Sibelius: Songs of Love and Freedom by Sibelius, Stenhammar, W., Le Gendre, Rangström, Ture, From (2024/2024), Conductor Anna-Maria Helsing, South Bank Centre, London, United Kingdom

‘Finland Awakes!’ was Sibelius’s original name for Finlandia – a soul-shaking song of hope and liberation from a nation struggling to break from Russian rule. Freedom was in the air, and across Scandinavia composers turned to poetry, folklore and the untamed beauty of the natural environment to create music that sang of their dreams and aspirations. Following on from Sibelius: Nature, Hope and Beauty in the autumn, the BBC Concert Orchestra and its newly appointed Chief Conductor Anna-Maria Helsing voyage north once more, exploring the epic landscapes of Sibelius’s First Symphony, and joining star Swedish soprano Julia Sporsen in the intimate, enchanted world of Scandinavian song. In between comes something new and gloriously different: a sunburst of sound from Trinidad-born composer Dominque Le Gendre. Her Concerto for Orchestra takes its inspiration from both Central Europe and Latin America: a dazzling showcase for the full BBC CO, in all its colour, energy and flair.