Of all the epithets foisted upon composers and their music, Sibelius's supposed Nordic coldness is one of the most disingenuous. No matter that Sibelius's aesthetic is as indebted to Tchaikovsky and the Russian romantics as it is to mountains and forest wastelands, the image of Sibelius as granite-hewn behemoth seems as immovable as a Scandinavian glacier.
Ever since its first performance in 1902, Sibelius's Second Symphony, the most popular of the seven, has been synonymous with Finnish national identity. Yet the work was written in the heat and light of an Italian autumn - a world away from the dusk and gloom of Sibelius's native Finland.
So it was appropriate that the conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, in the Musicians' Benevolent Fund's Royal Concert, should be Antonio Pappano, the Italian incumbent of the music-directorship of the Royal Opera House. For this annual concert, now a 50-year-old institution, all the musicians waive their fees. And the defining feature of the LSO's playing and Pappano's direction was a big-hearted generosity - of emotional range, of orchestral colour, and sheer weight of sound.
The performance convincingly negotiated the work's surface drama and structural depth. If Pappano's slow movement was full of contrast - from the doleful chant of the opening woodwind theme to the strings' luxurious phrasing of the long central melody - he never lost sight of the music's essential momentum. And where the oboe song at the heart of the scherzo was vividly languid, Pappano's finale was all power and purpose. Without sacrificing the integrity of Sibelius's unique symphonic design, Pappano revealed that expressive warmth is no less a part of Sibelius's compositional world.
In fact, there was more coolness in Sarah Chang's performance of Bruch's First Violin Concerto. There is no doubting Chang's phenomenal technical gifts, nor the matchless projection of her playing. Across the whole range of the instrument Chang's supercharged tone and vibrato slice through any orchestral texture. And she is a vividly gestural performer, articulating the shape of phrases as much with her body as with her bow. Yet Chang's playing lacked the glow of insight or involvement. It was as if the concerto was a series of challenges to be conquered and - albeit brilliantly - displayed.
