The key to understanding new music, I’m reliably informed, is to know a bit about the person who wrote it. With that in mind, I’ve done some background research on Sibelius prior to tonight’s rehearsal of his Symphony No 1 in E Minor.
The Sibelius monument in Helsinki, Finland
Jean Sibelius (1865 – 1957) was a Finnish composer whose love of nature and the Finnish landscape inspired much of his work. Here are nine other facts about him and his work:
– He was christened Johan but later followed in the footsteps of an uncle in changing his name to Jean
– He wrote prolifically but is best known for his seven symphonies (which reflect the evolution of his compositional style) and for Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse triste, the Violin Concerto in D minor and The Swan of Tuonela
– He had six daughters one of whom, Kirsti, died of typhoid in 1900. Shortly after her death he wrote the poignant ‘Malinconia’ for Cello and Piano
– As of 2011, Finland celebrates a national Day of Finnish Music on the 8th December, Sibelius’ birthday
– He was a freemason and one of the founding members of the Finnish Suomi Lodge
– In 1908 he was operated on for suspected throat cancer, an experience reflected in his dramatic Fourth Symphony
– He is thought to have written (and subsequently burnt) an eight symphony
– Unusually for a 20th-century composer, he was something of a celebrity in his own lifetime though he didn’t write (or at least release) any large-scale works in the last 30 years of his life
– Critics are famously divided about his work: René Leibowitz wrote an essay in 1955 declaring him “the worst composer in the world”