Work: Peer Gynt Suite no. 2, Op.55

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra proves that old warhorses can still sound fresh when played with a keen ear for color and attention to the little interpretive details.

Despite the home advantage, the orchestra played it safe, but there was wholesome folky fun to be had with Halvorsen and Tveitt.

Jean Sibelius is purported to have written part of his Symphony no. 5 after having witnessed a large flock of swans take flight from his home in rural Finland. Whether this story is apocryphal or not, the “swan theme” has become part of the Western musical subconscious, with quotations showing up in jazz and pop music for much of the last century.