Thomas Sondergard - Sibelius: Symphony 2 Live - The Arts Desk

There is an elegance to Søndergård’s Sibelius, with brief moments of extreme clarity that make all the other pieces fit together. In retrospect, the third movement didn’t lack for power or energy, but instead was presented as a more complex tapestry of light and shade, with the serene, peaceful interludes offering welcome repose. Similarly, the ending of the first movement, a short no-nonsense coda ending somewhere around mezzo-forte and without any great ceremony. But Søndergård made sure that every note here mattered and that the phrasing was perfectly shaped. The result was a moment of almost Mozartean elegance: clean, precise and quite, quite beautiful.