The conductor Eugene Ormandy had an unprecedented 44 year association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and from his earliest years held an especial affinity for the music of Jean Sibelius, indeed the gossamer loamy orchestral textures of the Philadelphia Orchestra under Ormandy's baton was an equal partner to the immense scope of Sibelius' output. This marvelous 8 CD box set released on the Sony Classical Masters Series imprint is an almost overwhelming reminder of the scope and affecting beauty of Sibelius' symphonies, tone poems, and violin concertos and also as a bonus to close listeners provides the means to deploy the ability to comparatively listen to the orchestra with Ormandy shape and re-shape their readings with works recorded at different periods of time. Sibelius:Finlandia, Op. 26Valse Triste, Op. 44 No. 1Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47Isaac Stern (violin)Valse Triste, Op. 44 No. 1Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22: The Swan of Tuonela (No. 2)Pohjola's Daughter, Op. 49The Oceanides, Op. 73En Saga, Op. 9Tapiola, Op. 112Karelia Overture, Op. 10Karelia Suite, Op. 11Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47Dylana Jenson (violin)Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105 The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy