Nordic Atmospheres

Sinfonietta Riga give nicely understated performances of the three best-known pieces in this new collection, all by composers who had an especial mastery of miniatures with a light touch. The textures of Sibelius's Romance for string orchestra, Grieg's Elegiac Melodies and Nielsen's Suite, Op 1, all glow with soft-napped gentle warmth. The rather less well-known Romance, from Lars-Erik Larsson's Pastoral Suite, fits in neatly. Two Latvian works from the early 1980s make for an unusual musical layer-cake. These are Peteris Vasks's decidedly downbeat Musical Dolorosa and Romualds Kalsons's wry, cheeky, sometimes highly energised Clarinet Concerto, where the string orchestra is intriguingly enriched with the sound of a harpsichord. challenge.nl