Petri Sakari and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra combine forces here for an inspiring performance of two of Sibelius' more upbeat symphonies, the First and the Third. The seldom-played First Symphony, in E minor, written in 1898, is kind of a loner among Sibelius' longer orchestral works. Unabashedly romantic, it shows virtually none of the almost minimalist feel of the composer's "maturer" symphonies. Here he combines earthy Finnish landscape-tones (symbolized by the lingering solo clarinet at the beginning) with wonderful evocations of the distant Nordic sunlight, all mixed together with fate-charged allusions to fin-de-siecle Vienna and Paris. The Third Symphony, written in the uncharacteristically cheerful key of C major, is an equally interesting work, unique for Sibelius' use of old chorale themes at the center of each movement. The chorales give this music a lovely Renaissance feel at times. The melancholy chorale in the Andantino 2nd mo...