BBCSSO/Volkov review – Sibelius that didn't shake the soul as it should

Royal Albert Hall, London

The second concert marking this year’s Sibelius anniversary featured a fluent if unremarkable account of his Third and Fourth symphonies, while the Violin Concerto didn’t reach out in the way the Albert Hall needs

The Proms have reached a festival within a festival, with three concerts marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sibelius. This second concert, like the first, was in the hands of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, this time under the direction of Ilan Volkov.

It was also the only one to feature a piece not by the mighty Finn himself, though there was a strong Sibelius connection in the world premiere of Michael Finnissy’s Janne. This alert and tricksy tribute to Sibelius’s distinctive sound world – the title is the diminutive of the composer’s given name – was suitably enigmatic. It teasingly managed to keep a nano-step ahead of any actual quotations but towards the end, the piece seemed to lose its way.

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