Sibelius: The Symphonies, Kullervo, Finlandia, Tapiola, Oceanides

Paavo Berglund (1929-2012) recorded the complete symphonies of his great compatriot Sibelius no fewer than three times. This set, central in every respect, was made in the 1980s with the Helsinki Philharmonic and includes the early Kullervo Symphony and several tone poems. Berglund, a former music director of the Helsinki Philharmonic, was renowned internationally as a master interpreter of Sibelius’s extraordinary music. In Gramophone’s words, he conducted it “with an unhurried, controlled inevitability that allows the music to unfold in its own time without any loss of tension or excitement”.