Jean Sibelius: Symphony No.2 (Naxos Audio CD)

Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43
I. Allegretto
II. Tempo andante, ma rubato
III. Vivacissimo
IV. Finale: Allegro moderato

Karelia Suite, Op. 11
I. Intermezzo
II. Ballade
III. Alla marcia

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Pietari Inkinen

•The third volume in Naxos’s new series presents the dramatic and highly popular Symphony No. 2, which emerges from the northern mists, cultivating a pastoral atmosphere along the way, to reach a grandiose, heroic finale.

•One of Sibelius’s best loved compositions, the Karelia Suite presents a series of musical tableaux based on stirring episodes from Finnish history.

•“This first sample suggests it is going to be a cycle well worth following, for Inkinen seems a conductor of bold, sure-footed intelligence, and on this evidence the New Zealand orchestra is a fine, responsive unit, too.” The Guardian on Vol. 1