Santtu-Matias Rouvali & GSO - Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5 Pohjola's Daughter - Apple Music

Santtu-Matias Rouvali grew up with Sibelius. Not literally, of course, since the Finnish conductor was born 120 years after his famed compatriot. But the composer’s music formed part of the soundtrack to his childhood and was never far from his professional training at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He began recording the seven Sibelius symphonies and assorted tone poems soon after his appointment as chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (GSO) in 2017. Their cycle, after a pandemic-enforced break, continues with the release of its third volume, a compelling coupling of the Symphonies Nos 3 & 5 with Pohjola’s Daughter ... The orchestra’s tonal richness registers from the opening of the Third Symphony and runs throughout the recording. Those new to Rouvali’s Sibelius will also be struck by other characteristics of his cycle: the rhythmic precision of the playing and clarity given to the composer’s part-writing among them.