Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, 5.12.07

Not heard of Tampere? It's Finland's third-largest city, often compared to Manchester, and its municipal orchestra has been making its debut tour of England this week (The Filter itself will touch down in Tampere on the 10th January en-route to Helsinki as part of Finland Filtered). The 77-year-old Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, under Principal Conductor John Storgårds, has been taking in a succession of not-quite-major concert halls in the South East and Midlands since its arrival earlier in the week.

At Cadogan Hall in Chelsea the Orchestra presented an all-Sibelius concert (Pohjola's Daughter, Violin Concerto, Symphony 4), and it felt like every Finn in London was there - with plenty of trendy spectacles gracing the post-show reception celebrating 50 years of Finnish independence (in the same year as we mark 50 years since the death of Jean Sibelius). With this distinct feeling of home territory in terms of repertoire and audience, a spacious European rehearsal schedule no-doubt consolidated by the tour, and the 'generous' playing atmosphere of Cadogan Hall, one would do well to keep the superlatives in check. But there's no getting around it: the Orchestra's performance was breathtaking.

Initially striking was the warm, organic violin sound. Their 'step-up/step-down' sequencing, a Sibelius symphony hallmark, was played with subtlety and impeccable blend. So much of the composer's symphonic writing demands patience and intuition from players, and here that patience sculpted a smooth, delicate panorama which seemed carried by its own invisible Karelian breeze. From the opening attack of the cellos that launches the symphony you knew you were in for a piercing and illuminating account, and the brass followed suit with strong but shapely cascades; the rasping horns were magnificently sensitive. There are some who have long wondered what Sibelius is 'supposed' to sound like, why the orchestration can sometimes seem burdensome, and what his often unorthodox musical ideas mean. This performance of the composer's most elusive and introspective symphony provided one perfectly conceived answer, almost as if Sibelius himself was leading the first violins. A deeply moving experience.

Jennifer Pike's performance of the Violin Concerto exposed her main asset: a rich, wooden, almost Jewish tone in lower registers which gave much of the performance a sense of urgency. But the last movement was a touch too quick for her - Sibelius himself once commented that this movement should be taken 'fast, but no faster than it can be played perfectly' - and whilst the sound musical sense of her playing wasn't lost, she struggled to keep up and tuning suffered. Still, this was an engaging, stylish and sensitively accompanied performance.

Conductor John Storgårds steps down as the Tampere Philharmonic's Principal Conductor in 2009 to become Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic. Understated in terms of technique, it was his gentle pull of the Sibelian ebb and flow that showed he was inhabiting the music. The encore, Finlandia, was menacing from its opening brass salvos, and rose to an almost crushing climax. The obvious and perhaps passé question is, can only a Finn read Sibelius like this? Perhaps not, and this reading was different to those of Oramo and Berglund - more languorous, more shiny. But Storgårds' real achievement seems to be his building of this Orchestra's sound, For this part-time critic at least, not since the Mariinsky in January 2005 has a visiting orchestra in London played with such sonorous unity and instinct.

A performance as special as this should have been gifted to a busy Royal Festival Hall - it would have had everyone out of their seats by the encore. But this is an orchestra that needs spotting, and before its peaking form begins to wane. Proms, Barbican, Southbank, Bridgewater, Symphony Hall, Millennium Centre bosses - if you're out there, please get the TPO back here, and soon!