SIBELIUS Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 | Hannu Lintu

1. Andante, ma non troppo – Allegro energico
2. Andante (ma non troppo lento) 12:00
3. Scherzo: Allegro 21:20
4. Finale (Quasi una fantasia) 26:34

Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, conductor

Recorded live on 26 Oct 2018 at the Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore.

The musical language of Sibelius’ First Symphony is inherited from the tragi-heroic tone of his Kullervo choral symphony (1892), the orchestral colours of his Lemminkäinen Legends (1895), and precursors the nationalistic fervour of Finlandia, which he would write soon after.

Sibelius’ First has often been considered a Romantic symphony of Tchaikovskian vein – an awkward comparison since Russia at that time stood between Finland and her independence. Nevertheless Sibelius did profess an admiration for the Russian composer. It is perhaps better to say they shared a common musical vocabulary except what each composer did with it is distinct.

The opening of Sibelius’ First is not with fanfare, but with a forlorn clarinet solo – a long note followed by a chromatic rising figure – over a quiet timpani roll. Not exactly a full-blown melody, this wandering motif or ‘theme’ is the basis of the entire work. In 1898 when he began plans for his first symphony, Sibelius was already a natural at his symphonic idiom. The clarinet introduction is an example of one of his principal motifs that does two things. First, its organic development moulds variants that are woven to generate progress and a sense of melody; secondly, it evolves and culminates in a final, ‘ultimate’ form.

Sibelius wrote seven symphonies and destroyed an Eighth. He never repeated himself, hence each is different, each further solidifying 20th century Finnish musical identity. He would never write a symphony like his First ever again. It ends, like in the first movement, with two fateful pizzicato chords – the first mezzoforte, the last piano, fading into poignant silence: the last twinkle of stars at dawn. It is the end of the 19th century. Finland is about to awake. (Programme note by Chia Han-Leon)