The first set of Scénes historiques was drawn from the patriotic pageant mounted in 1899 that included the celebrated Finlandia which served to put Sibelius firmly on the map. The second is much later and includes poetic vignette, At the drawbridge and The Chase. All of them show Sibelius at his most characteristic. The incidental music for King Christian II, a play by his friend Adolf Paul, also comes from the late 1890s. The New Zealanders are thoroughly in sympathy with Sibelius’s world and play with enthusiasm for their Finnish conductor.

These relatively seldom heard works are perhaps not Sibelius at his greatest, but they are by no means insubstantial, and there are memorable moments in all of them, particularly as presented here. Everything is alive with the excitement of fresh discovery, fairly brimming over with vitality, intensity and spontaneity—though Inkinen’s subtle control makes sure there is no danger of blowing a fuse.