Finnish conductor who enhanced the structure and spiritual strength of Sibelius's music
Paavo Berglund, who has died aged 82, was regarded as a father figure in modern Sibelius conducting. But from an early date he took an interventionist view: not only were the scores that were traditionally played from full of errors, but the composer's own scoring, Berglund held, sometimes created problems in performance.
Berglund corrected the scores and, where he considered it necessary, was not averse to retouching the orchestration to ensure better balance. It was an approach that was endorsed by Finnish conductors of the younger generation, such as Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Osmo Vänskä, who held him in high regard. So too did Simon Rattle, who professes to have benefited from his detailed advice – making "thousands of marks on the score" – when the British conductor was making his own recording of the symphonies.
Berglund was the principal conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) from 1972 to 1979. He went on to conduct the major British orchestras – the LSO, the Royal Philharmonic, the CBSO and the BBC Symphony – and also undertook engagements with the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Born in Helsinki, he studied the violin from the age of 11 and joined the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1949. Three years later he was one of the founder members, and the first conductor, of the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra, the purpose of which was to expand the repertoire and improve the profile of musical performance in the Finnish capital. He became assistant conductor of the Finnish RSO and, from 1962 to 1971, was its chief conductor. Having considerably raised the standards of the orchestra, he was able to take it to the USSR, Germany and Britain.
He made his debut in Britain in 1965, with the BSO, conducting concerts as part of the Sibelius centenary festivities. He gave the first performances outside Finland of Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony with the BSO and made the first recording of the work with Bournemouth players and Finnish singers. He went on to become principal conductor of the BSO (1972-79), as well as musical director and principal conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic (1975-79). He was also principal conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic (1987-91) and principal conductor of the Royal Danish Orchestra (1993-98), recording with the latter a cycle of the Nielsen symphonies that was praised for its insight and integrity.
It was as a Sibelius conductor that he made his greatest contribution. Eugene Ormandy, John Barbirolli and Hans Rosbaud were chief among those whose interpretations initially influenced him. He made three recordings of the cycle of symphonies, with the BSO and Helsinki Philharmonic for EMI, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe for Warner/Finlandia. Notorious, especially in his earlier years, for his tough and uncompromising manner with musicians, he was also intensely self-critical: his understanding of Sibelius was always evolving, he admitted.
Berglund's close analysis of Sibelius's Seventh Symphony resulted in a comparative study of its printed score and manuscript, published by Hansen. His textual corrections and amendments all stemmed from a determination to allow the defining moments to speak clearly and potently.
While aware that Sibelius himself was content for details to "swim as in gravy", Berglund intuited that the structural and spiritual strength of the music could only be enhanced by rigorous attention to textural detail. He encouraged the brass to play softly and translucently, while minimal vibrato on strings emphasised the tautness and spareness of much of the music. These qualities were heard to particular advantage in the cycle recorded with a reduced ensemble (about 50 players) by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Berglund is survived by his wife, Kirsti, whom he married in 1958, and his children, Juha, Liisa and Eeva.
• Paavo Allan Engelbert Berglund, conductor, born 14 April 1929; died 25 January 2012