Sibelius: Symphony No. 5
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5

Author: James Hepokoski

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1993-04

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 9780521409582

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Sibelius's Fifth is one of the great late-Romantic symphonies. In this searching account, based on a wealth of new information, James Hepokoski takes a fresh look at the work and its composer. His findings have implications beyond Sibelius himself into the entire repertory of Post-Wagnerian symphonic composition. The early chapters place the Fifth Symphony squarely within the general culture of European musical 'modernism' and focus in particular on the problem of the clash of that culture with the more radical 'New-Music' experiments of an emerging younger generation of composers. Subsequent chapters include a probing consideration of Sibelius's style and meditative aesthetic; an account of how the symphony was composed; and a descriptive analysis of the final, familiar version. The book concludes with a discussion of the composer's own prescribed tempos for the Fifth Symphony, along with a comparison of several different recordings.

The Rest Is Noise
The Rest Is Noise

Author: Alex Ross

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published: 2007-10-16

Total Pages: 706

ISBN-13: 1429932880

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Winner of the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism A New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book of the Year Time magazine Top Ten Nonfiction Book of 2007 Newsweek Favorite Books of 2007 A Washington Post Book World Best Book of 2007 In this sweeping and dramatic narrative, Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, weaves together the histories of the twentieth century and its music, from Vienna before the First World War to Paris in the twenties; from Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia to downtown New York in the sixties and seventies up to the present. Taking readers into the labyrinth of modern style, Ross draws revelatory connections between the century's most influential composers and the wider culture. The Rest Is Noise is an astonishing history of the twentieth century as told through its music.

Symphonies nos. 3 and 4 in full score
Symphonies nos. 3 and 4 in full score

Author: Jean Sibelius

Publisher: Courier Corporation

Published: 2003-01-01

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 0486426688

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These revolutionary works brought a strikingly organic almost architectural unity to the symphony that music historians recognized as far in advance of anything in the classical masters. Planted with seeds of change already evident in the beautiful, dark third symphony, the fourth symphony presented the most individual work in this form that the 20th century had yet witnessed. Harmonically new, boldly innovative, and structured on a subtle continuity of line, this was a kind of music previously unheard in the concert hall. Austere and intensely concentrated, Sibelius's symphonies of 1907 and 1911 are frequently performed around the world by major orchestras. "It is hard to think of any music in which the composer is more spontaneous and masterful, and uncompromising in his thought." Olin Downes, "Thompson's International Cyclopedia.""

Sibelius
Sibelius

Author: David Hurwitz

Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 9781574671490

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(Unlocking the Masters). Jean Sibelius was not only Finland's greatest composer, he was one of the most distinctive and appealing musical voices in the first half of the 20th century, especially renowned for his characterful handling of the romantic symphony orchestra. His example has led directly to an unprecedented cultural flowering in his homeland, making this small country of 5 million people a powerhouse in the world of classical music composition and performance. Sibelius The Orchestral Works An Owner's Manual considers over 80 individual orchestral pieces, from songs and choruses to symphonies, tone poems, overtures, and theatrical music. Along the way, readers are invited to identify and enjoy the fascinating mix of elements that make up Sibelius's colorful personal idiom. Two CDs accompanying the text offer not only a rich selection of music by Sibelius, including two complete symphonies and two of his most popular tone poems, but also a representative selection of the best Finnish music by his contemporaries and successors. This approach offers a unique opportunity: to hear Sibelius in context and gain an understanding of exactly what distinguishes him from his contemporaries, how he influenced later generations, and how it was that he came to be viewed as the musical spokesperson of an entire nation.

The Cambridge Companion to the Symphony
The Cambridge Companion to the Symphony

Author: Julian Horton

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-05-02

Total Pages: 469

ISBN-13: 0521884985

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A comprehensive guide to the historical, analytical and interpretative issues surrounding one of the major genres of Western music.

Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius

Author: Daniel M. Grimley

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Published: 2025-03-15

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1789144663

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An illuminating investigation into the interdisciplinary impact of the beloved modern classical composer. Few composers have enjoyed such critical acclaim—or longevity—as Jean Sibelius, who died in 1957 aged ninety-one. Always more than simply a Finnish national figure, an “apparition from the woods” as he ironically described himself, Sibelius’s life spanned turbulent and tumultuous events, and his work is central to the story of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century music. This book situates Sibelius within a rich interdisciplinary environment, paying attention to his relationship with architecture, literature, politics, and the visual arts. Drawing on the latest developments in Sibelius research, it is intended as an accessible and rewarding introduction for the general reader, and it also offers a fresh and provocative interpretation for those more familiar with his music.

My Music, My Drinking & Me
My Music, My Drinking & Me

Author: Caroline J Sinclair

Publisher: Mak Books

Published: 2015-10-01

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 9780952780441

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This book truly brings the Sibelius story to life and offers a new and fascinating insight into his development both as a composer and as a man - a must-have book for all those who appreciate Sibelius's music, whether they are musicians, students or other music lovers, or for those who love historical novels. Based on true events and told from Sibelius's own point of view, My Music, My Drinking & Me - The Memoirs of Jean Sibelius is the story of Finland's greatest composer, one of the foremost symphonists of the 20th century. It is a turbulent and violent period in European history, and Finland is struggling to gain and maintain its independence. Sibelius is expected by many to be a spokesman for his country. However, he is uncomfortable with the position thrust upon him; he has no desire to make political statements through his music, wanting only to depict the elemental forces of Finnish nature. On a more personal level, he is battling with alcoholism; he believes that he needs alcohol to be able to write music, but does his drinking foster or hinder his creativity? Furthermore, if he does not give up drinking, it will cost him his marriage. Which is the stronger - his need to drink or his desire to save his marriage before it is too late? My Music, My Drinking & Me is as much about a marriage as about music. In it, Caroline J Sinclair has drawn a vivid picture of Sibelius's family life, and of the country that inspired him to compose - his beloved Finland.

Nielsen: Symphony No. 5
Nielsen: Symphony No. 5

Author: David Fanning

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1997-06-05

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13: 9780521446327

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After the death of Mahler in 1911 the great Austro-German symphonic line was carried on mainly in England, America, Scandinavia and Russia. The Fifth Symphony of Carl Nielsen, a Danish composer, was composed in 1921. David Fanning discusses its place within the symphonic tradition since Beethoven, revealing the personal background to the work and taking account of the extensive Danish commentaries, including the composer's own. In an analysis of the music he lays bare the origins of its images of inertia, anxiety and collapse in Nielsen's tone poems and incidental music for the theatre. Insights are offered into the symphony's progressive tonality and its relationship to traditional structural models.