It never takes much to encourage the Finns to organise a festival, and a hugely significant double anniversary this year - the 90th of Finland's independence and the 50th of the death of the country's greatest composer - was impossible to resist. Sibelius and Beyond, 23 concerts spread over almost three months, is the creation of the Finnish Institute in London. Its centrepiece will be a cycle of the Sibelius symphonies, given by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in November, but, as the title suggests, the programmes have tried hard to look outwards, to the later generations of Finnish composers who had to develop in Sibelius's gigantic shadow, and also to some of his contemporaries.

The opening recital, given by soprano Mari Palo and tenor Jussi Myllys, accompanied by Tuula Hallstrom, certainly reflected that outlook. Alongside two groups of songs by Sibelius, there were items by Grieg and Beethoven, as well as arrangements of Finnish folk songs by Ralf Gothoni, and songs by Oskar and Aarre Merikanto, father and son. A thoughtfully put-together sequence, but marred by the singers' decision to change the order of items without telling the audience.

At least a Grieg group containing Solveig's Song from the Peer Gynt music was easy to identify, but finding one's way around the two Sibelius sequences was less straightforward, and didn't say much for the singers' projection of the Swedish texts. Palo's bright, forward tone was at its best in the witty, anarchic folk-song versions. Myllys' cloudier, less focused sound finally came into its own in the Merikanto sequence, especially two settings by Aarre, composer of what is arguably the greatest of all Finnish operas, Juha; the first was rather delicately Frenchified, while the second recalled the dark introspection of the songs of Otmar Schoeck.

· Sibelius and Beyond continues until December 5.