Finland's greatest composer and a major figure in the development of Scandinavian music, Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) is admired for his complete mastery of symphonic form. Of the seven symphonies he composed, each differs greatly from the others, for Sibelius rarely approached the symphonic "problem" the same way. Each work seems committed to the thoughts, feelings and logic of the moment.
Sibelius's first two symphonies remain among his most accessible...