. . . a scintillating 11-disc set . . . Remarkably well recorded too . . . [the first three symphonies in Anthony Collins's symphony cycle] are truly marvellous, the playing mostly keen-edged, with well-chosen tempos and lacerating "crescendos" . . . Collins knew how to pace a movement's evolving development: he does well with the Fourth and I like the way he keeps those doleful last moments on the move. The Fifth is again bracing yet sensitively balanced . . . viewed as a whole, it's an exceedingly fine cycle . . . [Eduard van Beinum's recording of] "Tapiola" captures Sibelius's last masterpiece in all its varied weathers but there the palm surely has to go to the Berlin Philharmonic under Hans Rosbaud, a performance virtually without parallel . . . the LSO symphony recording that's truly a "must have" acquisition is Pierre Monteux's imposing version of the Second . . . [one of the set's unquestionable highlights is] Sibelius's wonderful "Voces intimae" Quartet played by the Griller Quartet, a performance that probes way beneath the music's surface and "bites" where needs be, much abetted by excellent if closely balanced mono sound . . . [among the two sequences of songs, the expansive "Höstkväll"] is an obvious first port of call, and although Nilsson is at her heroic best you'll only have to hear Flagstad's first note and I guarantee that your spine will be aquiver . . . That track alone would be enough to justify the purchase of this set, but happily it doesn't need to be. There's so much more besides that you'll want to return to again and again.

Among the most exciting inclusions are the orchestral songs with Kristen Flagstad and, thrillingly, Birgit Nilsson, as well as an especially exciting Second Symphony from 1959 with Pierre Monteux and the LSO. Also here: modernist Hans Rosbaud's pioneering Sibelius tone poems with the Berlin Philharmonic; including the darkly lyrical "Swan of Tuonela". Multiple versions of several pieces make for fascinating listening . . . a lovely box set . . .

. . . eine kleine Schatztruhe . . . [das Decca-Box-Set] macht die exemplarische Einspielung der sieben Symphonien durch Anthony Collins und das London Symphony Orchestra wieder zugänglich: herrliches Remastering trotz Mono-Sounds, ein fast kammermusikalisches Durchleuchten von Sibelius' herrlichen Klangschwaden.

Da findet sich der remasterte Sinfonienzyklus unter Anthony Collins, eine ob ihrer ungewöhnlich flotten, fast schon rasanten Tempi durchaus faszinierende Lesart . . . Eine kraftvoll ausladende Zweite mit Pierre Monteux und sieben von Birgit Nilsson prächtig prunkend dargebotene Orchesterlieder seien stellvertretend für die übrigen Trouvaillen herausgegriffen.

. . . onze CD véritablement indispensables et en tout cas exceptionnels . . . [Symphony no. 5]: une des plus belles lectures de la "mi bémol majeur".