There is a surprise here. After the folksy charm of Alfvén and Grieg, the familiar strains of Sibelius, the salon sentimentality of Järnefelt, and the...

There is a surprise here. After the folksy charm of Alfvén and Grieg, the familiar strains of Sibelius, the salon sentimentality of Järnefelt, and the muscular drive of Nielsen, we meet a totally fascinating composer from Iceland in the person of Jon Lief s, who had a whole disc devoted to his extraordinary music in the last issue. Geysir, like much of Liefs's mature work, starts in darkness, and works its way up to a vast climax in an idiom consisting almost entirely of primal, organ-like, parallel fifths, before subsiding into darkness. Amidst all of this charm and frivolity, it comes as something of a shock, but it is typical of Salonen, one of our most talented young conductors, to include it. His devotion to contemporary music of all sorts makes this a collection of uncommon interest, and sets it well above the ordinary for this sort of thing. All of the performances are excellent, as is the sound. Recommended, therefore, with enthusiasm despite the inevitable duplications of repertoire.

– David Hurwitz, FANFARE