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The Finnish conductor values attention to detail across three disparate 20th-century pieces, highlighting the uniform strength of the Chicago musicians.

A gripping Sibelius tone poem, an intense performance of a modern violin concerto and an enjoyable modern symphony all played as if it was the BBC Phil's everyday fare. 

Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducts the Dallas Symphony in a Sibelius tone poem and a Shostakovich symphony, both works of great tragedy.

Sakari Oramo, Anu Komsi and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson take a deep dive into the world of Sibelius' tone poems in two concerts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Karina Canellakis and with Pierre-Laurent Aimard as soloist, offer a scenic tour to territories once visualised by Sibelius, Dvořák and Bartók.

The Festival Director gives himself the onerous task of conducting four of the more elusive masterworks.

In an uneven concert, Alexander Gavrylyuk outshone everyone with his part in Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto, casting a shadow over a fragmented RCO led by Michael Schønwandt in Sibelius and Nielsen.

Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Violin Concerto "Out of Nowhere" received its long overdue UK première by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Leila Josefowicz. Flanked by Sibelius’ Pohjola’s Daughter and Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 5, this was an exciting programme played brilliantly under Sakari Oramo.

Featuring works inspired by Shelley, the Kalevala and Nietzsche (with a piano concerto thrown in for good measure), the programme for Prom 64 was certainly wide-ranging. The theme for the concert was the development of the tone poem, with the Bantock, Sibelius and Strauss pinned together by the idea of nature and the supernatural.

This past Thursday and Friday, Yo-Yo Ma (the CSO’s Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant), Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra tackled the immensely challenging Lutosławski Cello Concerto.