*****

"Sondergard was animated as he commanded the orchestra in a performance that took us to the edge of the abyss, withdrew, and left us with a life-affirming sense of hope"

Peter Collins, The Western Mail

In the concert's opener, En Saga, Søndergård's easy command of the BBC musicians brought out their expertise: they defined texture and balance while remaining committed to the character of individual ideas. A symphonic poem that conjures up the world of ancient sagas, its dynamism and colouristic variety were thrillingly projected. So, too, was the state of Sibelius's Second Symphony, whose structure is rarely so impressively delivered and whose final apotheosis achieved unalloyed grandeur.

 

The Guardian **** George Hall

With the sound of a Vienna Philharmonic programme fresh in the memory anything else could seem pallid. But Thomas Søndergård and the Swedish Radio Orchestra played Sibelius's En Saga brilliantly, with a palette of colours that was more southern than Nordic, as if Sibelius was trying to out-Strauss Richard Strauss..... In a masterly performance of Nielsen's fifth symphony, Søndergård made every orchestral detail come over - not what one generally expects in performances of Nielsen. He held the difficult last movement together in a most convincing fashion and showed himself the equal of the great pioneers of Nielsen interpretation, with driving tempi and an unfailing sense of form. It is hard to imagine a finer performance of this remarkable symphony. Thomas Anderberg, Dagens Nyheter 25 February 2012