Post by erik on Nov 12, 2022 13:03:30 GMT -5
The first symphonic essay by Finland's best known composer Jean Sibelius is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Sibelius: SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN E MINOR. OP. 39
There has probably never been a more popular composer to come out of Scandinavia than Finland’s own Jean Sibelius. Born in 1865, just as America was coming out of the Civil War, and having passed away in 1957, during the Cold War, Sibelius’ creative experience was aligned with the national pride of his country, particularly when it came to its eternal battles with its easternmost neighbor Russia, both before and during that nation’s descent into totalitarian Communism. Works like “Finlandia”, “Tapiola”, and “Valse Triste” were mini symphonic tone poems that were not only popular in his native Finland but also became hugely popular throughout Europe and, in short order, in the United States as well. And then there were the seven essays in full-blown symphonic writing that he undertook. The First Symphony was to introduce the world to the cold, austere but nevertheless dramatic and colorful style that Sibelius embraced. In this E Minor work, Sibelius occasionally betrays some of the Russian influence (particularly that of Tchaikovsky) in the use of bold orchestral gestures, sometimes with extra percussion like the triangle, bass drum, and cymbals. In general, however, he ascribed to the inherent national folk influences of his native Finland, much as Antonin Dvorak had done with respect to the music of his native Bohemia, and combined that with the Austro-German symphonic traditions of Beethoven and Brahms. The First Symphony was composed in late 1898 and on into early 1899, getting its first performance, after several revisions, on July 1, 1900 by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Robert Kajanus. Its success spurred Sibelius to compose six further symphonies between then and 1925, before he retired and stayed retired for the final thirty-two years of his life.
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra/HERBERT BLOMSTEDT (London/Decca)
Included:
SYMPHONY NO. 7 IN C MAJOR, OP. 125
Sibelius: SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN E MINOR. OP. 39
There has probably never been a more popular composer to come out of Scandinavia than Finland’s own Jean Sibelius. Born in 1865, just as America was coming out of the Civil War, and having passed away in 1957, during the Cold War, Sibelius’ creative experience was aligned with the national pride of his country, particularly when it came to its eternal battles with its easternmost neighbor Russia, both before and during that nation’s descent into totalitarian Communism. Works like “Finlandia”, “Tapiola”, and “Valse Triste” were mini symphonic tone poems that were not only popular in his native Finland but also became hugely popular throughout Europe and, in short order, in the United States as well. And then there were the seven essays in full-blown symphonic writing that he undertook. The First Symphony was to introduce the world to the cold, austere but nevertheless dramatic and colorful style that Sibelius embraced. In this E Minor work, Sibelius occasionally betrays some of the Russian influence (particularly that of Tchaikovsky) in the use of bold orchestral gestures, sometimes with extra percussion like the triangle, bass drum, and cymbals. In general, however, he ascribed to the inherent national folk influences of his native Finland, much as Antonin Dvorak had done with respect to the music of his native Bohemia, and combined that with the Austro-German symphonic traditions of Beethoven and Brahms. The First Symphony was composed in late 1898 and on into early 1899, getting its first performance, after several revisions, on July 1, 1900 by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Robert Kajanus. Its success spurred Sibelius to compose six further symphonies between then and 1925, before he retired and stayed retired for the final thirty-two years of his life.
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra/HERBERT BLOMSTEDT (London/Decca)
Included:
SYMPHONY NO. 7 IN C MAJOR, OP. 125