Prom 42: Sibelius – Symphonies 3 & 4 (16.08.15)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

No. 3 is such a concise symphony, and is there another that starts with greater vigour, yet less fuss than this one?

[Tony Halstead]

No. 3 is such a concise symphony, and is there another that starts with greater vigour, yet less fuss than this one?

No, at the moment I can't think of any other symphony that starts like this. And then, miraculously, it 'gets even better'! As an orchestral player I must have played it over a dozen times and enjoyed every second of it.
The late and much-lamented ( and under-appreciated) Alex Gibson had a special 'way' with it, never turning in a predictable carbon copy reading, and so always keeping you on your toes!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I don't know about "greater vigour, yet less fuss", but having haqd this teasing my mind as I did my washing up, comparable openings that came to mind were

Mendelssohn Italian
Shostakovich 9
Nielsen 1 & 2

[Tony Halstead]

I don't know about "greater vigour, yet less fuss", but having haqd this teasing my mind as I did my washing up, comparable openings that came to mind were

Mendelssohn Italian
Shostakovich 9
Nielsen 1 & 2

Mendelssohn 'Italian' - yes of course, why on earth couldn't I think of that?

Now that I've had a bit more time to consider this, I offer:

Mendelssohn Symphony no 1 ( sadly not performed as often as it deserves)
Nielsen Symphony 3 'Espansiva' ( perhaps a bit 'fussy' though?)
Haydn Symphony 48 ( Maria Theresia)
Haydn Symphony 52
Mozart Symphony 25
Mozart Symphony 40

[Tony Halstead]

I guess that we have to add:
Beethoven 3
Beethoven 5
Beethoven 8
Schumann 3
if we are still considering 'greater vigour yet less fuss'.

[DracoM]

Tonight - Sibelius Symph 3 [- no applause between movements.]
A fine, brisk but attentive performance, and those silences heightened the contrasts in mood wonderfully.
Haunting woodwind work in the slow movement of the 3rd.

[Keraulophone]

Sibelius 3 is the symphony that so fascinated Colin Davis, aged 8 or 9, when his eldest brother (of seven siblings) used to play it at home on a wind-up gramophone. From the DVD 'The Man and his Music' in the Colin Davis LSO Live tribute box:

"I remember being absolutely fascinated with this thing... and when I was left alone in the house... I had this symphony, always... it has a hypnotic effect which comes from the second movement. Sibelius is very dark... it's emotionally terribly powerful for me... and yet some people who don't like Sibelius... there are always funny people that don't like things... we can't worry about that... but to me he expresses things that most other people would like to avoid... he drags things out of his... I don't know where, where do these things come from?... out of his genius."

[Serial_Apologist]

Not a lot really "happens" in the Third - I do like its comparative quietude and sense of acceptance, until that is the sudden dramatic rearing up in the finale before the final theme rounds everything off stuck in one key in a way that always suggests Sibelius didn't really know how to end the matter: a problem with the Seventh too, for me. The Fourth: now we're really in more substantial territory here, as regards form, harmonic advancedness, expectations constantly thwarted as the work progresses, epitomised in the second movement's sudden mood-change from the otherwise typical start, and how it all just dies like a snuffed candle. This is being beautifully performed, catching the glaciality in movements 1 and 2, and the wan resignation of 3, to my ears.

Addendum 1: I heard an earworm from Britten's "Our Hunting Fathers" earlier on in this. No wonder I'd never made the connection previously - who would have thought: Britten nicking from Sibelius?

Addendum 2: I liked the Finnissy very much indeed. Normally he's not my cup o' tea at all.

[edashtav]

Tonight - Sibelius Symph 3 [- no applause between movements.]
A fine, brisk but attentive performance, and those silences heightened the contrasts in mood wonderfully.
Haunting woodwind work in the slow movement of the 3rd.

Spot-on DracoM. I had more problems with the Concerto in which I found the soloist rather mannered, wilful and prone to employing excessive vibrato. Too romantic and insufficient northern grit for my taste.

[edashtav]

Serial_apologist wrote: "[...]The Fourth: now we're really in more substantial territory here, as regards form, harmonic advancedness, expectations constantly thwarted as the work progresses, epitomised in the second movement's sudden mood-change from the otherwise typical start, and how it all just dies like a snuffed candle. This is being beautifully performed, catching the glaciality in movements 1 and 2, and the wan resignation of 3, to my ears.[...]

Addendum 2: I liked the Finnissy very much indeed. Normally he's not my cup o' tea at all."

I admired how Volkov constructed both the first and second movements and his textures were balanced with great precision. I'd have liked a touch more perma-frost and glaciation - but , maybe, that's asking a lot in the RAH's ample acoustics. So many phrases were projected in fresh, illuminating ways that I did relent and accepted that this was a beautiful and affectionate performance. For me, this is the most significant of all of Sibelius's symphonies and I shall never tire of listening to new interpretations unlike my weariness with his nationalistic works - such as the 2nd Symphony and Finlandia. I like your image of a snuffed candle, Serial_Apologist for the abrupt ending of the second movement - I was reading this afternoon of the day gas came to the Congregational Chapel in Buckingham and Mr Blencowe (head of snuffing) did his usual round only to return to his seat, bemused and defeated by unextinguishable flames. Sibelius's flame responds so willingly to the "snuffer" leaving not a trace of guttering smoke, as if the oxygen supply had become exhausted. When the music returned, it seemed not to be illumined by a the warmth of a burning candle but by a cold emanation in a remote part of the universe. Were the solo strings in the finale bathed in too warm a glow? I loved the pulse and forward momentum that Volkov organised. Textures were clear and transparent - this orchestra were on top form. The bleak ending was well turned so I was surprised by the immediacy and warmth of the reaction from the audience in the RAH. I could have done without being told (erroneously?) by SM-P of the "lush sound of the strings". And then... I was patronised by the man in the Radio3 studio...

We've heard some fine performances by the BBC house orchestras in these Proms - this was not the least of them.

I, too, liked the Finnissy - particularly at the start where the homage to Sibelius was most overt. I thought the piece meandered in the middle but picked up during the later stretches. Perhaps, it was 3 minutes too long to sustain my attention.

[DracoM]

Well, that Sibelius 4th was one of the very best I have heard in recent years.
I loved the way Volkov let the unanswerable questions hang without trying to make any point but Sibelius's. Less is more.
BBCSSO's strings particularly right on the end of the baton.

Top stuff.

[kernelbogey]

[...] For me, this is the most significant of all of Sibelius's symphonies and I shall never tire of listening to new interpretations unlike my weariness with his nationalistic works - such as the 2nd Symphony and Finlandia[....]

I am enjoying these Sibelius concerts at Beefy Level One , since, for external reasons, I'm unable to give them BL 2/3 attention.

Having had a pretty ambivalent attitude to Sibelius for most of my listening life, I long ago developed the habit of switching the radio off if Karelia, Finlandia et al came on - it was (and is) simply too painful (sic) to be even hearing them, let alone listening. But I don't put symphony no 2 in that nationalistic bracket nor do I weary of it in the same way. As for its 'meaning' for me, that is wrapped up for me in an English (sic) context, related to when I first heard it and listened to it properly: the first movement evokes for me images of dense English woodland, mysterious light (I could go on but won't.)

So when I read of others' personal imagery:

[...] I like your image of a snuffed candle, Serial_Apologist[....] Sibelius's flame responds so willingly to the "snuffer" leaving not a trace of guttering smoke, as if the oxygen supply had become exhausted. When the music returned, it seemed not to be illumined by a the warmth of a burning candle but by a cold emanation in a remote part of the universe. [....]

and

[...]The streaks of Tchaikovsky and the weird clashes of styles and metre in the 2nd for example, seem to be part of the flotsam thrown up by the colliding energies. Hysteria often seems to bubble up and threaten to break out of the music, as it does so thrillingly in Tchaikovsky sometimes, but Sibelius seems to fight to contain the tension more than Tchaikovsky, and the effort of doing so leads to an undercurrent of turbulence and the (exhilarating!) dislocation of themes you mention.

I am intrigued by it as it conveys another 'interpretation', and shows how differently we experience music.

[jayne lee wilson]

MICHAEL FINNISSY. JANNE. (FIRST PERFORMANCE).

Seeming at first a mere occasional Sibelian pastiche, this developed into a substantial (18' or so) variation-set on a Kalevala folk tune, a richly textured & intensely contrapuntal sequence, always taking a subtly unexpected turn into a new mood or episode, e.g. a crane-like dance for horns, a swanlike song for an oboe - then agonised string chromatics bringing us closer to the present & the personal ... a solo bassoon returned to guide us through against a recurrent, always varied, string elegy. I began to wonder if each variation might be based on a Sibelian quote or allusion: the stretto from the 5th Symphony, hovering string ostinati from The Maidens of Sari, and most obviously, the "galloping" rhythm from Nightride & Sunrise: this was transformed into a songful violin solo (was the concerto in there somewhere?), then returned in another guise to close the work quietly and quirkily.

Fascinating piece, concise and eventful - further hearings might reveal other allusions and subtleties!

***

SIBELIUS 3.

The extreme high-dynamic-level clarity of the string accompaniments against the brasses in the first climax set the tone for an almost faultless Third Symphony, outstanding for its tempo giusto, its firmness of phrase and architectural shaping of the outer movements; then, the poetry of those otherworldly voices drawn so subtly from the carefully-balanced textures in the andantino. Volkov seemed to ignore the "con moto" indication here; personally I do prefer the pace a little crisper, but so beautiful was his realisation, I was won over.

How natural the reduction of dynamic and tempo felt, at the start of the first Allegro's development ("organic' is the apt but overworked expression), how individually the winds and horns sang out into the large resonant space (sounding more confident, perhaps getting used to the acoustic on their second night). What a coda too - warm, full, strings; horns & winds clear, true and vibrant.
At first, I wondered if the scherzo-finale transition was just a touch laboured, the tempi a shade over-moderated; but no, Volkov had judged the acceleration perfectly to a calm, serene and joyful conclusion. Excellent!

As with a good Haydn symphony performance, Sibelius' 3rd should ideally seem to play itself, the conductor merely setting things in motion, with a firm but gentle guiding hand. Slow movement perhaps excepted, this performance came close to that particular ideal.

(HDs 320kbps via JRMC, engineering fine, more open than for 1&2, strings allowed greater cut & thrust, to balance their evident, much-presenter-mentioned, richness).

[Serial_Apologist]

Lovely resume, thanks, Jayne.

Others clearly find more in Sibelius 3 than me; clearly I'm going to have to give it another go, or two.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

In the mid-1990s, Sibelius Software was exclusive programmed for Acorn computers. Indeed, I still have two of these machines and I still prefer to use the 1995 version of Sibelius 7. The Finn brothers, who devised the program(me), were asked whether they would bring out a Windows or Mac version. They said, quite emphatically that they would not, but a few months later, they announced the arrival of a new version written in C++, which was transferrable across platforms. When they later said there were problems with the Acorn/RISCOS C++ compiler, and that they were going to dump all those people who had bought Acorn computers in order to use Sibelius 7, a short little ditty was published and distributed on the web.

It was to the tune of the opening theme of Sibelius 3:

"Never never never shall we,
Write Sibelius for the PC"
Ben & Jonathan Finn

The joke soon worn thin, as their duplicity paid off. Acorn Computers announced their withdrawal from the desktop computer market, rebranding themselves (Pace) and concentrating of set-top boxes.