Michael Collins (clarinet), NSO/James Cavanagh

Karelia Suite Op 11 - Sibelius

Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra Op 57 - LINielsen

Belshazzar's Feast Op 51 - Sibelius

Symphony No. 5 in E flat Op 82 - Sibelius

This Teatime Concert in the NCH was subtitled Nordic Classics, a limiting category which does less than justice to Sibelius's Symphony No 5. That composer's little essay in the patriotic, the Karelia Suite, and his little experiment in orientalism, Belshazzar's Feast, along with Neilsen's showy Clarinet Concerto, may qualify as Nordic classics, but the Symphony transcends such a title, both in conception and in performance.

The better the music the better it was played. The Karelia Suite was patriotic in a dutiful sort of way, stirring certainly, but chiefly in its historical context. Nielsen's Concerto was a wonderful display piece for Michael Collins and his clarinet but totally lacking the expansiveness that is characteristic of the Dane's symphonies. Belshazzar's Feast uses all the tricks of western orientalism, mediated by Sibelius's command of the orchestra, and is interesting for its cautious approach.

The atmosphere changed completely for Symphony No 5. James Cavanagh encouraged the players to give a fiery but controlled performance, capturing the lilting measures of the first movement, the dry expressiveness of the second, and bringing the final movement to an incandescent conclusion.