But the Sibelius 5 that followed proved that Rouvali — making a long-anticipated Chicago Symphony debut after impressing peer orchestras — ought to be just as fêted on CSO calendars.

If sonic splendour were the sole criterion, Vladimir Ashkenazy’s Sibelius symphony cycle with the Philharmonia ... Symphony No. 3 Symphony No. 6 Symphony No. 5 Symphony No. 7 ...

Recordings don’t capture the full dynamics that are at play in Sibelius’s music. The next piece was Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5. After the gnarled and tangled Northland, Enlightenment ...

Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5, completed in 1919, was commissioned by the Finnish government to honor the beloved composer’s birthday. The work was inspired by the Finnish landscape and nature.

In the pantheon of essential Sibelius recordings, Barbirolli’s October 1962 account of the Second Symphony with the RPO deservedly occupies a place of honour. Set down at Walthamstow for Reader’s ...