SIx Impromptus:
No. 1 (Moderato): G Minor
No. 2 (Lento – Vivace): G Minor (with G Major episodes)
No. 3 (Moderato, alla marcia): A Minor (with a middle section in F Major)
No. 4 (Andantino): E Minor (melancholy mood)
No. 5 (Vivace): B Minor (shimmering, with D Major sections)
No. 6 (Comodo): E Major (contrasting with the minor keys)
Jean Sibelius, born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius, was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He was born on December 8, 1865, in Hämeenlinna, Grand Duchy of Finland, and passed away on September 20, 1957, in Järvenpää, Finland. Sibelius is widely regarded as Finland’s greatest composer, and his music is often credited with having helped Finland develop a stronger national identity during its struggle against Russification in the late 19th century.
Sibelius’s core oeuvre includes a set of seven symphonies, which, like his other major works, are regularly performed and recorded in Finland and around the world. His best-known compositions include Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse triste, the Violin Concerto, the choral symphony Kullervo, and The Swan of Tuonela (from the Lemminkäinen Suite). His other works feature pieces inspired by nature, Nordic mythology, and the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala; over a hundred songs for voice and piano; incidental music for numerous plays; the one-act opera The Maiden in the Tower; chamber music, piano music, Masonic ritual music, and 21 publications of choral music.
Sibelius composed prolifically until the mid-1920s, but after completing his Seventh Symphony (1924), the incidental music for The Tempest (1926), and the tone poem Tapiola (1926), he stopped producing major works in his last 30 years—a period commonly referred to as the “silence of Järvenpää”.
Although he is reputed to have stopped composing, he attempted to continue writing, including abortive efforts on an eighth symphony. In later life, he wrote Masonic music and re-edited some earlier works, while retaining an active but not always favorable interest in new developments in music.
The Finnish 100 mark note featured his image until 2002, when the euro was adopted. Since 2011, Finland has celebrated a flag flying day on December 8, the composer’s birthday, also known as the Day of Finnish Music. In 2015, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Sibelius’s birth, a number of special concerts and events were held, especially in Helsinki, the Finnish capital.
After some first student pieces, Sibelius composed the Sonata op. 12 (EB8142) in 1893, and his first cycle of piano pieces, the 6 Impromptus op.…
After some first student pieces, Sibelius composed the Sonata op. 12 (EB8142) in 1893, and his first cycle of piano pieces, the 6 Impromptus op. 5.
The piano runs through Jean Sibelius’s oeuvre like a red thread. Here the Finnish composer self-assuredly takes up a great romantic genre significantly shaped by Schubert and Chopin.
Sibelius draws inspiration from some of his own early works in this composition, yet he also uses the last two pieces from opus 5 as the groundwork for an autonomous “Impromptu” for string orchestra which he put together shortly after completing the piano pieces. “You must judge me on the basis of my orchestral works. The piano does not interest me. It cannot sing,” said Sibelius. Yet how seriously can we take this famous quote when considering how masterfully he crossed the boundaries with his Impromptus? Pianists such as Ralf Gothoni, Glenn Gould and Olli Mustonen have not let themselves be deterred by the composer’s harsh self-criticism, and, with their interpretations, have provided compelling proof of the opposite.
R.R.P 18
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