Thomas Sondergard - Sibelius: Symphony 2 Live - The Times

Substance returned in the spellbinding second half, when Sondergard steered his orchestra through the complex mosaic of Sibelius’s Second Symphony with infinite skill and a firm grasp of the music’s structural engineering. Instrumental niceties quickly appeared in the rhythmic precision of the woodwinds, chortling through the opening theme. From then on, one marvel followed another, until the quixotic scherzo eased itself into the finale’s big tune and the symphony’s striving ceased. Brilliant music, this; masterful music-making as well.