Sibelius Volume III: 1914-1957

(Paperback, Main)

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Erik Tawaststjerna embarked on his monumental and acclaimed study of Jean Sibeliuss life and music in 1960 and it occupied him for over a quarter of a century. His study differs from other work on the composer in one important respect: he had unrestricted access to the composers papers, diaries and letters as well as the advantage of numerous conversations with the composers widow and other members of the family. Thus his researches can justifiably claim to have thrown entirely fresh light on the great Finnish composer. Far from the remote personality of the Sibelius legend, Sibelius emerges as a highly colourful figure. This third volume traces the composers career from the outbreak of the First World War in l914, which found him poised on the brink of the Fifth Symphony, through to his death in l957. It traces the genesis of the Fifth Symphony and gives a vivid portrait of Finland during the early years of independence and civil war. Tawaststjerna relates in fascinating detail the composers financial plight during these years and his struggles with his own psyche. We follow his career through to the Seventh Symphony and Tapiola, and the increasingly corrosive streak of self-criticism which blighted Sibeliuss last years and resulted in the destruction of the Eighth Symphony. Translated by Robert Layton, himself a Sibelius specialist, this is a compelling and insightful account of the music of one of the twentieth centurys greatest composers

Author Bio

Erik Tawaststjerna (1916-93) devoted a lifetime to the study of Sibelius, and came to know him personally. After Sibeliuss death in l957 he was given unrestricted access to the composers papers. Tawaststjernas three-volume study of Sibelius was awarded the prestigious Finlandia Prize and has been hailed as definitive.