A glance at the current Gramophone Compact Disc Guide and Catalogue will show that the Sibelius symphonies are already well served in the new format but these new DG transfers are astonishingly fine, and can really hold their own with all comers. The Fifth Symphony faces the greatest competition (and formidable it is too) from Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia Orchestra on Decca, not to mention the even finer account Simon Rattle has made with the same orchestra for EMI. Both versions have the advantage of the latest engineering: yet the excellence of this classic Karajan record is such that few listeners would guess its age. The Karajan is (to quote IM who reviewed its last reissue on cassette) "a great performance" and, to my mind, it is indisputably the finest of the four LP versions he has made (two with the Philharmonia for Columbia and the 1977 Berlin account for HMV). Impressive though it is, I have never thought Karajan's Seventh quite in the same class, and it must yield both technically and, I think, artistically to the Ashkenazy which is very powerful and coupled with impressive Tapiola. However, the virtues of the Fifth are well known and I cannot welcome its appearance in the CD format too warmly.