***The title of this thread should say New YORK, not New YOR...any way to fix that, Kurki?***

I found this article online:

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

It's about Sibbe's lesser known works.

The writer berates Sibelius's piano output, even going to far as to call it "shockingly bad."

Your thoughts?

I was about to express some shock at how out-of-date the references in the article are, but then I noticed that it dates from 1987. Which begs the question – as so often: how on earth did the writer feel qualified to form a harsh judgement on so many works that had not been performed in living memory?

Because this article, like many similar ones from various sources, dismisses works that the writer has never heard (while somehow managing to imply that he knows all about them), I find it hard to attach much credence to the views expressed.

I don't say that anyone has to like the piano music – to like or not to like is an individual’s prerogative. But it is unproductive to lambast the works in such generalized tones, if only because it impugns the listener’s right to form any contradictory opinion. I find this attitude intrinsically offensive, not only because of its second-hand didactic nature but also because no substantive evidence is produced to support the writer’s claims.


P.S. Ahem… Might the Erik J. Tawastsjerna [sic] mentioned be in any way related to Erik T. Tawaststjerna?

I did not realize that the article was as old as it is...

At any rate, I agree with all you said, Andrew. It nearly turns my stomach when I encounter any overtly bombastic negative criticism of his piano work. Come on, is it really "shockingly bad?" Absolutely not. I, for one, listen to Sibelius's piano music more than any other composer because of it's high quality and very "Sibelian" nature. And I'd like to think I have some amount of musical taste. So, clearly, this is not music that is "shockingly bad," but it's OK if people simply don't like it because they don't like it.

But they should HEAR IT FIRST, and give it a good go, before they make their final comments to the negative.

This kind of tirade from the likes of Mr. Cage, denigrating the smaller pieces of Sibelius and particularly the piano works is alas [As we have discussed before] all to common--have things improved since 1987? Well what has improved is the widespread availability on record today of the small-scale pieces for piano, piano and violin and the early quartets. As regards the piano pieces it seems that some critics can't forget one or two remarks that JS made ie, he wrote them as 'bread and butter pieces' or 'The piano does not sing'. To quote Folke Grasbeck 'Sibelius's few critical remarks about the piano are repeated as if they were dogma from the Old Testament'. Sibelius himself was aware that compared to his mighty Symphonies and Tone Poems, these miniatures were overshadowed but he had absolute faith in their future. I have become very fond of many of the violin and piano pieces which though on a small scale are consistently imaginative and characteristic. At least Mr. Cage had a good word to say about Sibelius's glorious songs--we should be thankful for small mercies -kp

Even if maestro Sibbe wrote them as "bread and butter," as self-critical as he was, I doubt he would have written, or for that matter, published anything that he was not satisfied with on some level.

Sibelius was a highly self-aware artist (to a fault, to be sure), so I trust that he himself saw at least some value in his myriad piano works, and thus, we should too.

And why not...his piano output is "shockingly" good!

Tapkaara wrote:

***The title of this thread should say New YORK, not New YOR...any way to fix that, Kurki?***

Done.

How did you find this article, Tapkaara? Did you chance upon it during a search? I wonder why the Times keep articles from 1987 online... ?

There are some decent points in the article but the author seems to spend more time polishing his tone rather than his argument.

I'm not exactly sure how I found this article, honestly. I'm always searching for Sibelius online, so, I came across it somehow.

I did not realize that it was from 1987...I'm actually quite a bit surprised this is the case.

There does not seem to be much FACT supporting this writer's opinion; it just seems something of a rant. That's a shame.

Sibelius was indeed a highly self-critical artist and as regards the symphonies he was ruthless in rejecting or suppressing anything that did not meet his exacting standards. It must be conceded however that this discipline was rarely applyed with such venom to his, shall we say 'lighter pieces'--kp