The Sibelius Forum

kullervopete · Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 9:50 am Post subject: Quotes about the Fourth

'The fourth Symphony of Sibelius can be compared to a species of star, which [Physicists and Astromoners] call a white Dwarf, the substance of which is so dense and compressed that a piece the size of a shilling may weigh as much as several tons'.--Cecil Gray, Sibelius biographer.

This is a pretty good analogy of Sibelius 4. Sibelius somehow developed a kind of musical shorthand. The music is reduced to a mighty minimum, by rejecting all inessentials combined with an amazing power of suggestion, Sibelius creates worlds.--kp

_________________
Peter Frankland

kullervopete · Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 10:17 am Post subject:

'If it was possible to concentrate a Wagner Opera into 10 minutes, then maybe you would come up with the first movement of the fourth Symphony'--Sir Simon Rattle.

I take with a pinch of salt various claims that the fourth is highly Wagnerian, but I can go along with Rattles remark. The pace of the first movement is almost as slow as Parsifal yet a genuine sonata form is created in the space of 10 minutes or so, with all the proper tensions perfectly distributed as in a classical symphony.--kp

_________________
Peter Frankland

kullervopete · Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:27 am Post subject:

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

'Among many compositions of 1911 that have proven to have great resonance for the future, among them Petrushka and Pierrot Lunaire, none has been more important to the redevelopment of large musical structure in the late 20th century than Sibelius's Fourth. Especially in its amazing final movement, it gives us the drama of a form being lived, re-routed, undermined, and finally reclaimed, right before our ears. Its ambiguities leading right to its non-committal final sonority have proven more durable than many certainties [most of which have come and gone']--John Harbison American composer.

Harbison was once asked for his 'artistic credo', he replied [1990] 'To make each piece different from the others, to find clear, fresh large designs, to reinvent traditions'.

This is a Sibelian remark if I ever heard one.--kp

_________________
Peter Frankland

kullervopete · Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 10:39 am Post subject:

'I must confess that, for many years, the works of the Finnish master meant little to me. Then by chance, hearing a performance of his Fourth Symphony, I became interested; and since I have taken every opportunity to study his scores and hear authoritative performances, I find his conception of sound extremely personal and original, and his musical thinking most stimulating. I pay sincere homage to him'.--Composer Benjamin Britten.

Warm words from another great 20th Century composer. Sibelius himself admired a number of Brittens works including the Opera 'Peter Grimes'.--kp

_________________
Peter Frankland