Let's hear it for Sibelius!...

[Westegg]

...3rd Symphony is what I've been grooving on today.

Paavo Berglund/Helsinki Philharmonic? Come on now, come on! You guys know what I'm talkin' about! Mmmm-hmmm. Yeah. That's right.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Valse triste

Finlandia
Violin Concerto

:-)

[Westegg]

4. Violin concerto is now next up. Thanks!...

...and Finlandia, which I have on a CD (yes they still exist) with the 1st symphony. Welcoming May in with a lot of Sibelius seems like as sane a thing to do as any.

It IS May 1st, yeah?

[UTUSN]

2. Sym. #5!1 Majestic horrns in slow 3/3 of the final movement

I first heard this on a flight passing over the Sawtooth Mountains, and the match of the music and the view was unforgettable.

[Westegg]

3. I've had similar Sibelius experiences...

...often involving majestic vistas. Or even less dramatic, more quotidian scenes. Today as I stalked Manhattan's West Side in the 30s, the 3rd Symphony helped me put it in perspective. I'm not suggesting I see Sibelius as mere "soundtrack-of-my-life" music. There is more, much more than that going on there. I'm no music scholar, so much of what's happening is possibly over my head. But Sibelius' music, in its sweeping and melodic brilliance, always has the effect of helping me get right-sized about my own place in the world. Reminding me of my situation compared to the larger city/plant/universe in which I reside. It often conjures up for me images of wind-swept tundras, mountainscapes, primeval forests--and then, on a much smaller scale, the joy of being at peace with someone you love. In short, there is so much ecstasy in his music, it never fails to fill me with the same.

My favorite recording is one my late father gave me, some years ago: Symph.#7/"Kuolema"/Night Ride and Sunrise. Neeme Jarvi and the Gothenburg S.O.