I Maestri

Programme:

Jean Sibelius Spring Song op. 16.
Piotr Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto op. 35.
Johann Sebastian Bach Erbarme dich, from Matthew Passion.
Jean Sibelius Symphony no. 1 op. 39.

I Maestri’s final concerts of the season present a rarely performed early work by Jean Sibelius along with his much loved First Symphony. The importance of Jean Sibelius’ music to the people of Finland, especially at the beginning of the 20th century, cannot be overstated.

Sibelius was an ardent Finnish nationalist, and his music, particularly Finlandia and his symphonic poems, became a central rallying cry for the Finnish people in their fight to preserve their linguistic, cultural and political independence. However, Sibelius also clearly stated that his symphonies should not be viewed through the lens of an extra-musical program. “My symphonies are worked out as musical expression without the slightest literary basis,” he explained. “I’m not a literary musician. For me, music begins where words leave off … A symphony should be music first and last.”

But, as musicologist James Hepokoski points out, Sibelius’ insistence that his symphonies were purely musical did not prevent Sibelius from using the First Symphony for non-musical ends. In the summer of 1900, the Helsinki Philharmonic toured Europe with it, using it to garner support for the Finnish cause against Russia.