For the last 30 years of his life, Sibelius was gripped by what became known as “The Silence from Järvenpää.” Järvenpää is the Finnish market town outside which the composer made his home, which he called Ainola (after his wife, Aino, who in turn was named for a character in the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic).
After the completion of the 7th Symphony and the tone poem “Tapiola” in the mid-1920s, Sibelius created no more major works, though he grappled with the composition of an 8th symphony, which he eventually destroyed. He spent his later years being lionized by visiting conductors and listening to performances of his music over the radio.
Until then, however, he wrote prolifically, and this morning on WPRB, we’ll have another chance to sample from his unique output, with major works like the symphonies, of course (we have yet to hear Symphonies No. 2, 6 and 7), but we’ll also listen to some of the tone poems, miniatures, and reams of incidental music he composed for the Swedish Theater in Helsinki.
Our guests this morning will be Melissa Malvar and Fernando Malvar-Ruiz of The American Boychoir, who will be dropping by at around 7:30 to tell us a little bit about the group’s upcoming Christmas concert, “Home for the Holidays,” a Princeton tradition, which will take place at Richardson Auditorium on December 20 at 4 p.m.
Otherwise, it’s wall-to-wall Sibelius, as we wrap up loose ends from the sesquicentennial celebrations of his birth, on December 8, 1865. Join me from 6 to 11 ET, on WPRB 103.3 FM or at wprb.com. We’ll rail against The Silence, on Classic Ross Amico.
#Sibelius150 #12DaysOfSibelius
PHOTO: Sir Thomas Beecham drops in on Sibelius
