Anthony Pini (cello)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
(Leader, David Wise)
Conducted by Basil Cameron
From the Royal Albert Hall, London (Tickets may be obtained from the Royal Albert Hall or usual agents)
Is it, one wonders, the 'proud full sail' of the great tune in the finale that has gained for Sibelius's Second Symphony an especial popularity? But there are other attractive features. In the opening movement the listener may take delight, not only in, its pastoral-like character, but in the way the several strands of the music are transformed and take their place in the general design. The slow movement, after a phantom-like beginning, has a tender episode in F sharp. There is also a ravishing oboe melody in the middle section of the fast-moving Scherzo; this is heard again before the music grows in intensity and the way is prepared for the resplendent pageantry of the finale, which succeeds without a break. (Harold Rutland)