Back to Finland and yet another Romantic composer: Armas Järnefelt—an almost exact contemporary of Sibelius and, on top of that, his brother-in-law (Armas’s sister Aino was Sibelius’s wife). Naturally, poor Armas was completely overshadowed—who wouldn’t be?—but he was a fine composer in his own right, as these three orchestral works will show the curious listener. All are performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Jaakko Kuusisto—himself a violinist, composer, arranger, and conductor. Ah, these Finnish musical families... Very much worthwhile, if I may say so.

Robert von Bahr