the divided strings. Third movement An angry, restless scherzo with machine-gun figures in the strings is blistering and fast. It is followed by a slow trio section, featuring a lyrical oboe solo accompanied by the clarinets and horns. After a trumpet blast, the scherzo is played again. The trio section returns again at the end of the movement as it bridges to the final movement. Kajanus said, "The scherzo gives a picture of frenetic preparation. Everyone piles his straw on the haystack, all fibers are strained and every second seems to last an hour. One senses in the contrasting trio section with its oboe motive in G-flat major what is at stake." Finale Without pause, the final movement, toward which the rest of the symphony seems to be building, begins gloriously after finally attaining D major, with colossal, loud, regal, and triumphant themes, often drawn from the first movement of the symphony. Very similar to Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, the transitional material from between the last two movements is brought back a second time so the victory of the major key can be savored anew. This movement, inspired by Romantic music, is "Italian music gone North." Kajanus wrote that the last movement "develops towards a triumphant conclusion intended to rouse in the listener a picture of lighter and confident prospects for the future." Recordings The first recording, sponsored by the Finnish Government, was made by Robert Kajanus with an unnamed orchestra for the British Columbia label in May 1930 at the Central Hall, Westminster on nine 78 rpm sides. The final side included the 'Intermezzo' from the Karelia Suite. For more information, see British Symphony Orchestra discography § Robert Kajanus. Kajanus had recorded the First Symphony a week earlier. Although the London Symphony Orchestra and the British Symphony Orchestra are sometimes credited, Mark Obert-Thorn puts forward the view that the ensemble was the Orchestra of the Royal Philharmonic Society, "the old RPO" which served as a long-term concert and recording pickup orchestra. It should not be confused with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1947. Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra performed the symphony during broadcast concerts in 1939 and 1940 in NBC Studio 8-H; the 1940 performance was commercially released by RCA Victor in 1967 on LP, then later reissued on CD. EMI has released a CD of a concert performance by Toscanini and