Sibelius album review – Gramophone

“So much of the musical energy of these symphonies stems from rhythm and articulation, from a propulsive sense of inevitability, and that’s something that Mäkelä has mastered to a fault. He also has a theatrical nose for atmosphere, which is apparent from the moment that desolate solo clarinet at the start of the First Symphony surveys the landscape that will become Sibelius’s enduring musical canvas  … We all have favourite recordings and cherished performances of the Sibelius symphonies but Mäkelä’s cycle is all of a piece, accomplished, insightful and full of the beauty and intrigue that make these works so perennially exciting. An uber-auspicious debut.”

Gramophone, Edward Seckerson, April 2022
Editor’s Choice