THE MAESTRA’S A NATURAL FOR SIBELIUS
I was about to write off the S.F. Symphony concerts this week until the guest maestra led a gorgeous and profound Sibelius Symphony No. 5 for a finale. The Fifth is a majestic century-old masterwork, full of the Finnish neoromantic’s distinctive Nordic coloration, achieved with instruments playing with enigmatic emotion in their lower register, festooned with somber French horns and soft timpani rolls. The podium guest was the glamorous young Susanna Mälkki (pronounced MELL-key), sending the music soaring heavenward with…