At first glance, Sibelius and Lutosławski may seem odd bedfellows on disc, but not in this instance. This disc couples the two works for which these composers are probably best remembered. Sibelius’ Symphony No.5 and Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra.

Interestingly, Lutosławski, in admiration of Sibelius, travelled to Finland in May 1955 to meet the venerable composer at his own Sibelius Festival.

‘Sibelius’s music is characterised by constant switches of tempo but Saraste, conducting from memory, negotiated the gear changes with idiomatic empathy, steering his players confidently through the turbulent shoals of the start of the finale to the culminating oceanic currents.’ - Barry Millington, Evening Standard, 16 October 2008.

Since 2010, Jukka-Pekka Saraste has been Chief Conductor of  the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne. He has also been Music Director of the Oslo Philharmonic since 2006. His discography includes the complete symphonies of Sibelius and Nielsen with the Finnish Radio Orchestra, as well as works by Bartók, Dutilleux, Mussorgsky and Prokofiev with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

His most recent recordings are Mahler Symphony No.6 and DVD releases of Sibelius Symphonies Nos 1 and 5 with the Oslo Philharmonic, as well as Mahler Symphony No.9 with the WDR Symphony Orchestra.

Recorded live at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, London, on 20 February 2008 (Lutosławski) and 15 October 2008 (Sibelius)