NSO/Hannu Koivula

Peer Gynt Suites (exc) - Grieg

Lemminkainen and the Maidens of the Island - Sibelius

Pan and Syrinx - Nielsen

Swedish Rhapsody No 1 - Alfven

Friday's lunchtime concert at the National Concert Hall was the second time in a week that the young Finnish conductor Hannu Koivula had directed the National Symphony Orchestra. The strong aspects of the concert two days earlier were maintained; but in this programme by the main late-Romantic composers from the four Scandinavian countries, the music was much more abundant in impact.

It seemed that everyone was listening to the others, as well as watching the conductor. That was especially evident in the many string and wind solos throughout this programme - all very well-taken. Good instances were the responsive pliability of the solos in "Morning" from Grieg's Peer Gynt, and in Nielsen's much more meaty symphonic poem, Pan and Syrinx.

However, this concert's main rewards lay in the individuality of each piece. In Alven's accomplished collage of folk songs, the Swedish Rhapsody No 1, the balance between geniality and rumbustious energy was impeccable. Rhythmic control made Grieg's "Hall of the Mountain King" a truly dramatic piece, rather than the all-too-common frantic farce. And the suggestive musical imagery of Pan and Syrinx was pointed up just enough.

But for me, Sibelius's Lemminkainen and the Maidens of the Island was the highlight, not just because of its musical qualities, but because it is so rare to hear any of this composer's four Lemminkainen Legends played in a way which avoids bombast, and which captures the epic heroism of the story and the music.