Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto & Sibelius Symphony No. 5

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, Sibelius Symphony No. 5, and Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 3. Joshua Bell is soloist for the violin concerto. This was the 2010 Nobel Prize Concert. Sakari Oramo conducts the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer. Released 2011, disc has 5.1 Dolby Digital and dts-HD sound. Grade: B- for Violin Concerto. Grade C for Sibelius Symphony No. 5.

Paul Smaczny has a genius for sniffing out events. But this time the people in the audience were more interesting than the musicians on the stage. The video editors often include shots of members of note in the audience. The only problem is that I rarely know who they are. I wish the publishers would identify the famous people in their videos with notes on the Internet! That would be a service after the sale. The 2010 videography on this disc is unbelievably good, especially for a shoot at a seldom-visited venue. It shows how great the state of that art now is. And with Master Audio sound, we probably get a pretty good idea how the RSP sounds. To me they sound second-rate or worse, so I marked the Sibelius symphony down to a "C." Joshua Bell can play the Tchaikovsky concento. But in this recording I would have preferred a mix that would make it easier to hear the violin over the orchestra. Bell did not look good. He appeared before all those smart people dressed in pyjamas; his thrashing about, sweating, and grimacing was distracting. I feel bad giving Bell this criticism---in a short bonus interview, he came across as a neat guy.