What do you think of Sibelius?

[haydnguy]

I was reading about Sibelius' music and wondered if anyone liked it, and what it was about??? Thanks.

[Zeitblom]

A few, not especially coherent thoughts ....

I'm something of a Sibelius enthusiast - but it has not been an easy ride. My early experiences with him were a combination of bafflement and a sense that there was something going on here that I definitely wanted to explore further, and it took time before the music really got hold of me.

I've concluded that although the background - nature and Finnish nationalism - obviously provides one way in, and the influences are powerful, but this is incredibly pure music, very focussed and very concentrated. Try the Seventh Symphony; only twenty minutes long, but it seems to contain an entire world. I think one just has to abandon oneself to it.

[haydnguy]

Thanks for the thoughts, Zeitblom. I'll check out the 7th.

[Philidor]

I love Sibelius. He was a countryman who adored geese. Thirty years before his death he dried up, and would avoid even talking about music. With his wife in 1945 he undertook a great burning, possibly including an eighth symphony.



Illustration in a letter to his aunt Evelina (1875)

[aaro]

As finnish musician I'm quite embarrased to say that I've never got myself familiar with Sibelius' music. I've been trying to listen some symphonies but it's difficult to listen them carefully or analyse.

Some piano-songs I've played I liked.
I don't really know, how you should listen those symphonies. Should you create images in your mind or is it possible to listen them more "theoretic way"? :sad2:

[Herzeleide]

I'm not especially fond of Sibelius, I'm sad to say. I find it a bit insipid. Acres and acres of whiteness.

[Despina41]

Hi Haydnguy, if you don't know ANY Sibelius I recommend beginning with the famous violin concerto. Beautifully atmospheric music, perfect for fall or winter. ;-}

The legend is that Sibelius had auditioned for whichever symphony as a violinist and didn't win the job, so he went home and wrote "the most difficult violin concerto ever." Or some nonsense like that. It's hardly empty virtuosity, though. Here, I share the youtube video of Christian Ferras playing and a young Zubin Mehta conduting - one of the most emotionally charged performances of this piece.

mvt 1
This movement has a somewhat unusual structure for an apparently "Romantic" violin concerto. Instead of having the cadenza (where the soloist shows off alone) at the end, there are many smaller cadenzas throughout. I think all that solo work helps lend it an introspective element. Obviously cadenzas are supposed to demonstrate the soloist's virtuosity, but a true virtuoso will make you focus on the music and forget any technical concerns..
Also - coldest/scariest bassoons in a piece of music ever at the recap (8:33)
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Kq0qMMpgU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Kq0qMMpgU[/ame]


mvt 2
Ferras, who was chronically depressed and eventually committed suicide, moves himself to tears here.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOj2-lkOSRA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOj2-lkOSRA[/ame]

mvt 3
Ok, maybe a liiiitttttle of ye olde 'empty virtuosity' creating the tension here - in addition to that unrelenting pulse from the orchestra. I always find that the mood isn't so brightened in this movement that it feels out of place with the rest of the piece, though. If only I could say that for so many other multi-movement works...(*cough cough* Barber violin concerto). But really, this mvt has every ridiculously difficult technique you could hope for in a concerto from 1903. The last minute is one of the most devilish in the rep
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX-kUgjCAKo&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX-kUgjCAKo&feature=related[/ame]

[Florestan]

I'm listening to it now and it's FANTASTIC.

[Florestan]

Bloody hell! *I* would have clapped between movements too!

[Despina41]

after the first, yes, but not the second. It's so great