Sibelius: Pohjola's Daughter, Symphony No. 2 (Live)

Although Sibelius is best known for his great cycle of symphonies, he was also a wonderful musical storyteller. He liked to look for subject matter in the Kalevala, the epic folk-poem of his native Finland. And here he found the tale of the beautiful Pohjola’s Daughter (based on “The Maiden of the Northland”); perched on a rainbow, she teasingly allures and then rejects the old and proud hero, Väinamöinen. Sir Colin Davis’s conducting brilliantly traces each twist and turn of the story, from the brooding Nordic atmosphere of its opening to its wistfully beautiful closing moments. Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra excel in the Second Symphony also. It’s easy to over-inflate this music’s surging power in the big moments. Davis keeps a tight and expert rein on the orchestra’s impressive firepower, and the long and magnificent buildup to the finale’s closing statements is superbly judged.