“Sibelius wrote a very large mass of highly genial and attaractive music. I’m thinking of all those delightful suites, symphonic poems like En saga and Pohjola’s Daughter, and that rather strange composition – very strange indeed – The Oceanides, which, incidentally, the composer has asked me to record. I don’t know why: I shall ask him one day why he asked me to do this very special thing. Of course I shall do it – naturally.” – Sir Thomas Beecham

And with this recording he did, shortly after a 90th birthday concert for the great Finnish composer at the Royal Festival Hall on December 8th, 1955, the same year he was awarded the Order of the White Rose of Finland for conducting Sibelius.

Recorded 19 & 25 November and 18 December 1955, *18 & 19 December 1955 and +21 & 25 November 1955, No.1 Studio, Abbey Road, London. Recording Producer: Lawrance Collingwood. Balance Engineer: Robert Beckett

Cut at Abbey Road Studios from the original stereo analogue master tapes with the Neumann VMS82 lathe fed an analogue pre-cut signal from a specially adapted Studer A80 tape deck with additional ‘advance’ playback head, making the cut a totally analogue process.
Pressed on 180g vinyl to audiophile standards using the original EMI presses by The Vinyl Factory in Hayes, England.
Featuring the original album artwork.
In the original review of the mono LP in The Gramophone of September 1957, Lionel Salter remarked that ”Beecham captures the magic of this closely-knit, highly organic score… every phrase is lovingly moulded… The engineers have contributed an excellent balance and very clear tone.” When the stereo LP was released in 1962, Salter confirmed “Beecham’s performances… are beautifully shaped and tremendously intense.”