Jean Sibelius
Finland's Jean Sibelius is perhaps the most important composer associated with nationalism in music and one of the most influential in the development of the symphony and symphonic poem.
Sibelius was born in southern Finland, the second of three children. His physician father left the family bankrupt, owing to his financial extravagance, a trait that, along with heavy drinking, he would pass on to Jean. Jean showed talent on the violin and at age nine composed his first work for it, Rain Drops. In 1885 Sibelius entered the University of Helsinki to study law, but after only a year found himself drawn back to music. He took up composition studies with Martin Wegelius and violin with Mitrofan Wasiliev, then Hermann Csillag. During this time he also became a close friend of Busoni. Though Sibelius auditioned for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, he would come to realize he was not suited to a career as a violinist.
In 1889 Sibelius traveled to Berlin to study counterpoint with Albert Becker, where he also was exposed to new music, particularly that of Richard Strauss. In Vienna he studied with Karl Goldmark and then Robert Fuchs, the latter said to be his most effective teacher. Now Sibelius began pondering the composition of the Kullervo symphonic poem, based on the Kalevala legends. Sibelius returned to Finland, taught music, and in June 1892, married Aino Järnefelt, daughter of General Alexander Järnefelt, head of one of the most influential families in Finland. The premiere of Kullervo in April 1893 created a veritable sensation, Sibelius thereafter being looked upon as the foremost Finnish composer. The Lemminkäinen suite, begun in 1895 and premiered on April 13, 1896, has come to be regarded as the most important music by Sibelius up to that time.
In 1897 the Finnish Senate voted to pay Sibelius a short-term pension, which some years later became a lifetime conferral. The honor was in lieu of his loss of an important professorship in composition at the music school, the position going to Robert Kajanus. The year 1899 saw the premiere of Sibelius' First Symphony, which was a tremendous success, to be sure, but not quite of the magnitude of that of Finlandia (1899; rev. 1900).
In the next decade Sibelius would become an international figure in the concert world. Kajanus introduced several of the composer's works abroad; Sibelius himself was invited to Heidelberg and Berlin to conduct his music. In March 1901, the Second Symphony was received as a statement of independence for Finland, although Sibelius always discouraged attaching programmatic ideas to his music. His only concerto, for violin, came in 1903. The next year Sibelius built a villa outside of Helsinki, named "Ainola" after his wife, where he would live for his remaining 53 years. After a 1908 operation to remove a throat tumor, Sibelius was implored to abstain from alcohol and tobacco, a sanction he followed until 1915. It is generally believed that the darkening of mood in his music during these years owes something to the health crisis.
Sibelius made frequent trips to England, having visited first in 1905 at the urging of Granville Bantock. In 1914 he traveled to Norfolk, CT, where he conducted his newest work The Oceanides. Sibelius spent the war years in Finland working on his Fifth Symphony. Sibelius traveled to England for the last time in 1921. Three years later he completed his Seventh Symphony, and his last work was the incidental music for The Tempest (1925). For his last 30 years Sibelius lived a mostly quiet life, working only on revisions and being generally regarded as the greatest living composer of symphonies. In 1955 his 90th birthday was widely celebrated throughout the world with many performances of his music. Sibelius died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1957.
© Robert Cummings /TiVo
Artistas semelhantes
-
Five songs by Sibelius
Cecilie Cathrine Ødegården, Kristin Fossheim, Jean Sibelius
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Lançado por Blommenholm Classics em 11 de nov. de 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63
Classical - Lançado por Pipeline Music em 9 de jun. de 2006
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orchestral Works
Classical - Lançado por Pipeline Music em 7 de jun. de 2006
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Berwald - Jean Sibelius
Franz Berwald, Jean Sibelius, Antal Doráti, Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonic Music - Lançado por Swedish Society em 1 de jan. de 1989
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius - Incidental Music For Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Essay Recordings em 25 de out. de 2005
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Violin Concerto, En Saga
The Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, Vadim Brodsky
Classical - Lançado por Musical Heritage Society em 1 de jan. de 1985
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Los Grandes de la Musica Clasica - Jean Sibelius Vol. 2
Classical - Lançado por ClassicalPirosDigital em 7 de jun. de 2015
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Violin Concerto, Op.47 - Symphony No.3, Op.52
Classical - Lançado por Bomba-Piter em 28 de abr. de 2017
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: The Tempest & King Christian II
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jean Sibelius, Stig Westerberg
Classical - Lançado por Swedish Society em 1 de jan. de 1989
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of Sibelius (Remastered)
Miscellaneous - Lançado por Classic Records Ltd. em 27 de abr. de 2018
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Karelia Suite, Op. 11
Alexander Gibson, London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Violet Hill Records em 19 de nov. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E Flat Major & Karelia Suite
Alexander Gibson, London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Violet Hill Records em 19 de nov. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E Flat Major, Op. 82
Alexander Gibson, London Symphony Orchestra
Symphonic Music - Lançado por Violet Hill Records em 19 de nov. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius - Finlandia, Op. 26 & The Swan of Tuonela (No. 3 of "Lemminkainen Legend") Op. 22
The London Festival Orchestra, Alexander Gibson
Classical - Lançado por Violet Hill Records em 22 de mai. de 2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Finlandia, Op. 26, No. 7
Arturo Toscanini, NBC Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Sunday Club Records em 23 de abr. de 2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mackerras Conducts: Sibelius
Charles Mackerras, London Proms Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Sunday Club Records em 17 de jan. de 2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Finlandia
Sir Adrian Boult, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Sunday Club Records em 26 de abr. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mackerras Conducts: Sibelius & Grieg
Charles Mackerras, London Proms Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Sunday Club Records em 20 de jan. de 2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43
Pierre Monteux, London Symphony Orchestra
Symphonic Music - Lançado por Sunday Club Records em 8 de jan. de 2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo