Sibelius: Pelleas and Melisande Suite, Musik zu einer Szene & 3 Pièces pour orchestre

Featuring

Leif Segerstam
Pia Pajala
Sari Nordqvist
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra
Jean Sibelius

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Composer Biography

Jean Sibelius is considered the most significant figure in the formation of national identity in Finnish music, with Finland celebrating a Flag Day on his birthday.

Composition History

Sibelius's incidental music for Maeterlinck's Pelléas et Mélisande was commissioned by the Swedish Theatre and premiered in March 1905, just two months after Schoenberg's tone poem on the same subject.

Cultural Impact

The manuscript and piano version of Sibelius's Morceau romantique sur un motif de Monsieur Jakob von Julin were sold for large sums, with proceeds benefiting a project to build a children's hospital.

Composer Biography

After composing Tapiola in 1926, Sibelius produced no large-scale works for the remaining thirty-one years of his life, a period known as the 'Silence from Järvenpää'.

Composition History

The Morceau romantique sur un motif de Monsieur Jakob von Julin, completed in 1925, was composed for a festive occasion connected with the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare.

Critical Reception

A critic named Karl Flodin praised Sibelius's Pelléas et Mélisande for its subdued atmosphere, contrasting it positively with Debussy's 'pianissimo mannerisms' for the same play.

Performer Biography

The Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1790, is the oldest orchestra in Finland and has received awards for its recordings, including the EMMA Classical Album of the Year.