Basingstoke: Sibelius & Ravel

Finlandia, part of a suite which Sibelius wrote for a pageant in 1900, is a concentrated burst of patriotic feeling. Ravel said that his piano concerto was “written in the same spirit as those of Mozart and Saint-Saëns” with two vivacious outer sections framing a slow movement of still and crystalline beauty. The first of Sibelius’ great cycle of symphonies is a noble and powerful piece from the late 1890s. While influenced by Tchaikovsky, it shows many signs of the composer he was to become.

“Rouvali’s imaginative, often spectacular musicality is exceptional even in an era with a number of remarkable young conductors.” Los Angeles Times