Having hugely enjoyed the stimulating first instalment in Sakari Oramo’s new Sibelius symphony cycle with the CBSO for Erato (Nos 2 and 4‚ 7/01)‚ I had high hopes for this team’s Fifth. In the event‚ I came away just a little underwhelmed‚ though there’s still plenty to ponder and admire. Under Oramo’s keen­eared‚ intelligent direction (bass­lines always stalk purposefully)‚ the symphony’s opening pages unfold with exactly the right current to them. Come that elemental transition into the Allegro moderato at 5 after fig N (8'01")‚ however‚ and comparison with Sir Simon Rattle’s distinctive 1987 remake with this same band (the reading which‚ strangely enough‚ Oramo’s fleet­of­foot conception most closely resembles) proves instructive. It’s Rattle who manages the more organically satisfying accelerando during these notoriously tricky measures‚ shrewdly keeping something in reserve for those Presto and Più presto markings in the coda. Oramo steers a touchingly unforced course through the central Andante mosso‚ though at times the last ounce of concentration remains elusive (the strings’ mp marcato pizzicato passage at fig H‚ 7'03"‚ for example). I like the unhurried gait of the finale’s initial Allegro molto‚ though seasoned collectors may well baulk at some of Oramo’s (naughty but effective) dynamic tweakings early on. Unfortunately‚ the closing pages fall a little short in terms of blazing intensity and cumulative thrust; nor do I care for the way Oramo instructs his double basses to play an octave lower than marked from three before fig Q (7'40") and again six bars later (8'01") – a sensational‚ jarring accretion‚ alien to the noble demeanour of Sibelius’s inspiration. Of the three remaining items‚ Pohjola’s Daughter stands out‚ an excitingly dramatic‚ athletically trim performance of strong character and atmosphere – among the tautest we’ve had since Sir Colin Davis’s magisterial Boston SO version on Philips (3/82 – nla‚ and‚ incomprehensibly‚ never reissued in any format). The Bard also comes off well (strangely‚ Oramo alters the trombones’ descrescendo to crescendo just before the fff climax at fig L‚ 6'36")‚ whereas the Karelia Suite falls fractionally short in the combustible spontaneity and fresh­faced ebullience that made this partnership’s Grieg anthology (Erato‚ 1/01) such a genuine tonic (neither outer movement really winks as it should). The Erato recording is very good rather than exceptional‚ lacking just a little in bloom.