*****

***** (Exceptional Disc) 

Artistic Quality 10    Sound Quality 10 

"..the performances are just about as good as it gets. Segerstam plays all of the music with evident care and invests it with plenty of character. Pia Pajala is the attractive soprano soloist in her single song, and the engineering is rich, warm, and atmospheric. Worth your time and attention, no doubt about it."

"A genuinely rewarding achievement "

Review for NX3300 & NX 3299

"... Naxos should be congratulated for bringing these recordings into the Sibelius discography. The Finnish conductor Leif Segerstam is a master of this repertoire and he draws some wonderful sounds from the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. They really excel in the hushed, poignant and delicate passages and Segerstam also generates plenty of power and excitement when required. The sound quality is excellent on both discs "

"[The] major ingredient of the disc is the incidental music that Sibelius wrote in 1906 for the play “Belshazzar’s Feast” Segerstam here conducts all 10 numbers, which include the familiar opening oriental march, “Khadra’s Dance” and “Song of the Jewish Girl” (here sung seductively by the soprano Pia Pajala), but also establish a narrative context with certain reminiscences of previously heard material and with other short numbers that enhance the drama’s atmosphere." ****