Sibelius: String Quartet in B Flat / String Quartet in D Minor / Adagio in D Minor / Andante Festivo

Featuring

Laura Vikman
Silva Koskela
Tiila Kangas
Ulla Lampela
Tempera Quartet
Jean Sibelius

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Composition History

Sibelius composed the dignified Andante festivo (JS34a) for string quartet in 1922, instead of the 'festive cantata' he was asked to write for a factory's 25th anniversary.

Composer Biography

Jean Sibelius spent the academic year 1889-90 in Berlin, a period that was socially stimulating but creatively frustrating for him.

Composition History

Sibelius's String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 4, had a longer gestation period than most of his early works, started before his 1889 Berlin trip and finished in September 1890.

Performer Biography

The Tempera Quartet, formed in 1997, was selected for the European Concert Hall Organization's 'Rising Stars' scheme in 2000-01, leading to successful debuts at major venues like Carnegie Hall and Wigmore Hall.

Composition History

The earliest sketches for Sibelius's String Quartet in D minor, 'Voces intimae' (Op. 56), date from the turn of the century, but much of the composition was done in London in 1909.

Composer Biography

Around 1909, Sibelius's music began to take on a dark, uncompromising, and often introspective character, following a throat tumor removal the previous year.

Composition History

The title 'Voces intimae' (intimate voices) for Sibelius's String Quartet in D minor comes from words he wrote above three hushed E minor chords in the third movement.