This satisfyingly varied
anthology of essays on various aspects
of Sibelius and his music is bound to
be a mixed bag. It would be a surprise
if it was anything else. That's the
unique value of a collection of this
type.
The roster of authors
reflects a younger generation of scholars
than that which harbours, for example,
Robert Layton (the translator of Tawastjerna's
three volume Sibelius biography). The
list of names and their profiles can
be read at the Cambridge University
Press (CUP) website.
A serious yet largely
accessible collection, it has no airs
and graces and feels sufficient confidence
to launch into the essays without a
celebrity foreword. On the other hand
one of its strengths is the two interviews
with conductors Colin Davis and Osmo
Vänskä caught in stimulating
conversation with editor David Grimley.
There is a good chapter
studying a selection of the Sibelius
songs and their erotic reference. This
is by Jeffrey Kallberg. This makes an
ideal supplement to the recent Decca
reissue of the Tom Krause/Söderström
4 CD complete songs.
Elsewhere the insights
also tumble out in profusion. Bengt
de Torne's book on Sibelius was detested
by the composer because it made claims
including that de Torne was a pupil.
In fact Sibelius had no formal pupils.
Those who worked with him found him
completely unwilling to give detailed
tuition and more inclined to range freely
over general cultural matters.
Many of us knew already
of the links between Granville Bantock
and Sibelius - the latter dedicated
his Third Symphony to the former. How
many knew of Wilhelm Kempff's long friendship
with Sibelius? Kempff visited the composer
and also played a number of his much
execrated piano solo works. Speaking
of which, Veijo Murtomäki's chapter
on ‘Sibelius and the Miniature’ may
well have us reconsidering the sled-loads
of piano solos which poured from his
pen.
The fascinating genesis
of the Violin Concerto is dissected
again - this time by Jukka Tiilikainen.
Again this is worth reading with the
Kavakos Bis CD at hand; this includes
both versions of the Concerto. The stringing
along of Willy Burmester as a soloist
makes painful reading although, as Tiilikainen
points out, the Concerto's technical
demands would have been more securely
handled by Karel Haliř.
Just as fascinating
as the links Sibelius had with England
are those he had with Germany. This
was at a time (1920s-1940s) when nationalism
had acquired an evil resonance. Intriguingly
Sibelius's music was the most frequently
performed of all non-Germans in Germany
during the Hitler years. Tomi Makela's
chapter shows how the canny Sibelius
avoided paying too close a court to
Hitler and his princelings. Interestingly
none of his works carry direct subject
matter or dedications to the Nazi cause.
This was despite Sibelius's nationalistic
support for the White movement in Finland
(itself supported by Germany).
Negatives are few.
Certainly the positives include the
chapters on 'Sibelius and his Successors'
and 'Sibelius and contemporary music'.
These should stimulate exploration beyond
Sibelius's works. I for one now want
to hear the symphonies of Alain Banquart
and the works of Pascal Dusapin. Quite
when I will get that chance Lord only
knows.
Overall this is an
enjoyable read. A handful of chapters
are musicologically technical and were
hard going. Arnold Whittall's clogged
and lumberingly epic sentences are an
obstacle to his valuable insights. Meaty
paragraphs comprising just two sentences
are not unusual in Mr Whittall’s section.
Ilkka Oramo's piece
on ‘Sibelius and his Successors’ adopts
clear stances with which I would not
always agree. So far as Uuno Klami is
concerned his music does have
a Sibelian accent; listen to the Cheremissian
Fantasy for cello and orchestra
as well as to the wonderful Kalevala
Suite. You get the impression from
this book that Madetoja's Third Symphony
is stronger than the Second. In fact
the Second is a magical work with captivatingly
beautiful and dramatic inspiration.
The Third, for all its Gallic slender
virtues, is too poised and dry to hold
the attention. Try hearing the Second
on Warner Apex 0927 43074 - Tampere
Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by
Paavo Rautio.
On the demerit side
the very brief study of ‘Sibelius on
Record’ smacks of tokenism. How could
it be otherwise at just ten pages? Sibelius's
renaissance from the 1960s onwards has
depended on recordings. When did you
last hear the Third Symphony live or
The Oceanides or Nightride
and Sunrise or Luonnotar?
The book would have been even an more
compelling purchase if better justice
had been done.
Biographical context
and signposts are given by the book’s
compact chronology. A copy of this,
together with some excerpts from the
book, can be examined using the links
at the end of this review.
I have not seen Glenda
Dawn Goss's 'The Sibelius Companion'
(Greenwood Press, 1997) which is the
main 'competition' to this CUP book.
However she is represented here by an
excellent account of Vienna and the
genesis of the Kullervo symphony.
Going by the titles of the chapters
in her much more expensive book those
essays complement the CUP collection.
The book is kitted
out with a good index.
This is also an inexpensive
item among shelves weighed down with
volumes the price of which restricts
sales to the well-off enthusiast or
the library. A pleasingly mixed bag
then - drawn from contemporary Sibelian
scholarship. Plenty to inform, enthuse
and stimulate. Well structured and user-friendly.
Rob Barnett
Detailed List Of Contents
Notes on contributors [page vii]
Acknowledgements [ix]
Chronology of Sibelius's life and career
[x]
Introduction Daniel M. Grimley [1]
Part I: Forging a voice: perspectives
on Sibelius's biography
1 The national composer and the idea
of Finnishness: Sibelius and the formation
of Finnish musical style Matti Huttunen
[7]
2 Vienna and the genesis of Kullervo:
'Durchführung zum Teufel!' Glenda
Dawn Goss [22]
Part II: Musical works
3 Pastoral idylls, erotic anxieties
and heroic subjectivities in Sibelius's
Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of
the Island and first two symphonies
Stephen Downes [35]
4 The later symphonies Arnold Whittall
[49]
5 The genesis of the Violin Concerto
Jukka Tiilikainen [66]
6 Finlandia awakens James Hepokoski
[81]
7 The tone poems: genre, landscape and
structural perspective Daniel M. Grimley
[95]
8 Finnish modern: love, sex and style
in Sibelius's songs Jeffrey Kallberg
[117]
9 Sibelius and the miniature Veijo Murtomäki
[137]
Part III: Influence and reception
10 Sub umbra Sibelii: Sibelius and his
successors Ilkka Oramo [157]
11 Sibelius and Germany: Wahrhaftigkeit
beyond Allnatur Tomi Mäkelä
[169]
12 Sibelius in Britain Peter Franklin
[182]
13 Sibelius and contemporary music Julian
Anderson [196]
Part IV: Interpreting Sibelius
14 Different kinds of fidelity: interpreting
Sibelius on record Bethany Lowe [219]
15 Performing Sibelius Sir Colin Davis
and Osmo Vänskä in conversation
with Daniel M. Grimley [229]
Notes [243]
Select bibliography [263]
Index of names and works [266]
You can read the introduction and one
of the essays at
http://books.cambridge.org/catalogue_excerpt.asp?isbn=0521815525
The book index is at
http://books.cambridge.org/catalogue_index.asp?isbn=0521815525
The book’s chronology is at the end
of this page
http://books.cambridge.org/catalogue_frontmatter.asp?isbn=0521815525
THIS CUP BOOK CAN BE COMPARED with the
Greenwood Press Sibelius Companion edited
by Glenda Dawn Goss and published in
1997 - 468pp
Full details at:-
http://www.greenwood.com/books/BookDetail.asp?dept_id=1&sku=GBJ/
Contents list:-
Table of Contents:
Editorial Note
Preface
Acknowledgments
From Youth to Maturity
Introduction
Jean Sibelius and Vienna by
Peter Revers
Interlude I: Sibelius in the 1890s
Sibelius, The Kalevala, and Karelianism
by William A. Wilson
Sibelius and Wagner by Eero
Tarasti
Sibelius's Second Symphony and the
Legacy of Symphonic Lyricism by
David Haas
Masterworks
Interlude II: 1900-1914
The Violin Concerto by Erkki
Salmenhaara
The Essence of Sibelius: Creation
Myths and Rotational Cycles in Luonnotar
by James Hepokoski
"Symphonic Fantasy": A Synthesis
of Symphonic Thinking in Sibelius's
Seventh Symphony and Tapiola by
Veijo Murtomäki
"A Bridge to the World"
Interlude III: Sibelius, Words, and
Music
Songs by Valeria Sirén
Choral Works by Daniel Politoske
Observations on Music and Musicians
by Jean Sibelius
The Compositional Process
Sibelius's Seventh Symphony: An
Introduction to the Manuscript
and Printed Sources by Kari Kilpeläinen
Sibelius in the Concert Hall and
in Scholarship
Interlude IV: A Composer and His Reputation
Sibelius and England by Laura
Gray
Sibelius Research by Fabian
Dahlström
Chronological List of Works
Register of Names
Bibliography
Index of Works
General Index
