The exciting twists and turns of this opening movement leads to a rousing coda section that showcases this main theme in some great glory. “I admired the symphony’s severity of style and the profound logic that created an inner connection between all the motifs.”Īs the movement becomes more dramatic through Sibelius’ rich textures and unconventional harmonic language, this three-note motif returns in different guises. The opening three-note motif is threaded throughout the whole symphony, but in the first instance is gentle and optimistic in style. The opening of Sibelius’ Second is perhaps the closest material that reflects the pastoral style made so famous by Beethoven. Set into four movements, the Second Symphony is Sibelius’ longest symphony, clocking in at around 45 minutes in duration.
“There is something about this music – at least for us – that leads us to ecstasy almost like a sharman with his magic drum!” Fellow Finnish composer Sulho Ranta commented on the symphony saying: The symphony has unofficially been dubbed as the ‘Symphony of Independence’ as many saw it as a representation of Finland’s struggle for independence.
Whereas the audience members enjoyed the symphony for its grandiose style, in particular the finale movement, critics questioned the stylings and what Sibelius’ message was, if any. Sibelius confessed that his Second Symphony “is a confession of the soul”.Īlthough the first handful of performances sold out, critics seemed divided on the symphony itself. Sibelius conducted the first three performances of the symphony and after three sold-out performances, he began to make revisions. It took Sibelius nearly a year to pen the whole symphony, which was then premiered by the Helsinki Philharmonic Society in March 1902. Baron Axel Carpelan raised funds for Sibelius to take this trip, and it was in this villa that he started work on his Second Symphony.
BIS' digital sound is consistently clean, clear, and crisp.In 1901, Jean Sibelius left his home country and travelled to Italy and stayed in a mountain villa near Rapallo. Still, this set does contain all the music that anyone but the most enthusiastic Sibelius fan needs and thus provides a wonderful point of reference for the great Finnish composer's music. Some might reasonably aver that while Neeme Järvi and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra's performances of the incidental music and the Karelia Suite are quite entertaining, they are entirely superficial, and that while the Tempera Quartet is wonderfully sympathetic in its interpretation of the D minor String Quartet, there are more polished performances of the work available. Osmo Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony's recording of the symphonies and tone poems are as good as it gets in this world, as are Anne Sofie von Otter with Bengt Forsberg's and Monica Groop with Love Derwinger's recordings of the songs. Nor would many assert that BIS' choice of performers isn't for the most part first rate. Of course, some Sibelius cognoscenti may wonder where the incidental music for Belshazzar's Feast, with its haunting setting of "By the Waters of Babylon," is, while others may question the need for so much of the composer's very early works, but few would argue that BIS hasn't done a terrific job of living up to its extravagant claim. This gargantuan 15-disc set is immodestly billed as The Essential Sibelius, and with the inclusion of all the symphonies, most of the tone poems, much of incidental music, many of the songs, plenty of the chamber music, lots of the choral music, and tons of the piano music, it would be hard to argue that the billing isn't accurate.
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