Conductor brings something new to each recording

SIR COLIN DAVIS, LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA; Sibelius, Symphonies Nos. 3 and 7 (LSO Live) ****

SIR COLIN DAVIS, LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA; Sibelius, Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6 (LSO Live) ****

LEON BOTSTEIN, LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA; Popov, Symphony No. 1; Shostakovich, Theme and Variations (Telarc) *** 1/2

PAAVO JARVI, CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA; Stravinsky, "The Rite of Spring;" Nielsen, Symphony No. 5, op. 50 (Telarc) **

Three composers come easily to mind whenever conductor Colin Davis' name is mentioned — Jean Sibelius, Hector Berlioz and Edward Elgar. Davis is, without question, today's foremost interpreter of their music. And when it comes to Sibelius, no other conductor lends as much insight and perspective into his works as Davis.

Over the past 30 years, Davis has recorded a couple of complete sets of the Finnish composer's symphonies. In the 1970s, he recorded all seven symphonies with the Boston Symphony on Philips. In the early '90s, he revisited the scores with his London Symphony on RCA Victor. And now, a decade later, he's recorded four of the symphonies on the London Symphony's new label, LSO Live.

One thing that can be said for Davis' recordings of these works over the years is that he has always managed to bring something new to his interpretations. The performances on the first set were dynamic and compelling and filled with radiant energy. But with the recordings from the '90s, one sees the symphonies in a different light. Davis brings out a deeper, and occasionally more pensive, side that's more reflective in character.

This is especially true with his newest recordings of Nos. 3, 5, 6 and 7. In these readings, Davis lets the music unfold more expansively. There is more mellowness to be found here, yet Davis' interpretations are still intensely impassioned. But this passion is tempered with an introspection that is at the same time wistful yet vivid.

• Leon Botstein, while not on quite the same level as Colin Davis, is nevertheless an intelligent and thoughtful conductor. His recordings are characterized by incisive readings that are richly rewarding and musically gratifying.

His newest album, with the London Symphony, contains two relatively unknown works, one by an unjustly forgotten Soviet composer — Gavriil Popov— and the other by a composer who is better known today for his vast symphonic oeuvre — Dmitri Shostakovich.