‘Jean Sibelius’ Review: An Early Finale | Hacker News Reader

‘Jean Sibelius’ Review: An Early Finale

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56 pointstintinnabula26 comments

I know everyone is in awe of the 5th symphony, Finlandia and the Violin Concerto, and while these are all great (especially the Violin Concerto), my favourite piece is actually his sixth symphony which is so remarkably peaceful and unassuming that it can often warm my heart, especially on a cold, snowy winter day.

Have loved the D minor (6th) symphony since decades past.

Try the Scene Historiques II - second part "Love Song".

Had said "Challenge you not to cry", but go ahead, that's what this music is for!

Adding the link separately... don't know what the etiquette is for this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJd4zwxCflA

Take a listen:

His violin concerto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0w0t4Qn6LY

Finlandia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5zg_af9b8c

- Kullervo

- The Swan of Tuonela

- Karelia Suite

- All 5 symphonies

All 5 symphonies? There are 7 symphonies that have been published.

You’re right, of course.

Sibelius took most pride in his symphonies, but they never really earned him much income. He struggled with finances throughout his entire life. Though mostly made for cash, and more or less frowned upon by himself, I find his chorals quite something else. I highly recommend listening to the Rakastava suite (choral version) [1]. And for any Swedish or Finnish speaker I also recommend Tawaststjerna's biography of Sibelius, quite a masterpiece in itself.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6BYY3elwQM

I think the final movement of the 5th symphony in E-flat major is probably some of the best music that ever will be heard - specifically this recording, Allegro Molto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAFouzo3ZHQ&t=1397s

(Its best to listen to the whole symphony, the first 2 movements aren't bad but they are definitely prelims, I'd have something to read at the same time.)

That piece is one of the few classical recordings in my music library, and also one that helped crystallize how much execution can influence the quality of a classical composition. In some versions, excessive percussions just ruin it.

The Fifth was heavily revised, and yes, you have to be in the right mood (west coast fog, for example), to get the first bits. Also, I find that the very end as written really "drops me on the floor" in a lot of performances; I have an old Karajan recording where he ignores the notated rhythm and bangs off those last chords really fast, and that works for me in a way that other endings do not.

Thanks, I'll have to look the recording up.

Happy to see one of my favorite composers mentioned here. One should listen to Snofrid-Op.29 (specially the last 3-4 minutes), The Bard-Op.64 and the The Oceanides-Op.73

Since Sibelius and Finale are two industry-leading (and very much competing) music notation software systems, this headline made me do a quadruple-take!

https://www.avid.com/sibelius

https://finalemusic.com

For those interested in (extremely entertaining) breakdowns of the Sibelius software and other offerings in this space from a UI/UX design perspective, I highly recommend Tantacrul's videos, which propelled him to becoming the head designer for MuseScore and Audacity. IMO, this and his Dorico video are must-watch crash-courses for any developer touching UX design, even outside of music! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKx1wnXClcI

Another stone in the water ...

Try "Night Ride and Sunrise". A "two-parter", with the first part "out of era" (in that Reich etc were decades in the future) minimalist texture, transitioning to the 'sunrise' part. The latter really feels like how the Fifth Symphony first movement might have ended if it hadn't been fused to a following scherzo.

Personal note... I woke up to this on a radio show thirty years ago, still remember that Sunday morning!

What a lovely surprise to see mention of him on HN

Even with archive.org I can’t seem to get past the pay wall.

The Bypass Paywalls Clean chrome extension works well:

https://github.com/qnoum/bypass-paywalls-chrome-clean-magnol...

https://archive.ph/Q756D

Too bad, the article is behind a paywall.

But for anyone not listened to him before, I'd recommend Finlandia. Take a listen to hear what an important part those "Sibelian sweeps" are part of Hollywood music scores when they want to suggest something grandiose.

Also it set me thinking on orchestral music that sort of strives to represent a gist of the national characters of different nations.

Perhaps one list could be:

Great Britain : Elgar, Pomp and Circumstance

Russia: Tchaikovsky, Marche Slave

Finland: Sibelius, Finlandia

USA: Copland, Appalachian Spring

Highly recommend finding a recording of Finladia that includes the choir! Much more powerful in my opinion.

> Great Britain : Elgar, Pomp and Circumstance

Please no. Can't we have Vaughan Williams? And one of the noisier symphonies, prefereably.

> Russia: Tchaikovsky, Marche Slave

Tchaikovsky is known for his slightly less (or at least less folkloristically) "Russian" style than some other Russian composers, although one can hardly deny his influence on Russian music.

Alternatives include:

- Musorgskij, Pictures at an Exhibition (or Boris Godunov)

- Glinka, A Life for the Tsar

- Shostakovich, 5th, 7th or 15th symphony

> orchestral music that sort of strives to represent a gist of the national characters

Bit of a dangerous slope, that. Fancy some Wagner...?

One of the most amazing composers of all time. Probably listened over a thousand times to his "Concerto in D Minor"..

No-one mentioned "Tapiola" yet. That's one of my favourite pieces he wrote.

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