- Biography
- En Saga
- The Swan of Tuonela
- Finlandia
- Symphony No. 2
- Violin Concerto in D Minor
- Valse Triste
- Pelléas et Mélisande
- Symphony No. 5
- The Tempest
Biography
Sibelius holds a very special place in the history of Scandinavian music, not least because he is really the only composer of note to have come from Finland but also because he had a very serious interest in Finnish mythology and culture which he has portrayed in his music.
The son of a doctor, Sibelius was christened Johan Julius Christian but adopted the name Jean having found a set of visiting cards belonging to his seafaring uncle, who had Gallicised the name.
Jean’s father died of cholera when the boy was just two years old and young Sibelius was brought up by his grandmother, who placed him at a Finnish-speaking school – this was quite unusual at the time, as much of Finland was Swedish speaking owing to their being governed by a Swedish-speaking minority.
He started composing at the age of ten.
A piece for violin and cello entitled Water Drops was followed by a number of other smaller chamber works that have a youthful naivety about them and are rarely heard these days.
Sibelius was very keen on playing the violin, always having a passionate yearning for being a professional violinist, and apparently even went to the lengths of auditioning for the string section of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
As was the case with many composers, his early studies at university were in a totally unrelated subject – in his case, law; but he soon gave this up in favour of a course in music.
It was at Helsinki University that he struck up a friendship with the Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni, who later gave Sibelius an introduction to Brahms.
After a couple of years Sibelius wrote the Kullervo Symphony, which really established him as a first-rate composer, and this was followed by a selection of wonderful works including Finlandia, the Valse Triste and a string of symphonies, all of which hold firm places in the repertoire of most internationally renowned symphony orchestras.
Sibelius was a colourful character who liked nothing better than to be drinking vast quantities of alcohol and smoking fat cigars.
Both these activities were severely curtailed when he developed a serious illness in 1908 and had to undergo a series of operations for what was suspected to be cancer of the throat.
It appears that these operations were successful as he lived for almost another fifty years, although his composing really stopped around 1926 when he wrote the incidental music for a performance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Sibelius was a keen traveller and made regular visits to England, France, Germany and Italy, and he was also in demand as a conductor, which it seemed was compensation for his not becoming a concert violinist.
He was honoured with numerous awards, amongst which were the Chair of Composition at the Imperial Academy (1912) and an Honorary Doctorate at Yale University following his enormous successes in the USA.
En Saga
1892, Orchestral
In the same way that Finlandia evokes the Finnish landscape, En Saga, though with no clear-cut story-line, uses bare harmonies and strong orchestration to re-create the stark and heroic world of the Scandinavian sagas.
The Swan of Tuonela
1893, Orchestral
A sad piece concerning a swan that sings only once, just before its death.
Finlandia
1900, Orchestral
A powerful exercise in nationalistic music, Finlandia is a strong orchestral work whose central melody is perhaps better known as the hymn ‘Be Still, my Soul’.
Symphony No. 2
Symphony No. 2 in D Major Op. 43
1901, Symphonies, Orchestral
At the end of the last century Sibelius was fairly young and his country, Finland, was a part of Russia – yet a restless and definitely unhappy part. Although the Russian takeover had been relatively recent, for more than eight hundred years previously the Finns had been under the political rule of Sweden, and this had led to a strong national desire for independence. Therefore, when Russia began to put restrictions on free speech, the right of assembly and political representation, the old hopes for a true national identity burst into flame.
When Sibelius returned from his studies in Western Europe he found himself roped into a tide of young writers, painters, poets, musicians, theatre people and such-like who had rediscovered their Finnish heritage. As a result his subsequent compositions began to show this influence to the extent that, today, he is seen as being the leading nationalist Finnish composer. Audiences used to remark that they could hear melodies from traditional Finnish folk songs in his music, yet Sibelius would honestly reply that he had never heard any. Therefore, when he first listened to the national epic called ‘Kalevala’ he was moved and delighted to hear how close his own work came to the thousand-year-old musical language of his countrymen.
Sibelius’s Second Symphony is a brilliant patriotic exercise, which was once described by a professor of music as a picture of ‘Finland’s struggle for political liberty.’ Critics have said that the first movement depicts Finnish pastoral life, while the second, though charged with patriotic feeling, senses the coming of brutal rule and therefore brings with it a timid soul.
The third portrays the awakening of national feeling whilst the finale brings hope.
The first movement (Allegretto) opens with quietly repeated chords from the strings whilst oboes and clarinets play a simple, folky tune. In the second section we hear a lament from two bassoons until chords from the brass section cut them off at their peak. The Vivacissimo of the third movement has an intensely nostalgic theme that builds and builds in a crescendo, leading directly into the finale. This Allegro moderato is like a mighty chant of triumph, as if the country has finally burst its chains. The ending is incredibly powerful and overwhelming.
Violin Concerto in D Minor
Violin Concerto in D Minor Op. 47: 3rd Movement
1903, Concerti, Orchestral
Sibelius is probably Finland’s most famous composer, and he is often seen as the only man who was fully capable of expressing landscape, folklore and all things Finnish. Yet in this work, if there is any reference to his homeland, it is kept well hidden. Only occasionally can one hear certain melodies that it is known were loved by Sibelius, as they would recall for him ancient Finnish runes.
Sibelius was thirty-eight when he wrote his violin concerto and had already written several works including two symphonies. However, he was not happy with the first version that he finished in 1903 and completely revised the music, allowing it to be performed in 1905 in Berlin with Richard Strauss conducting.
In the first movement (Allegro moderato) the solo violin introduces a sad theme backed by quiet, muted strings. This theme is soon picked up by darker woodwinds before a second melody becomes apparent from the cellos and bassoons. The second section (Adagio di molto) begins with little phrases from the woodwinds before the violin enters with a song-like solo. The finale, however, is a wild, dance-like movement which was once described as ‘a polonaise for polar bears.’
In order that the violin may be fully heard in its lower ranges, Sibelius cut down the accompaniment to almost chamber music level, but the violin still manages to shoot like a rocket around the backing. The whole work ends fantastically with skyward sweeps of the violin and sharp chords from the orchestra.
Valse Triste
1904, Orchestral
A sombre work that is the last moments of a dying woman reliving her past. It is a waltz for strings that was written as part of the incidental music for a drama entitled Kuolema (‘Death’).
Pelléas et Mélisande
1905, Orchestral
Sibelius wrote a lot of instrumental music for the theatre, the most notable being for Maeterlinck’s ‘Pélleas and Mélisande’ and Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’.
Symphony No. 5
Symphony No. 5 Op. 82
1916, Symphonies, Orchestral
After a fairly gloomy opening sequence, the orchestra soon picks up until we get to the finale that strides along forcefully, accompanied by bell-like chanting from the horns.
The Tempest
1926, Orchestral
Sibelius wrote a lot of instrumental music for the theatre, the most notable being for Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ and Maeterlinck’s ‘Pelléas and Mélisande’.