Sir Alexander Gibson received the Sibelius Medal in 1978 ''for his outstanding contribution to the appreciation of Sibelius's music throughout the world'', so we are informed in the booklet enclosed with this CD. That he presents this symphony to us with a welcome directness rather than flamboyance is evident after only a few minute's listening. A natural balance in warm acoustics, with remarkably clean sound and impressive depth of perspective, make this a disc to sit back and enjoy. The SNO may not come up to BPO standards of sonority, but all the dynamic demands of this symphony, for example in the last movement, are responded to—and richly captured in the recording.'