Sibelius: Music for Violin and Piano, Vol. 1

Featuring

Nils-Erik Sparf
Bengt Forsberg
Jean Sibelius

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Sibelius's close contact with nature during his formative years profoundly affected his later compositions.

Composer Biography

As a teenager, Jean Sibelius, the composer, dreamed of becoming a master violinist, and his failure to achieve this goal bothered him for years.

Performer Biography

Bengt Forsberg, the pianist, regularly performs unusual and unjustly neglected music and is a member of the Korngold Piano Trio.

Recording & Production

This album includes the first commercial recording of the original 1888 versions of Sibelius's Two Pieces, Op. 2.

Composition History

Many of Sibelius's works for violin and piano from the First World War period were written largely for money, due to the impracticality of his lucrative contacts with publishers Breitkopf & Härtel.

Performer Biography

Nils-Erik Sparf, the violinist on this recording, comes from a long line of Dalecarlian fiddlers and began playing folk music at a very early age with his father.

Compositional Technique

The Romance in B minor and Epilogue, published as Sibelius's Op. 2, were originally titled Grave and Perpetuum mobile, and the Epilogue was completely overhauled in 1911.