Paavo Berglund conducts Sibelius's Symphony No. 1 — With the Chamber Orchestra of Europe

Composed during a particularly dark period in Sibelius’s life—both politically (with tensions mounting between Russia and Finland) and personally (with the tragic loss of a daughter)—his First Symphony surges along on a defiant Romantic sentiment, already imbued with the deeply personal expressionism that would evolve momentously throughout his seven symphonies.

A moment to listen for in… Sibelius’s First Symphony: Is it just us, or (at 20:25) is there a resemblance between David Bowie and Queen’s classic hit "Under Pressure" and the persistent rythmic motif at the beginning of the third movement (Scherzo)?