surprised his admirers with its intense climaxes and virtuosic orchestrations. Immediately following came his symphonic swan song, the stern but majestic Seventh Symphony.