I Allegretto Poco allegro Tranquillo, ma poco a poco ravvivando il tempo al allegro
II Tempo andante, ma rubato Andante sostenuto
III Vivacissimo Lento e suave Largamente
IV Finale: Allegro moderato
I Allegro molto moderato
II Allegretto moderato
III Poco vivace
IV Allegro molto
Track Listings (10) - Disc #3
I Allegro moderato
II Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto
III Moderato Allegro (ma non tanto)
Pohjola s Daughter, op.49
II Mélisande
VI Pastorale
VII Mélisande at the Spinning-wheel
VIII Entr acte
IX The Death of Mélisande
Night Ride and Sunrise, op.55
Track Listings (7) - Disc #4
I Tempo molto moderato, quasi adagio
II Allegro molto vivace
III Il tempo largo
IV Allegro
I Tempo molto moderato Largamente Allegro moderato
II Andante mosso, quasi allegretto
III Allegro molto
Track Listings (7) - Disc #5
I Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island
II The Swan of Tuonela
III Lemminkäinen in Tuonela
IV Lemminkäinen's Return
I Intermezzo: Moderato
II Ballade: Tempo di menuetto
III Alla marcia: Moderato
Track Listings (9) - Disc #6
I Andante Allegro molto moderato
II Vivace
III Adagio di molto
IV Allegretto (ma pesante)
V Allegro
I Tempo molto moderato Largamente Allegro moderato
II Andante mosso, quasi allegretto
III Allegro molto
Finlandia, op.26 no.7
Track Listings (7) - Disc #7
En saga, op.9
Tapiola, op.112
Finlandia, op.26 no.7
Valse triste, op.44 no.1
I Allegro moderato
II Adagio di molto
III Allegro, ma non tanto
Track Listings (8) - Disc #8
Finlandia, op.26 no.7
Valse triste, op.44 no.1
The Swan of Tuonela, op.22 no.2
III Festivo: Tempo di Bolero
I Intermezzo: Moderato
II Ballade: Tempo di menuetto
III Alla marcia: Moderato
Tapiola, op.
Track Listings (17) - Disc #9
I Allegro moderato
II Adagio di molto
III Allegro, ma non tanto
Til kvällen (Illalle), op.17 no.6
Var det en dröm?, op.37 no.4
Höstkväll, op.38 no.1
Diamanten på marssnön, op.36 no.6
Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte, op.37 no.5
Arioso, op.3
Våren flyktar hastigt, op.13 no.4
Se n har jag ej frågat rnera, op.17 no.1
Men min fågel märks dock icke, op.36 no.2
På verandan vid havet, op.38 no.2
Den första kyssen, op.37 no.1
Svarta rosor, op.36 no.1
Säv, säv, susa, op.36 no.4
Kom nu hit, död, op.60 no.1
Track Listings (11) - Disc #10
I Allegretto Poco allegro
II Tempo andante, ma rubato Andante sostenuto
III Vivacissimo Lento e suave Largamente
IV Finale: Allegro moderato
Var det en dröm?, op.37 no.4
Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte, op.37 no.5
Svarta rosor, op.36 no.1
Säv, säv, susa, op.36 no.4
Diamanten på marssnön, op.36 no.6
Höstkväll, op.38 no.1
Våren flyktar hastigt, op.13 no.4
Track Listings (11) - Disc #11
I Tempo molto moderato Largamente Allegro moderato
II Andante mosso, quasi allegretto
III Allegro molto
I Intermezzo: Moderato
II Ballade: Tempo di menuetto
III Alla marcia: Moderato
IIa Élégie
IIb Musette
VIII Intermezzo
Valse triste, op.44 no.1
Finlandia, op.26 no.7
Sibelius thought in terms of orchestral sonorities, not in those of the smaller-scale keyboard. He used an existing vocabulary, but in so highly idiosyncratic a manner that no attempt to imitate it can succeed. Indeed, as ... more »Vaughan Williams put it in a ninetieth birthday BBC tribute that I remember hearing, he had the capacity to make a C major chord sound entirely new. Take, for example, the D minor-cum-modal cadence that ends the Sixth Symphony or the haunting B minor chords that end Tapiola. They sound like no other composer. In his constant renewal of his musical material, Sibelius almost prompts an astronomical analogy; that of continuous creation . Professor Gerald Abraham spoke of the first movement of the Third Symphony as comparable only with the greatest Viennese masters in its mastery of form. Indeed, it is his feeling for form and proportion that never fails to astonish. Yet what Sibelius has to say is intimately related to the atmosphere and sensibility of northern Europe just as, say, Mussorgsky relates to the Russian ethos. And in these deep roots in his native environment lies his strength.
When Sibelius was born in 1865, Finland was a provincial backwater of the Tsarist empire and his birthplace a garrison town for its army. There was no permanent symphony orchestra and no opera house. When he died ninety-one years later, Finland was an independent country on the threshold of prosperity after having been drawn into two world wars, its national identity closely defined by Sibelius s own achievements, with fine orchestras in Helsinki and Turku (Åbo) and the foundations laid for a flourishing opera. Sibelius had become widely celebrated and renowned, Finland s voice in the world. Among twentieth-century masters, the quietism of the Sixth Symphony or the profoundly searching anguish of Tapiola has no real parallel.
Sibelius thought in terms of orchestral sonorities, not in those of the smaller-scale keyboard. He used an existing vocabulary, but in so highly idiosyncratic a manner that no attempt to imitate it can succeed. Indeed, as Vaughan Williams put it in a ninetieth birthday BBC tribute that I remember hearing, he had the capacity to make a C major chord sound entirely new. Take, for example, the D minor-cum-modal cadence that ends the Sixth Symphony or the haunting B minor chords that end Tapiola. They sound like no other composer. In his constant renewal of his musical material, Sibelius almost prompts an astronomical analogy; that of continuous creation . Professor Gerald Abraham spoke of the first movement of the Third Symphony as comparable only with the greatest Viennese masters in its mastery of form. Indeed, it is his feeling for form and proportion that never fails to astonish. Yet what Sibelius has to say is intimately related to the atmosphere and sensibility of northern Europe just as, say, Mussorgsky relates to the Russian ethos. And in these deep roots in his native environment lies his strength.
When Sibelius was born in 1865, Finland was a provincial backwater of the Tsarist empire and his birthplace a garrison town for its army. There was no permanent symphony orchestra and no opera house. When he died ninety-one years later, Finland was an independent country on the threshold of prosperity after having been drawn into two world wars, its national identity closely defined by Sibelius s own achievements, with fine orchestras in Helsinki and Turku (Åbo) and the foundations laid for a flourishing opera. Sibelius had become widely celebrated and renowned, Finland s voice in the world. Among twentieth-century masters, the quietism of the Sixth Symphony or the profoundly searching anguish of Tapiola has no real parallel.
Robert Layton