This week we begin a series of the seven symphonies of Jean Sibelius, starting, appropriately enough, with the Symphony No.1 in E minor, written when Finland was part of the Russian Empire -- and none too happy about it.
If your familiarity with Sibelius is limited to Finlandia -- a work of defiance which dates to the same period -- you might be surprised to hear more music in the same vein. Not for nothing is Finland's greatest composer also its favorite patriot. See what you think this Thursday night at ten.