With a Nielsen cycle apparently in the pipeline, John Storgårds's first recording projects as the BBC Philharmonic's chief guest conductor are obviously intended to lay down his credentials as an interpreter of the Nordic repertoire. Starting with the Sibelius symphonies, though, brings him up against formidable competition, and this new cycle is no match for several already available on disc or download, often at bargain prices. Isolated passages in Storgårds's accounts are very impressive – he manages the evolution of the first movement of the Fifth Symphony as convincingly as anyone – and the BBC Philharmonic's playing is always very fine, but often there's little sense of the unswerving logic these works should project. Everything seems to be hurried along just a bit too much instead of being allowed to unfold at its own pace, so moments that should seem inevitable, such as the arrival of the big tune in the finale of the Third, or of the majestic "swan" theme in the last movement of the Fifth, never bring the sense of closure they should.