Can you tell me what's generally considered the best recording of the swan, or on what recording the english horn solo is generally considered the best played? I'd also like to hear your opinion of course.

It seems to me that there's a disproportionately high number of good recordings of this work. Maybe it's because cor anglais players are usually keen to give it their best shot... and somehow the dark scoring also seems quite forgiving even when sound engineers are having an off day. Picking one from all the scores that are available, though, is very, very difficult. Sorry not to be of more help!

Andrew B is right. Its difficult to single out just one particular recording of this most popular of Sibelius's scores. If pressed, I would settle for Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, vintage 1960 with an haunting cor anglais from Louis Rosenblatt.--kullervopete.

Hah! I actually have that one on a casette in my car. Found it for 20 cents in some bookstore in London, and it's the only cassette I own at the moment. The second symphony is on the B-side, fine recording I guess, but the speakers in this car are very bad so oboes & horns always cause "rattling", I never listen to the swan because of that. Gotta import that casette into my computer...

There are indeed too many Swans to choose from!

I like Segerstam's SWAN on Ondine, but that's because I absolutely love his whole Lemminkainen Suite. Karajan on DG is also great.