Andrew Barnett, another of the composer's many biographers, points to Sibelius's intense self-criticism; he would withhold or suppress anything that failed to meet his self-imposed standards: "It was this attitude that brought about the destruction of the Eighth Symphony, but the very same trait forced him to keep on revising the Fifth until it was perfect."
Andrew Barnett, outro dos moitos biógrafos do compositor, apunta a unha intensa autocrítica de Sibelius: el debeu reter ou suprimir calquera cousa que non cumprira coas súas normas autoimpostas: "Foi esta actitude a que levou á destrución da Oitava Sinfonía, mais o mesmo trazo o forzou a revisar a Quinta ata que foi perfecta".