The influential critic Karl Flodin commented after the première of Sibelius’ Second Symphony, 'A symphonic poem the like of Sibelius’ Second Symphony has never been heard before, it’s something rarely heard in the genre of modern symphony. The more you listen to this brilliant work, the more powerful its contours seem, the deeper its soul appears and the more striking become the clues which hint at an understanding of this composition'. Oehms Classics has found the perfect partners for this recording in Dmitrij Kitajenko and the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, whom have paired it delightfully with two short pieces by Edvard Grieg.

Chandos’ Rimsky-Korsakov symphony cycle effectively steals the thunder from Neeme Järvi’s set on Deutsche Grammophon. Dmitri Kitajenko’s grittier and bolder readings better present the music. While Järvi luxuriates in Gothenberg’s smooth sonorities, Kitajenko draws more stark sounds from his Bergen Philharmonic players. This is especially telling in the Antar Symhony (which Rimsky-Korsaskov later published as a “symphonic suite”) where Kitajenko’s gruff approach makes the second movement’s growling argument more forbidding.

Dmitri Kitayenko directed various orchestras in Moscow before becoming chief conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic in 1976 and subsequently conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the Hessischer Rundfunk in Frankfurt am Main, from 1990 to 1996. He went on to hold principal positions with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul and finally, in addition to his worldwide activities as a guest conductor, was appointed honorary conductor of the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne.