Why I created the Sibelius Forum

By Michael Roháč aka “Kurkikohtaus”

On June 1st 2008 the Sibelius Forum at

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celebrates the second anniversary of its launch. After a slow start, largely due to the fact that popular search-engines don’t seem to list up forumup forums with any consistency, the forum has grown to 70 members, about 10 of which actively contribute on a regular basis.

Due to the forum’s specific focus, the membership will never grow into the hundreds of members boasted by other, more general Classical music forums. Nor will the forum’s post-count, which is now approaching 2000, ever climb into the tens of thousands regularly seen elsewhere. But quantity is not the focus at the Sibelius forum, as even a casual browser of any given discussion thread is soon to learn. Thanks to the high level of expertise and interest of the forum’s members, discussions are on-topic, informative and highly professional, as opposed to the monotonous “opinion-fests” that weigh down the content of most other sites.

When creating the forum two years ago, this is exactly what I had hoped for, but the decision to launch this project was not an easy one, as I was burdened with much self-doubt and apprehension. To explain this, I must recount the way I came to know and love Jean Sibelius and the difficulties that I faced in wanting desperately to express this with honesty and integrity.

My time at the University of Toronto happened to happily coincide with Jukka-Pekka Saraste’s tenure as Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (1994-2001). Saraste came to Toronto with a very strong Sibelian mandate, and I was privileged to be able to attend many Sibelius rehearsals and concerts over the years. I don’t think I need to explain how or why this experience during my formative University years shaped the musician that I am today. Suffice it to say that the influence was profound and lasting. The issue then is in what context this exposure to Sibelius through Saraste’s work with the Toronto Symphony took place.

At the beginning of his time with the TSO, Saraste was “the rage” among subscribers and music students alike. Sibelius, known previously in Toronto through the first two Symphonies, the Concerto and Finlandia, was suddenly working his way into the collective subconscious through works like the 4th, the 7th and the mature tone-poems like Pohjola’s Daughter and Tapiola. And then Sibelius became “the rage”, to the point where perhaps he even became a fad. It became very fashionable to say that one understood Sibelius. To have one’s musical tastes associated with Sibelius was a status symbol among concert-goers and music lovers.

In this somewhat superficial environment, I developed an intense jealousy towards Sibelius’ music, where I wanted to keep what I thought of as my special understanding and special relationship with his work very private and secret. I didn’t want to be associated with the fashionably affected “connoisseurs”, I didn’t want to compete with them as to who knew more pieces, owned more recordings, and loved Sibelius more. In short, I wanted to keep Sibelius all to myself. I suppose as a listener, one can do this. But as a musician who wanted more than anything to experience Sibelius first-hand, from the creative side, my adopted philosophy was at odds with my deepest desire: to conduct the works of Jean Sibelius.

Upon leaving Toronto and moving to the Czech Republic, my situation did not become much easier. In this country, Sibelius is known almost exclusively through the Concerto, and otherwise he is seen as difficult and complicated by musicians and audiences alike. Programming Sibelius at every opportunity and forcing his music down the throats of all present was not the way to go, I sensed that a more careful approach would be necessary… but how? The solution came rather unexpectedly, and as is often the case, was a product of necessity rather than inspiration.

In 2004 I was named Music Director of the West-Bohemian Symphony Orchestra (Západočeský symfonický orchestr –

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the oldest orchestra in the Czech Republic, founded in 1821. Needless to say that Sibelius was not on the daily menu here, but as I had complete control over programming, I committed myself to slowly but surely exposing our audience (and orchestra) to Sibelius. After a few smaller pieces, I sensed before the 2005-06 season that it was time to present a Symphony… but which one? While the first or second would have been logical choices, our orchestra is simply too small to handle those large Romantic works, so necessity dictated the Third. As this was a rather ambitious choice for an orchestra and audience that was about to experience a Sibelius Symphony for the first time, I realized that the work would be better received if it were framed around an event rather than presented as a “normal” concert. Thus began a fantastic relationship with the Finnish Embassy in Prague, and His Excellency Ambassador Jorma Inki and his Deputy Frank Hellstén. They were invited to the concert, which was preceded by a pre-concert lecture on the music, and the rest was history. Since then, the Embassy has supported a Sibelius concert in every season, with pre-planned projects already taking shape through 2009-10.

Most importantly for my inner struggle and thereby for the creation of the Sibelius Forum, I realized through the very positive reception of my lecture and performance of the Third (and the 7th in the following year) that there are people out there who really want to talk about and experience Sibelius. Not because it is a fad or snobbish fashion, but because his music communicates something to them, something profound, something stirring, something that moves the liquid-core of their being. I found that through the sharing of Sibelius’ music with others, the joy and profundity of my own Sibelius experience was deeper and much more meaningful than all those years of secretive jealousy. And I realized that there were probably many more people out there like me.

So I created the Sibelius Forum.

A place where people who really love Sibelius can enthusiastically exchange ideas about Sibelius and his music, help each other, encourage each other and first and foremost express their love and admiration for this great composer with honesty and integrity.

Michael - Congratulations on the two-year anniversary of The Sibelius Forum! I haven't been around lately, but I received your email and wanted to post my regards.

may it live long and proper (spock was really a finn). keep up the grand work.

dj

Thanks Kurki for sharing your very personal thoughts on Sibelius and his music. The 8th of June also marks my first year with the forum and I must confess that it has been a joy for me to play some part in the discussions. Undoubtedly the Sibelius Forum has enriched my love for Sibelius and his wonderful music. I hope that many more members will feel able to contribute in the next few years, as diverse views can only improve the forums discussions!

Congratulations on the first two years!--kullervopete.

Congratulations, Kurki.
As an occasional follower, I too have enjoyed the deep insight of many conversations in this forum and see many more to come.

Info

Congratulations Michael. Thanks for sharing your story. You have a great forum here. Although I don't contribute much, I enjoy the discussions and the knowledge that others love Siba's music as much as I do.

Badger

Quality, not quantity... this site is somewhat like Sibelius' music itself.

Anyway, congratulations on this site being around for two years! That's an accomplishment.