“No other conductor – including several distinguished Sibelians – I have heard in this music has been quite so willing to show what makes [Kullervo] so original. Where others have attempted to connect it to the main, canonic body of Sibelius’s output, Lintu shows how it stands apart, and how if the composer had continued in this vein he might have become a sort of Finnish Bartók … A conductor given to big gestures, he drew a performance of gripping sweep, and playing of surging, full-blooded warmth.”

“Guest conducting the Cleveland Orchestra… Lintu made sure his name is one listeners will remember. Leading well-known works by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, Lintu seized on elements of drama and excitement to craft truly distinguished performances fuelled by seemingly boundless reserves of vitality.”