The Finnish conductor Paavo Berglund (1929-2012) began his musical life as a violinist, and worked in Finland until he unexpectedly took up the post of chief conductor of England’s Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in 1972. He was with them for 10 years, during which time they made many recordings for EMI.

Later, he recorded with the Helsinki Philharmonic and, for the Finlandia label, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, a distinguished ensemble established in the 1980s and based in London.

Paavo Berglund

The young Simon Rattle was Berglund’s assistant for a while, and remarks on Berglund’s fastidious approach to orchestral string playing. He was not a showman; if anything, his demeanour was cool, nor did he have a quirky ‘take’ on the music he conducted. However, his timing was exceptional: every tempo, fast or slow, seems exactly right, and the performances he got from his musicians were atmospheric, very exciting, and always alive.

His earlier recordings in this set (which ranges from 1970 to 1997) were as a concerto accompanist, often in works that had received few recordings at the time, such as Britten’s Violin Concerto (with Ida Haendel), Walton’s Cello Concerto...