Sibelius - Symphony No. 1 In E minor, Opus 39

A composer's first symphony is always special. Beethoven's 1st with its mystic introduction, Brahms 1st with it's rugged beginning, Shostakovich's precocious 1st. Sibelius' 1st is also special. It was written in 1898-99 and in its way says goodbye to the ways of the symphony of the 19th century. Sibelius was not radical in his ideas and techniques, but he did distill and reform the symphony of the 19th century and turned it into a new type of composition.

The first symphony contains many examples of composers and music that had influenced him. Beethoven in structure, Tchaikovsky in feeling and mood, folk song in melody (although no folk songs were used in the symphony), Bruckner in the use of the orchestra.  By the time of the symphony's writing, Sibelius was thirty-three years old, had given up his life-long dream of being a violin virtuoso, and was making his way as a composer and conductor.  He conducted the premiere of the work, but revised it after the performance. The revised version is the one most often played.

The symphony is in 4 movements:
I. Andante, ma non troppo - Allegro energico  - The many tempo indications gives the idea of a symphony that is in a state of change and development throughout. A clarinet plays softly over a drum roll to open the work, the strings enter and swiftly climb to a climax of sorts. This is the movement that some critics think shows an influence by Tchaikovsky.  But the rugged sound of Sibelius comes through any influence and propels the music to climax after climax, until the movement ends with a loud statement from the brass and low strings that tapers off into soft pizzicatos from the strings.

II. Andante (ma non troppo lento) - A sensitive and tuneful theme that sounds like a folk song. Sibelius treats it in his own unique way. Tender, yet still with the Nordic, rugged quality that is a hallmark of Sibelius' music.

III. Scherzo: Allegro -  Trio: Lento (ma non troppo) The theme of the scherzo is heard in the timpani as the upper strings pluck out the beat.  A boisterous scherzo that propels itself headlong until it hits the trio, where it slows and softens. After the trio, the scherzo resumes its rapid tempo until the timpani and brass bring the rushing music to an abrupt end.

IV. Finale: (Quasi una fantasia) Andante - Allegro molto - Andante assai - Allegro molto come prima - Andante (ma non troppo) -  The clarinet melody of the first movement is transformed into a passionate theme. This movement is marked quasi una fantasia, and the frequent changes in tempo do give the movement a sense of a fantasia.  This finale brings all the loose ends of the symphony together and ties them up in a beautiful hymn-like tune gently played by the orchestra. Punctuated by the harp and timpani, this tune unwinds itself until the orchestra returns to a somewhat frantic pace that leads to a climax punctuated by the timpani, brass and strings. The hymn returns in the clarinet, the tune floats through the orchestra, gradually gets louder until the strings bring it to full bloom. A short coda has the orchestra grow in volume and the music comes rushing to an end, with soft pizzicatos in the strings like the closing of the first movement.

 

Sibelius - Symphony No. 4 In A Minor

In 1908 Jean Sibelius had a tumor removed from his throat that proved to be cancerous. For the next few years he feared a return of the cancer, which may have led to the dark music contained within the 4th Symphony.  But the dark hue of the music could just as well been influenced by another piece he was working on at the time; a setting of Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven in a setting for voice and orchestra (a work that never came to fruition).  Or perhaps it was the general atmosphere of the world at the time that led to the mood of the symphony. Speculations by musicologists have covered these possibilities as well as others.

Whatever caused the atmosphere of the music, there is no denying that the 4th Symphony is one of Sibelius' most puzzling works. Written in 1910-1911, it is sandwiched between the triumphant 3rd Symphony and heroic 5th Symphony and is in contrast to both.  With its sparseness in scoring and exploration of the dissonant interval of the tritone,  the symphony received scant applause at its premiere in 1911 which was conducted by the composer. The composer's wife recalled:

People avoided our eyes, shook their heads; their smiles were embarrassed, furtive, or ironic. Not many people came backstage to the artists' room to pay their respects. 

The symphony bewildered audiences for years, but is finally getting recognition as one of Sibelius' best works. It is in four movements:

I. Tempo molto moderato, quasi adagio -  Known for over 300 years as a dissonance, the tritone (a musical interval composed of three adjacent whole tones) was also known as diabolus in musica, or the devil in music because of its perceived dissonance. The name was given to it early in the Medieval era to emphasize that the interval should be avoided in music like the devil in every day life. The evil connotation of the interval was used by composers in music that attempted to depict fear, terror or the devil itself.  The French composer Camille Saint-Saëns use of the tritone to depict the devil playing its fiddle in his tone poem Danse Macabre is but one example of how it was used.  Sibelius begins the first movement with a short introduction for bass instruments that uses the tritone to create tonal ambiguity. A solo cello further confuses the tonality  until the cellos as a group state the first theme in A minor after the introduction. The tritone continues to appear throughout the movement as well as the rest of the symphony.  Short motifs float in and out making it difficult for the ear to find its way. After much ruminating, the strings slowly play a series of ascending notes E-F-Bflat-A (which contains the tritone E-Bflat) until the movement ends quietly on A

II. Allegro molto vivace -  The second movement begins as a sprightly scherzo but roughly half way through the mood turns black and the music gets extremely quiet and the movement stops.

III. Il tempo largo -  The third movement wafts across the orchestra in a nocturne of haunted night music. Sibelius referred to this symphony as "a psychological symphony" perhaps referring to this movement that represents the darkness of the mind.  The music slows to a quietly throbbing C-sharp in the violins and violas that is played across bar lines as a short motif repeats a few times until the spectre evaporates.

IV. Allegro -  As in the beginning of the second movement, the fourth movement opens in a somewhat cheerful music that is brightened by the glockenspiel. The movement begins in A major but struggles between A major and E-flat major. Not coincidentally the interval A-Eflat is a tritone. The music ends up going nowhere, and on a repeating C in the strings (the same pitch that began the symphony) the symphony hints at the home key of A minor and stops.

With all four movements ending in quiet ambiguity, virtually no memorable themes, an original harmonic scheme based on the interval of the tritone and movement structure that places a slow movement at the beginning of the symphony, it is no wonder that audiences found the work difficult and perplexing. Sibelius continued to develop his symphonic style up to his last finished symphony. Perhaps he could develop his style no further, perhaps he was written out, but whatever the reason his seventh symphony was his last, and after 1926 he did not write any more large works for the rest of his life. He died in 1957.

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.

Sibelius - Violin Concerto In D Minor

Jean Sibelius is most well known as a conductor and one of the great composers of the 20th century, but in his early years his dream was to be a violin virtuoso. He began to play the piano and violin at a very early age, but didn't commence formal study of the violin until he was sixteen.  He made rapid progress and played in the violin section of a local orchestra, and went on to play in a string quartet.

He continued his studies at the Helsinki Institute and played second violin in the school's string quartet as well

as in the string section of the school orchestra. After Sibelius graduated from the Institute he studied in Berlin for two years and concentrated on composing while still playing chamber music with friends. When he returned to Finland he taught violin for a short time, appeared in concert as a soloist and performed in an orchestra in Helsinki until 1896.  It was about this same year that Sibelius gave up on his dreams for a career as a virtuoso. As Sibelius himself said:

It was a very painful awakening when I had to admit that I had begun my training for the exacting career of a virtuoso too late.

Sibelius continued to play the violin privately for over thirty years until tremors in his hands made him stop.

He started to plan his violin concerto in 1899 (the only concerto Sibelius ever wrote), and completed the work in 1904. Sibelius didn't finish the work soon enough for the soloist to study the solo part in depth, so as a result the first performance was not well received.  The first version of the concerto had one of the most difficult solo violin parts ever written, so Sibelius removed the work and revised it, making it slightly less difficult and more well balanced. The concerto is in three movements:

I. Allegro moderato - The movement begins with almost inaudible figures in the strings. The soloist enters shortly after with the first theme. This theme begins to be developed immediately. The strings enter in a louder section that announces the second theme first sounded in the woodwinds.  The development section leads to an extended cadenza for the soloist before the recapitulation begins. A rapid and dramatic coda tosses out the themes once more before the end of the movement.

II. Adagio di molto - This movement is in B-flat major and begins with a short introduction by the woodwinds which leads to a lyrical theme by the soloist.  The middle section increases the drama of the music, after which the violin begins to sing its theme again. The movement ends in hushed beauty.

III. Allegro ma non tanto -  The movement opens with a rhythmic figure in the bass, and the soloist enters with the first theme. A second theme played by the orchestra sounds like battle music complete with the snarling of muted horns.  Sibelius throws all kinds of technical demands on the soloist throughout the movement, making it not only one of the most recognizable of the violin concerto literature but also one of the most difficult. The movement draws to an end with the full orchestra playing loud staccato chords while the soloist glides up and down the fingerboard.

Sibelius' realization that he was not destined to be a violin virtuoso probably frustrated and disappointed him, which may have came out in his writing for the violin concerto.  He certainly had the practical and technical knowledge of the instrument if not the virtuoso technique, so he may have envisioned himself as the soloist if things would have turned out differently.

Sibelius - Malinconia For Cello And Piano, Opus 20

The last years of the 19th century saw the Finnish composer and conductor Jean Sibelius' works heard more and more in Finland and outside of Finland as well. Sibelius was part of the artistic renaissance in Finland and  his reputation went beyond just a Finnish composer of Finnish music. He became a symbol of the struggles of Finland to free itself from Russia who had annexed the country and ruled over it for over 100 years. The turn of the century was keeping up with the trend as Sibelius took every opportunity to write Finnish inspired music.

Sibelius and his wife were separated over the New Year's celebration of 1900 because his wife was away at her brother's house, as his daughter had just died in a typhus epidemic.  A few weeks later the epidemic had reached the town of Kerava where Sibelius and his family lived, and on the 13th of February their 15-month old daughter Kirsti died. Aino took the other children away from Kerava and away from the epidemic. Kirsti was the youngest daughter and Sibelius was very attached to her. In March, Sibelius wrote to his wife:

I think very often of you, joy of my heart. If only you could get over it. I don't know what I ought to do. My dearest, don't look back on the past but forward. It is the only way to survive (or better; don't look forward, live in the present). The countryside is so beautiful and besides that you have the children and - I dare scarcely even to say - me.

Magnus Enckell

The death of his youngest daughter affected Sibelius profoundly. His drinking, a recurring problem for Sibelius, got worse after his daugher's death, His grief was such that he never spoke of Kristi again for the rest of his life. It was in the aftermath of this personal tragedy that Sibelius composed Malinconia For Cello And Piano.  The title likely reflects Sibelius' frame of mind at the time but Sibelius was also familiar with a painting he had seen at an art exhibition in 1895 by Magnus Enckell, a Finnish symbolist painter, titled Malinconia. Some writers  find a connection between the painting and the musical work, others do not. Perhaps it was a subconscious influence that helped shape Sibelius' piece.
It has been alleged by some that Sibelius wrote the complete piece in three hours. It was originally titled Fantasia and given its first performance on March 12, 1900.

Malinconia by Magnus Enckell

The work is in one continuous movement. A cello solo begins the work with an expressive outpouring that sets the tone for the short work. The work is tragic in the extreme with little in the way of themes. The brilliance of the piece is not for the sake of virtuosity, but for the sake of expression.  Arpeggios, broken chords, waterfalls of notes played by the piano all help to convey the emptiness of sorrow. There are rays of light in the piece, but they are few. The overwhelming mood of the music is sorrow laced with frustration and regret. The piece ends with the cello reaching into the depths of its range with tense trills while the piano rumbles in deep tones of its own.

Sibelius - Symphony No. 3 In C Major

Jean Sibelius continued to write tonal music at a time in the early 20th century when many of his contemporaries were stretching the limits of tonality and music itself. Sibelius was well aware of the trends in the music of his time as he traveled extensively in Europe (and once to the United States) as concert goer, concert giver (he was an accomplished conductor) and tourist. He was called a musical conservative by some, but others looked upon him as the opposite. In truth, his music evolved from differing influences into his own unique style.

His first two symphonies were Romantic in style and showed the influence of Tchaikovsky and Bruckner. With his Third Symphony his style grew more akin to Beethoven in that his music showed an organic growth from scraps of thematic material, and was classical in musical and orchestral style. 

The Third Symphony was begun in 1904 and completed in 1907.  It was premiered in Helsinki, Finland by the Helsinki Philharmonic conducted by the composer. The symphony was met with mixed critical reviews, but Sibelius was not bothered by reviews good or bad. He once said, "Pay no attention to what critics say. No statue has ever been put up to a critic." Sibelius' thoughts on symphonic composition:

"Since Beethoven’s time all so-called symphonies, with the exception of those by Brahms, have been symphonic poems. In some cases the composers have given us a program or have at least suggested what they had in mind; in other cases it is evident that they were concerned with describing or illustrating something, be it a landscape or a series of pictures. That does not correspond to my symphonic ideal. My symphonies are music — conceived and worked out as musical expression, without any literary basis. I am not a literary musician: for me, music begins where words leave off. A symphony should be music first and last. … I am particularly pleased to see it explicitly stressed that my [symphonies] are founded on classical symphonic form, and also that wholly misleading speculations about descriptions of nature and about folklore are being gotten rid of."

I. Allegro moderato - The first movement grows out of three themes that are heard at the outset. The music flows from these short themes in Sibelius' own type of form until the brass give out the final chords. 

II. Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto -   "At a slightly quicker pace than a walk, with motion, kind of moderately fast," is roughly what the composer's Italian tempo indications mean. This is a good example of a composer trying to give direction to the performer how the music should be played, and is much an indication of mood as of velocity.  Here is where the experience of the musicians comes into play, as it is a matter of interpretation. It is trying to put a fine point on something that doesn't really exist on the printed page, but only exists in time - when the music is being played.  As ambiguous as that is, it is a vital part of interpretation. In any given performance, the interpretation of this tempo indication can 'make or break' the performance.  This is music of mystery, with the theme written in the distant key of G-sharp minor, and is interlaced with other material in a movement of quiet contrast. 

III. Moderato - Allegro ma non tanto - The final movement incorporates a scherzo and finale. Fragments of the first two movements whisk by, along with new material and the symphony relentlessly moves to the end of the symphony.  

  

Sibelius - Finlandia

The history of Finland has seen the country dominated by Sweden early on and Russia in the latter 19th and early 20th centuries.  With the coming of the nationalist movement in the early 20th century,  Russia used every means to halt the progress of freedom for the Finnish people. Censorship of the theater and concerts was heavy, and it was in this atmosphere that Sibelius wrote his tone poem Finlandia.

It was originally written as part of a set of pieces that accompanied a visual presentation of Finnish history.  The original version was written in 1899 and Sibelius revised it into its final form in 1900. The piece served as a rallying cry for the Finnish people, much as La Marseillaise was for the French. To prevent the Russian censors from prohibiting the performance of Finlandia, the piece would be renamed before the programs for the concert were printed.

The music opens with heavy brass chords, and music that depicts the human struggle for freedom of the Finns.  The great hymn tune that follows the bombast has all the makings of a folk tune, but in fact there are no folk tunes in Finlandia. All of the music is original with Sibelius. The hymn tune was arranged by Sibelius as a separate piece to be sung as a hymn, and is in many Christian churches hymnals as the hymn titled 'Be Still My Soul'.

Evidently Sibelius came to detest Finlandia as it became his most popular composition at the expense of other more substantial works. But it has everything in it to appeal to a broad audience; brilliant and colorful orchestration, a grand tune that can be sung, and a message of hope and freedom that is universal.

Sibelius - Symphony No. 5 In E-flat Major Opus 82

Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957)  was a Finnish composer most known for his symphonies. He wrote seven symphonies all together, and after his 7th Symphony, Sibelius composed very little for the rest of his life. There were rumors and hints from the composer himself about an 8th symphony, but it was never composed.

Sibelius' first love was the violin, and he worked towards being a virtuoso, but relented when he decided he had started too late. He became a conductor as well as composer. His first great compositional influence was Wagner, but with time Sibelius rejected much of Wagner's esthetic and was then influenced by Anton Bruckner and Pyotr Tchaikovsky.  He was a master of orchestration, and despite composing his symphonies in a time of great experimentation with atonality, Sibelius continued to write tonal music. But he developed a highly refined and unique style of orchestration and composition that give his music a certain kind of  sound that is like no other. No doubt his love of nature and the terrain of his native Finland inspired much of his music, whether directly with the tone poems or indirectly with the symphonies.

Sibelius received a commission from the Finnish government in honor of his 50th birthday. He filled the commission with the 5th Symphony. He finished the score and led the premiere in 1915.  It was revised in 1916 and also in 1919, and it is the 1919 version that is usually performed.  The symphony is in three movements:

1. Tempo molto moderato - Allegro moderato (ma poco a poco stretto) - Vivace molto - Presto - Più Presto.  This movement is actually a combination of the original 1st movement and 2nd movement from the first version of the symphony .
2. Andante mosso, quasi allegretto - Poco a poco stretto - Tranquillo - Poco a poco stretto - Ritenuto al tempo I.  This movement is a set of variations.
3. Allegro molto - Misterioso - Un pochettino largamente - Largamente assai - Un pochettino stretto.  The tune for horns shortly after the beginning of this movement is thought to be the sound of swan calls, as well as a representation of 16 swans taking off all at once, an event witnessed by Sibelius.

The structure of the symphony is unique. There is much debate among musicologists about the first movement especially. Add the structural uniqueness to the many tempo designations and modulations within the music, and we have one of the most original symphonies composed by Sibelius.