Sibelius: Complete Original Piano Music, Vol. 5

Featuring

Erik Thomas Tawaststjerna
Jean Sibelius

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Sibelius experienced trees animistically, believing they had living souls and spoke to him, especially those around his Villa Ainola.

Compositional Technique

Sibelius's 'Humoresque I' (Op. 97, No. 1) imitates guitar sounds in a Spanish style, using a 'darkened' major scale with lowered sixth and seventh notes.

Compositional Technique

Sibelius's waltz in Op. 85, No. 1, combines the childlike innocence of a music box tune with breathtaking virtuosity.

Composer Biography

Sibelius himself is described as sensitive and vulnerable, yet inwardly resolute, much like his composition 'The Sword Lily' (Op. 85, No. 3).

Notable Performances

The pianist Emil Gilels once surprised a Helsinki audience by playing Sibelius's 'Lied' (Op. 97, No. 2) as an encore, stating he wanted to offer a glimpse of a 'brighter Sibelius'.

Composition History

Between 1919 and 1922, Sibelius composed twenty piano miniatures, distributed across opus numbers 94, 97, and 99, which are noted for their more classically abstract style.