The other day I happened to be listening on my MP3 player to Sib's 5th and 7th while sorting out some old papers and other stuff in the garage. I'm sure you've all had one of those listening sessions where you find a perfomance just innately right in every respect; well, this one was, and I was quite amazed when I looked at the screen on my MP3 player and saw "Ashkenazy/Philharmonia" !
Have any of you ever been similarly surprised by such a revelation?

1st movement of the Violin Concerto, Rattle and Kennedy.

While I respect their talents, I'm not a big fan of either one... but this movement is excellent, solo and orchestra alike.

Violin Concerto [complete] Pinchas Zukerman and Munich Radio Orchestra under Rafael Kubelik.

Rafael Kubelik was a distinguished conductor whose name I have never associated with Sibelius. He made fine recordings of Dvorak and Mahler. I was therefore really surprised with this account of the Sibelius Concerto with Zukerman. This Cd is from a live concert from March, 1973. Zukerman certainly goes all out with the virtuoso aspects of the work, but he is also finely attuned to its brooding, poetic nature.
The slow movement is a gem. The opening woodwind theme in thirds sets the scene, and Zukerman's violin sings. The second idea taken up by the strings, which transforms the gentle opening music into something more dramatic, is done superbly by Kukelik. Here many conductors step up the speed considerably, losing some of the musics intensity, but Kubelik holds back to dramatic effect, and the trumpet entry six bars after Fig.1 is all the more telling.
In the last movement Tovey's description--'a polonaise for polar bears'--comes to mind. Zukerman's fiddling is superb and,again, full marks to the orchestra. With marvellous rhythmic control, the interplay between 6/8 and 3/4 in the second theme is sparkling.
Overall this is a very impressive performance, and makes me long to hear Kubelik in other works by Sibelius. The orchestra shows total comitment. The sound is good, with the timpani quite prominent. Zukerman's violin tone is slightly 'raspy' at times, but I think this suits the music. Cd Living Stage LS 1010--kp

Good question. I remember being immediately struck by the 'rightness' of the First Symphony with Kletzki/Philharmonia, and by the Second with Hannikainen/Sinfonia of London - but that is probably no real surprise. I'll think about it some more.