Sibelius: Unique and Powerful Music
Recommended Recordings of Sibelius for Music Lovers
Dec 21, 2008
Jean Sibelius was born in Finland on 1865 and died there in 1957. He and his wife lived together for 64 years and had six daughters. He began his college studies in engineering. But he soon switched to music. He managed to survive as a composer by writing chamber music and music for theatre. But his symphonies are timeless hallmarks of classical music.
Musical Concepts and Influences
Sibelius’s earlier love of Wagner’s music is evident in the use of somber brass chorals in his symphonies. He was also found of Tchaikovsky and Bruckner. As Sibelius grew older and the 20th Century progressed, he avoided the modern musical movements and refined his romantic styling.
Unlike his contemporary, Gustav Mahler, Sibelius preferred a gradually evolving thematic development over Mahler’s more traditional sudden thematic shifts and disruptive changes.
But a constant influence and inspiration was Sibelius’s love of Finnish nature, especially the water birds, swans, geese, and cranes. Those sounds can be heard in the way he voiced the woodwinds. The middle and lower range instrumental voices, with sweeping, long lines of melodic and harmonic evolvement, are obviously inspired by the grand Finnish landscape and seasonal changes.
A Couple of Highly Recommended Recordings
Make sure you have a sound system or headset capable of reproducing the middle and lower range sounds with near perfect timbre. This is where Sibelius has his unique voicing style. Be ready to relax and really listen, with no distractions. Sibelius’ tempos are slow, but within the slowly developing themes there are rapidly rolling ancillary instrumental voices that are intriguing.
Sibelius’ Second Symphony is masterfully performed by the Concertgebouw Orchestra with George Szell. This earlier recording has been digitally reproduced by Phillps. As a bonus, Beethoven’s Fifth, performed by the same conductor and orchestra, is on the CD.
Gramophone cited this recording as “…the most inspired performance of Sibelius’s Second … ever heard”.
Then there is a 2 CD set that is all Sibelius, performed by the Berlin Philharmonic with Herbert Van Karajan. It doesn’t get any better than that! The digitally reproduced offerings by EMI Classics include Sibelius’s symphonies 1, 4, 5, and 6, as well as the Karelia Suite. The Karelia Suite and the Fifth Symphony are among Sibelius’s best works.
Comments on Siblius’s Music
Both the Second and Fifth Symphonies are masterpieces of consistently evolving simple themes. As Sibelius developed his symphonic works, he departed from the strict sonata structure of earlier romantic music. When listening to the Fifth Symphony, for example, people tend to liken it to a tone poem. Actually, with his unique instrumental voicing, almost all Sibelius’s works are tone poems. His only violin concerto is more an ensemble display of violin and orchestra working jointly rather than a soloist’s showcase.
There have been some critics in the early 20th Century who didn’t appreciate Sibelius’s compositions, even going as far as panning Sibelius completely! This was probably partly due to Sibelius’s refusal to go modern and create complexity. Sibelius stated that he offered cold, clear water while other composers were making cocktails. Another factor could be that Sibelius’s orchestral sound is very unique.
Yes, Sibelius created simple themes, but they were unusual and pleasant. And the tempo is usually slow, but with quicker rhythmic themes underpinning the slower ones. He varied and developed those themes gradually with strong emotional peaks. His use of unusual instrumental voicing and unique harmonic structures makes Sibelius a must listen for any true music lover
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