SIBELIUS: VIOLIN CONCERTO; “KARELIA” SUITE; “FINLANDIA.” Miriam...

SIBELIUS: VIOLIN CONCERTO; “KARELIA” SUITE; “FINLANDIA.” Miriam Fried, violin; Helsinki Philharmonic conducted by Okko Kamu. Finlandia FACD 360 (compact disc). Fried takes an expansive but unexaggerated view of the concerto, one eloquent in tone and argument alike. Kamu and the orchestra accompany passionately, and turn in stirring accounts of the youthful, three-movement “Karelia” Suite--which has much of the character and sound of Smetana’s “Moldau”--and the familiar “Finlandia” tone poem.