Where the word ends .....
Sibelius was a symphonic composer. A first-class symphonic composer. And as such he ranks with composers such as Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner and Mahler. Anyone declaring otherwise clearly fails to recognize the balancing of emphasis included by Sibelius in his works. The nucleus of his oeuvre is formed by the seven symphonies, the Kullervo Symphony and the symphonic poems. Unlike Mahler, whose aim it was to “create a world” with all the musical means at his disposal, Sibelius considered the symphony to be mainly a bulwark for an inner motivic unity and stringency, as well as a contained sense of logic. In 1943, long after he had fully retired from composing, he wrote the following: “Only very few people in this world understand what I attempt and achieve in my symphonies. Most of them do not have a clue what it is all about.” This was certainly written as a reaction to the reception given his works, which engendered enraged and increasingly personal battles among the critics. Sibelius is probably the only composer to be awarded the dubious titles of both “best composer in the world” and “worst composer in the world”…
But what was Sibelius really trying to achieve in his symphonies? Well, at least we can rest assured that he certainly was not aiming at a “simple” literary programme. What is more, he himself had taken a clear position. “My symphonies consist of music thought up and set down purely as a musical expression, without any literary basis. I am not a ‘literary’ musician. As far as I am concerned, music begins where the word ends.” Sibelius was an advocate of absolute music based, however, on the tradition laid down by Beethoven, yet expanding this greatly, creating greater versatility, and thus unfolding a highly individual musical idiom. This was not to everyone’s liking: it was not necessarily of its time, and not everyone could follow it.
Sibelius set down strict and logical musical developments. A work was created from the most meagre of material – for example, from motif nuclei and minor rhythmic sections. Sibelius then subjected this material to diverse variation forms, developments, and other assimilating techniques. In this regard, indeed, one ought to slightly adapt Sibelius’ often quoted words: “[I am] … the slave of my themes and I subject myself to their demands”, as his thematic structures generally undergo a development during the course of the work.
Following the rather meagre reception of its première, Sibelius drastically revised his symphonic poem En Saga (A Saga, dating from 1892): mainly, he made changes in the instrumentation, but he also interwove the melodic lines in a complex fabric. Even though there are no direct motivic references to the national Finnish epic Kalevala, nevertheless the Nordic tone and the basic epic style of the work can be perceived in every bar of the work. Sibelius wrote En Saga directly upon his return from his honeymoon, which he had spent in Karelia – the location, in which the Kalevala Epic is set.
He wrote his Symphony No. 5 – in the heroic key of E-flat major – during the period 1912-1919. It differs completely with its strictly introverted, well-nigh agonizingly despairing predecessor in A minor. And despite its optimistically extroverted character, Sibelius did not have an easy time writing it. After its première in 1915 for his 50th birthday, the composer rewrote two further versions of the work (“more or less a new composition”). So, for example, he compacted the first two movements into a single movement – a massive intervention in the basic symphonic form. In outward appearance, it is a one-movement work, as it is performed without any pauses. Nevertheless, four clearly contrasting sections can be heard. The main theme in the first-movement Allegro moderato is the ascending figure in the horns. A nucleus-forming structure, in which the basic idea behind the rhythm and intervals is exposed. This and three further themes are set out and then repeated in variation in a type of recapitulation. Only then does a Scherzo follow, which assumes the role of the development (in the wrong place). A tremendous final intensification with massive chords rounds off the extremely peculiar form of this movement, in which Sibelius links various movement characteristics. The Andante is dominated by a popular theme in the strings and flutes, and forms a peaceful contrast. Subsequently, in the Finale, Sibelius links the exposition to the development by connecting them in one formal part. The main theme is a hymnal melody in the horns (which is introduced only after the first 100 bars!). The triumphant power of the theme is demonstrated by a brilliantly virtuoso treatment of the orchestra. To quote Sibelius: “The entire thing, if I may say so, is an energetic intensification leading up to the end. Triumphant!“
Sibelius’ Symphony No. 7 in C, Op. 105 is his final word on the genre. He began work on the composition in 1914/15, but did not complete the work until 1924. It consists of one movement, and at its première Sibelius gave it the title Fantasia sinfonica, although he later discarded this, probably in order to prevent comparisons with his symphonic poems. The form of the symphony is further evidence of Sibelius’ unconventional structuring. Many interpreters have discovered in this work a fusion of the traditional four-movement symphonic structure with the three-movement sonata form – to be sure, without being able to come up with positive proof of this. Probably it is no longer possible to analyze these complex structures in traditional terms. This “indissoluble organism” is held together by a fabric consisting of motifs, links and themes, which are interconnected by means of a profound logic. The consistently returning trombone theme provides the listener with his bearings. Already in November 1914, Sibelius had jotted down the following on his views with regard to the symphonic genre: “The concept needs to be expanded. At least, I have helped to do that.” Nothing more need be said, as the symphony in the hymnal key of C major fades away.

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