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These pages contain program notes written for Redwood
Symphony. You are free to use the information in your own program
notes. If you quote me directly, please attribute it. Thanks!
These notes were edited, amended, and otherwise
improved by Eric Kujawsky, Peter Stahl, and Doug Wyatt.
Barbara Heninger
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Jean Sibelius
Andante Festivo
The long career of Jean Sibelius is inextricably bound with the history of
his home country, Finland--and not simply because he is that country's most
famous composer. Born during increasing Russian repression in the 1870s that led
to a Finnish nationalistic movement, Sibelius attended one of the first
Finnish-language schools, in Hämeenlinna. His schooling in Finnish literary
tradition provided him the thematic basis for much of his life's work, as his
musical compositions consistently referred to the Finnish mythological cycle,
the Kalevala, for inspiration. Indeed, some of his early successes as a composer
were symphonic poems based on tales from the Kalevala: Kullervo (1892)
and the Lemminkäinen Suite, which includes his well-known Swan of
Tuonela (1893). His other inspiration came from the very landscape around
him: the mountains, lakes, and river valleys of Finland. By 1897 his work was
considered so important to his country's culture that the Finnish government
gave him a pension for life so he could compose his works undisturbed by more
mundane matters.
Sibelius originally wrote his Andante Festivo for string quartet in
1922, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Saynatsalo plywood mill in
Finland. While another composer might have tried to portray the mechanical
features of the mill, Sibelius was always inspired by nature, and the work is
one of broad chords and a hushed solemnity. It is not what one might think of as
"festive," but most definitely "andante" (a moderately slow,
walking pace).
Sibelius later arranged the work for string orchestra and timpani, to be
broadcast on New Year's Eve 1939 as a greeting to the world at the World
Exhibition in New York. During the recording session at the Helsinki radio
station, Sibelius told the performers: "Play with more humanity." The
simple repeated melody played by the strings and echoed briefly at the end by
the timpani has been called an emotional balm to a world about to be torn again
by war. It continues to be played in Finland during solemn state occasions,
including Sibelius' own funeral. As Redwood Symphony's Assistant Conductor
Kristin Link writes, "It is a balm our world once again sadly
requires."
November, 2006
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