Sibelius - 6 Impromptus For Piano, Opus 5

The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius is most well known for his music for orchestra. The seven symphonies he composed from 1900-1924 remain in the repertoire of many modern orchestras and have had a profound effect on composers.  But he wrote music in many other genres as well, including music for solo piano.

Most of his solo piano works are in sets, like the six Impromptus of opus 5. Sibelius wrote music for solo piano throughout his composing career, and the fact that it isn't very well known is no reflection of the quality of it. The popularity and grandeur of his symphonies tend to outshine them. Sibelius was a fine piano composer, and while not a virtuoso pianist,( his instrument of choice was the violin) he could play the instrument very well, as commented upon by his contemporaries. His skill at improvising on the instrument was good, as commented on by his pupil and friend Georg von Wendt:

When Sibelius was improvising it was important for him to get a few glasses of, say, a Burgundy, one that he was very fond of, because he was a violinist and his technical shortcomings as a pianist produced a certain performance threshold. When that was overcome, no one could have guessed that this Jean Sibelius who was improvising was not an eminent pianist. These wonderful fantasias kept a hold on you from the first note to the last chord and it was as if the listeners were intoxicated. It is a great pity that they were never written down. Those who heard Sibelius improvise in the 1890s, at the time when he was doing it the most, were able to enjoy the greatest beauty that contemporary music can offer. (Text from the Sibelius website.)

 The opus 5 set was published in 1893, about the time of his set of orchestral tone poems  Kullervo and the Karelia Suite. Sibelius wrote his piano music at a time when a composer could earn extra money by writing salon pieces for piano. sound recording was still in its infancy, so many people learned to play the piano for entertainment. Sibelius' music for piano is well written, and very musical. Some of it looks quite simple, but there are hidden beauties in these miniatures.

1. Moderato, in G Minor -  The first impromptu is but one page long, and consists of 2 sections. The first section is eight bars long and played in slow block chords. The next section is marked Thema and has a simple melody played on top of chords. The atmosphere is funereal, with no let up in the sorrow.

2. Lento - Vivace, in G Minor -  The music starts with a slow introduction, then the music turns into a lively folk dance. There are episodes when the music changes to G major, but for the most part G minor prevails. A good example of how the character of a key can change, as the first two impromptus are in the same key, yet the effect is quite different.

3. Moderato (alla marcia), in A Minor - Sibelius instructions are to play this piece as a march. There is a quiet middle section in F major before the rhythmic march begins again.

4. Andantino, in E Minor - This is a slow piece, with an underlying minor key solemnity.  The music remains in a melancholy mood throughout. Volume increases as the piece comes to an end.

5. Vivace, in B Minor - This impromptu glitters and shimmers with music that sounds almost Debussian as it goes up and down the keyboard with alternating hands. As in the previous pieces, the minor key dominates. The music sparkles, but there is a mood of melancholy to it as well.

 6. Commodo, in E Major -  The longest impromptu of the set as well as he only one written in a major key, but the music does shift to E minor in the second section. The entire piece is to be repeated, a test of a pianists musicianship. If the repeat is played as the first time through, this piece could become boring.  A beautiful miniature, simple in structure, like a jewel that a good pianist can make glow with a soft luster. The piece ends in soft E minor chords.