Important compositions of Sibelius while living at Ainola

Symphonies

Third symphony in C major, op. 52, 1904-1907. Compared to the earlier symphonies, this work is characteristically more compact and focused in form, representing a transition from the composer’s early nationalism to his later, mature style. The basic mood of the work is one of peace, clarity and light. Its natural atmosphere is more about inner visions than recollections of outer landscapes. Fourth symphony in A minor, op. 63, 1911. The composer characterised this work by saying that the symphony was “like an objection to contemporary compositions, completely devoid of all spectacle”.

The fourth symphony is an ambiguous, philosophical and unsophisticated work. Its basic thematic material is an augmented fourth derived from the original melody, which generates links between the various movements of the work. The finale has been interpreted as a contest between human strength and despair, which ends in submission and loneliness.

Fifth symphony in E flat major, op. 82, 1914-1915. Sibelius began work on this composition after returning from a successful tour of the USA. As a counterweight to the growing pessimism of the era, the fifth symphony expresses the high noon of life and an open and extrovert approach. The composer was not satisfied with the immediate success that his work enjoyed, and he amended the symphony twice, only approving of the revised form in 1919. The six concluding staccato chords of the symphony were a great surprise to the audience.

Sixth symphony in D minor, op. 104, 1917-1923. In its resources and development this symphony resembles chamber music, and has been called the “classical” member of the symphonic series. The work expresses a stark and simple beauty and a sculpted form. “When shadows lengthen”, wrote Sibelius in his diary. The composer conducted the premiere of the work in person on 19 February 1923. This was his last appearance as a conductor in Finland (although in the following year he conducted a concert in Copenhagen).

Seventh symphony in C major, op. 105, 1924. This single movement work, which Sibelius initially intended to call Fantasia sinfonica, was premiered in Stockholm in March 1924. The symphony condenses the traditional four movement symphonic form into a single movement, to which it applies the three-stage symmetry of a sonata. Growth based on the internal dynamic of the themes ends in a concluding phrase in which the listener will recognise the melancholy refrain of the Valse triste.

Violin concerto

Violin concerto in D minor, op. 47, 1903-1905. This concerto, which a poll of listeners recently selected as the finest 20th century work by a Finnish composer, initially brought the composer considerable trial and tribulation. He was unable to fashion the work to his liking, and the problems of selecting a soloist merely increased his concerns. The original version was premiered in 1903 to a mixed reception. Where one critic viewed the work as approaching the ideal for a violin concerto, another felt that the composer had submitted to conventional virtuosity. In spring 1905 Sibelius recast the work and it was then premiered again in Berlin with Richard Strauss as the conductor. The popularity of the work grew when Jascha Heifetz was the first to record it in the 1930s. Nowadays, thanks in no small measure to the Sibelius violin competition, the concerto has become an established part of the repertoire of gifted young violinists the world over, and provides an inexhaustible wealth of interpretative possibilities even to more mature virtuosi.

Symphonic poems and suites

Pohjola’s daughter op. 49, 1906.
While the Kalevala theme of this composition brings it close to the Lemminkäinen suite of the 1890s, its tone language shows links to the later orchestral poems. The work was dedicated to Robert Kajanus and conducted by the composer in person at its St. Petersburg premiere in December 1906.

Night ride and sunrise op. 55, 1909.

Lover suite for string orchestra op. 14, 1911.
This lyrical suite is based on a work for male voice choir of the same name composed in the 1890s and is based on a text from the Kanteletar folk poetry collection.

The Oceanides op.73, 1914.
A commissioned work for an American patron based more on a Homeric than Kalevala theme. This is one of the most brilliant seascapes in the history of music, with the swell of the tides and the playing of mermaids.

Tapiola, op. 112, 1925.
This commissioned work was premiered in the USA on Christmas Day 1925, but was not performed in Finland until April 1927. The basic mood of the piece is derived from the world of the Kalevala, but it has no programmatic content of any kind. At the request of his sponsor, however, Sibelius penned the following German language motto:

Wide-spread they stand, the Northland's dusky forests, Ancient, mysterious, brooding savage dreams; Within them dwells the forest's mighty God And wood-sprites in the gloom weave magic secrets.
(unattributed translation from notes by Peter Brien at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.sensky/NPO/notes/ST.html)

The works of Sibelius also include music for plays and ballets (including Järnefelt’s play The Death (1903), Shakespeare’s The Tempest and the ballet pantomime Scaramouche), works for piano, works for singers and orchestra (including Luonnotar op. 70, 1913) and works for solo voices and choirs.