Northern Sinfonia/Zehetmair

It is said in Finland that you can tell the difference between an introvert and an extrovert because an introvert will stare at his shoes when talking to you, while an extrovert will stare at yours.

There is an amiably intimate quality to Sibelius's Third Symphony that can seem almost unassuming; after the rich patriotism of the First Symphony and the lush romanticism of the Second, critics were bemused to find the composer apparently retreating into his shell. Yet the Third is as much an expression of the Finnish personality as anything Sibelius wrote; and Thomas Zehetmair's account proves the symphony marked a concentration rather than a reduction of the composer's powers.

Carl Nielsen's Flute Concerto is another modestly scored Scandinavian masterpiece for which the Northern Sinfonia's exceptional principal flautist Juliette Bausor takes the soloist's role. She handles the long-breathed lines with ease and spiritedly engages with the bass trombone - Nielsen's comedic mix of piping and parping remains one of the most bizarre combinations of sonorities in the early 20th-century repertoire.

Pitting these against the onslaught of Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony is a gamble. The Sinfonia, celebrating its 50th anniversary, has a limited track record with Tchaikovsky, and Zehetmair seems determined to push it out of its comfort zone. Even with an augmented string section, the tranquil moments are more persuasive than the crashing climaxes - Zehetmair shapes the gossamer dynamics of the pizzicato passage in the scherzo almost pluck by pluck. Bigger bands may shift more air; but Zehetmair's performance shows the power of introspection.