Thanks to Karajan's charisma, he was able to give impressive performances with the Turin and Rome RAI Symphony Orchestras, performances that are indelibly marked by his strong personality. Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 was recorded at the RAI Auditorium in Turin on 1st March 1953, when Karajan was making his first LP recording of this work with the Philharmonia Orchestra, which he began in July 1952 and completed in the autumn of the following year. Also included is a triumphant performance of Sibelius's Finlandia, one of the orchestral works most loved by Karajan.