Sibelius Symphony no.7 video finally included of the whole thing

Part 1

part 2

part 3

It's a single movement symphony and in my opinion, one of the greatest monuments of the 20th century. It is structurally one of the most fascinating works I have ever come across. And thematically it is in a musical universe all its own.

Sibelius' 5th has the best ending in music! (is that going OTT at all?)

The 7th is indeed also a great work. I have to say though, of Sibelius' late works Tapiola is my favourite.

EDIT: Thanks for the link!

Thanks so much for the link, this is gorgeous

On your recommendation I shall now check out his 7th Symphony too.

Have you seen my new sig quote by the way?

hehehe, thank-you

When you listen to the Sibelius 7th, listen for the beautiful trombone choral (attached a quick and dirty pic of the theme below).

It returns three times, each time as a climax and transition to the next "Section" of the symphony.
The final return of the theme is... well... just too incredible for words.

Being the modernist prick i am, Sibelius 7 is still perhaps THE orchestral work for me, the one that always gets my full attention, from which there are new aspects to be found every time, and the one that gets a tear in my eye.

Actually, i think 7 was very bold in its own way -- i love the thematic structure, with each orchestral group having their own theme. (Well, sort of.) It definitely isn't a regressive piece, that's for sure.

One need not deny one's own "modernism" to appreciate great artistry.

Sibelius is too often relegated to the definition of "post romantic", or even outright "romantic". Yet much of his music owes much of its identity to the 20th century.

Despite the overt lyricism, and unabashed tonality, the forms and the orchestration are undeniably modern. Even in some of his best-known and loved works such as Valse Triste and Swan of Tuonela.

His well-known violin concerto - a standard of the repertoire - is also one coloured by a certain modernism. Musical gestures that lie firmly in the 20th century coexisting in perfect harmony - pun intended - with a lush romantic tonalism.

The 7th Symphony is in my opinion his masterpiece. An incredibly dense structure, that defies straightforward analysis, rooted in tonality, yet so ambiguous in harmony.

"In C", the symphony begins with the most bizarre rising scale - beginning on A natural, rising through the natural minor scale... all the white notes of the C major scale, yet never for an instant do we FEEL as though we are in C major... and the resolution of this scale? Ab minor! passing though F major, and not resolving into C until the 8th measure! The entire episode coloured with suspensions and appogiaturas!

A truly amazing work of art, where structure and architecture BRING MORE to the appreciation of the work. And yet at the same time, it breathes out such rich romanticism that one can't help but be drawn into its drama.




Can you tell it's one of my all-time favourite pieces of music?

The Seventh truly is a great work to get to know. For those that enjoy the Finale of the Fifth Symphony, perhaps more remarkable is the first movement of that work, one of the composer's great formal experiments. The Fifth was one of Sibelius' most difficult works to write. There are three versions of the piece and at first it was a symphony in four movements. However, Sibelius as a symphonist experiments with form and particularly formal concision. The first two movement of the Fifth combine into one larger movement, wherein the scherzo and the first movement are combined. You can listen to recordings of the earlier version and then the final version to appreciate this extraordinary development. There is a lot more to say about this work, and maybe I will comment on it further if there's interest. About the other symphonies briefly:

First Symphony, mvt III. Interesting how the trio interrupts the sonata form scherzo mvt during the course of the development section, then after the trio the scherzo returns in recapitulated form--> his first major formal experiment

Second Symphony, mvt, III-IV. Note how the third mvt leads directly into the Finale. Not a unique formal development, but shows the composer's trend to strive toward linking mvts.

Third Symphony, perhaps his most "classical" the first three mvt symphony. The Scherzo and Finale are combined in the Third mvt, and the memorable theme of the Finale gradually emerges from the motivic material of the Scherzo (along with some motives of the other mvts.) For this reason, many consider the Third to be his first "mature" symphony and real experiment with formal unity and concision.

Fourth Symphony, his darkest work, notice how mvts, one and two and mvts, three and four are linked, making this a work almost in Two parts. This unity is especially apparant at the end of the respective movements.

Fifth Symphony, aside from the popular "Swan-themed" Finale, the most remarkable aspects lie in the monumental first movement. Excellent use of wind writing (the first movement exhibits a "double" exposition wherein the first exposition is entirely presented by the winds (E-flat Major)! Then the strings enter (in G major) for the second exposition before the development ensues. Overall the work is great for studying the use of divided string sections and string textures (for which Sibelius was a master). Also, the effective use of pizz. strings almost entirely throughout the movement in the middle mvts of the Third and Fifth Symphonies should also be noted.

The Sixth: D dorian, is a special work as well. very fragmented in nature and suggests a larger continuity throughout the work, which would later be realized in the Seventh. Of note here is the use of instrumental choirs with certain key areas. C major for the brass, D minor/dorian in the strings. Also compare the use of harp in this symphony (much more reserved and well thought out) with the use of the harp in the First symphony (much more lush and overty writing).

The Seventh, we already have wonderful commentary about. Of course Liszt achieves a single-movement masterpiece with his Sonata in B minor, but the Sibelius does so on another level in that it can be said to integrate all aspects of a traditional symphony in one unified whole (scherzo, rondo, sonata-like development, slow movement, Finale). One thing I find so interesting about this work, is how the theme from the Violin Concerto, second mvt, is present in the Seventh Symphony after the great statements of the trombone theme quoted above! It is the theme on the long whole notes with the falling fourths.

Eighth Symphony: There was much talk of an Eighth Symphony of Sibelius. In fact, the first movement was complete and scored, sent to the publisher to await the rest of the symphony (it was in four movements). The rest of the work was finished as well. However, in the 1930s Sibelius enjoyed being the most popular composer according to a NY survey and his increasing self-criticism led him to destroy this final symphony. Some consider him to have written two more symphonies: The Four Legends being one, and the Kullervo, his choral symphony.

At any rate, Sibelius is one of the most accomplished of the 20th century symphonists and all his symphonies merit close study! He is a master of the orchestra (it was said he created the sustain pedal in his orchestrations) and his achievement in his use of formal concision at a time when mammoth orchestral works were being written is remarkable.

Originally Posted by Qccowboy

One need not deny one's own "modernism" to appreciate great artistry.

Sibelius is too often relegated to the definition of "post romantic", or even outright "romantic". Yet much of his music owes much of its identity to the 20th century.

Exactly, but the point i was trying to make, was that actually i think S was in many ways a rather modern composer, the architecture of 7 being a great example of his courage to look further than "sonata-blocks" (-- which cannot be said of a Schönberg piece without caution). And i definately think that for example Leibowitz was just a really bad musician to call Sibelius "the worst composer in the world" -- supposedly because he wasn't "modern" enough -- not to mention Adornos failure at understanding S's formal thinking (which seems to be appreciated rather well by contemporary music theory sholars).

Adorno didn't consider Sibelius' music music at all did he? I'm sure I read a quotation to that effect somewhere.

Yeah, Adorno and Leibowitz both considered Sibelius's music generally as crap.