Finnish conductor Paavo Berglund, who passed away in January\n2012, was one of the last remaining conductors with a direct\npersonal connection to Sibelius. With the Second and Seventh\nSymphonies already released on the LPO Label, Berglund’s Sibelius\nlegacy is further cemented in these live concert recordings with\nthe London Philharmonic Orchestra, in which he vividly captures the\nnatural flight of the Fifth Symphony and the freefall journey of\nthe Sixth.

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The affinity Berglund felt with the music of Jean Sibelius went\nbeyond shared nationality and personal acquaintance. Berglund\nrevealed a rare physicality in Sibelius’s scores. It was there in\nhis three recorded symphony cycles, but in these late London\nperformances it emerged in a different, darker light. Berglund\nwasn’t as meticulous about observing marked tempi as some of his\nyounger compatriots are. Instead he was impulsive, rugged and\nheartfelt. But his instincts always seemed to serve the musical\narchitecture, the curious symphonic meta-flow unique to Sibelius.\nHis death in January 2012 was talked of as a goodbye to one of the\nlast conductors of the ‘old school’.

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