Sibelius

[Nick Armstrong]

Thank you for that, Micky - absolutely brilliant!!

" I drove out graciously to call on him....

... trying frantically in my mind to disentangle the works of Sibelius from those of Delius."

[Roehre]

Thank you for that, Micky - absolutely brilliant!!

Seconded

[BBMmk2]

Time for some Sibelius! :)

[MickyD]

The more I think about it, the more bizarre that meeting must have been!

[Tevot]

Bizarre? Try this for size shipmates !!

Off air rendition of Lambeth Walk prior to last minute play through before famous performance of Andante Festivo... First 20 seconds or so... the rest is chatter...plus Sibelius talking perhaps?

I wonder if Sibelius ever met George Formby? They could have cleaned some windows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSBx76nRzKI

[gurnemanz]

The more I think about it, the more bizarre that meeting must have been!

I was wondering about: "he hadn't the faintest idea who I was". Does this mean he didn't know it was Noel Coward sitting there or that he had never heard of Noel Coward ... or possibly both?

[gradus]

MickyD thanks for posting that, it could only be improved by the great man giving us a few verses in Finnish cockney. Anyone else got anything as remotely unlikely eg Britten whistling There is nothing like a dame?

[gradus]

Apologies to Tevot for the mis-attribution above.

[MickyD]

MickyD thanks for posting that, it could only be improved by the great man giving us a few verses in Finnish cockney. Anyone else got anything as remotely unlikely eg Britten whistling There is nothing like a dame?

You're welcome, Gradus. It's been a long time since I read the Coward autobiography and the list of well-known names with which he rubbed shoulders is endless. But I have never forgotten that particular anecdote - probably because of what a surreal image it conjured up when I first read it!

[Nick Armstrong]

[french frank]

I was wondering about: "he hadn't the faintest idea who I was". Does this mean he didn't know it was Noel Coward sitting there or that he had never heard of Noel Coward ... or possibly both?

I have a treasured audio clip, made about four years ago of a certain Radio 3 presenter introducing Finlandia (bold represents stressed syllable):

"It always amazes me that Jean Sibelius lived until 1957 which means he will have listened to Elvis."

[Tevot]

I have a treasured audio clip, made about four years ago of a certain Radio 3 presenter introducing Finlandia (bold represents stressed syllable):

"It always amazes me that Jean Sibelius lived until 1957 which means he will have listened to Elvis."

That is a lie. Jean was a Bill Haley fan....

[french frank]

That is a lie. Jean was a Bill Haley fan....

Well, I did like the idea of the 88-year-old Sibelius listening [sic] intently to Elvis in 1953 and saying: 'The boy'll go far.' But back-ish on topic - this is the painting by Gallen that umslopogaas mentioned (the original seems - ironically? - to have been called 'Symposium' rather than 'The Problem'):

Gallen, Merikanto (studying the tablecloth), Kajanus and Sibelius:

[Lat-Literal]

Well, I did like the idea of the 88-year-old Sibelius listening [sic] intently to Elvis in 1953 and saying: 'The boy'll go far.' But back-ish on topic - this is the painting by Gallen that umslopogaas mentioned (the original seems - ironically? - to have been called 'Symposium' rather than 'The Problem'):

Gallen, Merikanto (studying the tablecloth), Kajanus and Sibelius:

Everything Presley recorded after 1957 was utter rubbish so he got all the good stuff.

[french frank]

<ahem>

But back-ish on topic - this is the painting by Gallen that umslopogaas mentioned (the original seems - ironically? - to have been called 'Symposium' rather than 'The Problem'):

Gallen, Merikanto (studying the tablecloth), Kajanus and Sibelius: