Sibelius: Suites from Pelléas et Mélisande, King Christian II & Swanwhite

Featuring

Petri Sakari
Sauli Tiilikainen
Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Jean Sibelius

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Composition History

Sibelius's suite from 'King Christian II' was his first orchestral work published by the influential Berlin firm Breitkopf.

Recording & Production

This recording includes two rarely heard items from the incidental music for 'King Christian II': the 'Menuetto' and 'The Fool's Song', expanding the standard suite.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Sibelius's incidental music for plays often aimed to frame static 'moments' rather than underscore developing events, sometimes functioning as preludes or interludes.

Compositional Technique

In the 'King Christian II' suite, the 'Musette' movement originally mimicked the sound of bagpipes and chalumeau using two clarinets and two bassoons.

Performer Biography

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Iceland's national orchestra, has grown from 40 part-time players in 1950 to 85 full-time musicians and performs about sixty concerts each season.

Historical Context

August Strindberg, a leading modern dramatist, was inspired by Maurice Maeterlinck's early plays to create his own symbolic fairytale drama, 'Swanwhite'.

Composition History

Harriet Bosse, the young actress and third wife of playwright August Strindberg, suggested Sibelius as the composer for 'Swanwhite' after being charmed by his 'Pelléas et Mélisande' music.