Programme notes: Stone to Sky

Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43

- Jean Sibelius

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1. Allegretto
2. Tempo andante, ma rubato
3. Vivacissimo
4. Finale. Allegro moderato

Sibelius's Symphony No. 2 has had many programmes, or musical stories, ascribed to it. Sibelius began writing it in 1901 after the successful premiere of his composition Finlandia; and so similarly to Finlandia, this symphony quickly became associated with Finland's struggle for independence against the Russian Empire. Sibelius was known for his love of nature, and so the symphony has been read as a depiction of Finnish landscapes, from icy fjords to sunbathed forests. While working on the composition, Sibelius wrote a note reading: "Don Juan. I was sitting in the dark in my castle when a stranger entered. I asked who he could be again and again - but there was no answer. I tried to make him laugh but he remained silent. At last the stranger began to sing - then Don Juan knew who it was. It was death." On the same page, he wrote the bassoon melody that appears in the second movement. Sibelius had lost his youngest daughter the prior year, and so perhaps the symphony can also be heard as reflections on death and grief.

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The first movement opens with pulsing, yearning strings, set against delicate woodwind interjections. The three notes that open the movement appear throughout, knitting together seemingly disjointed elements. See if you can spot the three notes in different instruments and formations. 

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The second movement creeps in with eerie pizzicato from the cellos and double-basses, before the bassoon enters with the plaintive melody associated with Sibelius's 'Don Juan' note mentioned above. The movement is dark and funereal, building to an angry climax before dying away. 

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We're then catapulted into the frenzy of the third movement, with melodies being tossed around between instruments over a driving, relentless pulse. There are occasional respites when the oboe provides a lyrical solo with gentle wind accompaniments - but a trumpet fanfare sets the frenetic motion off again. Finally, out of the constant movement, the orchestra starts building a rising melody, becoming stronger and stronger before finally merging into the glorious sunshine of the fourth movement.

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This finale features a bold string melody set against brass fanfares. It's still not a straightforward celebration of light against darkness - the darkness returns a couple of times in the movement, with rumbling patterns in the lower strings that bring back memories of the struggles from earlier in the symphony. But the brightness prevails and forces the lower strings to turn the corner from minor into major, letting the symphony end with a triumphant (and slightly breathless) celebration.

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Sibelius denied any programmatic associations to his symphonies, saying that they were 'pure' music, or music for music's sake. However you choose to listen to this piece, you'll definitely be taken on a journey from dark to light, from chaos to unity, from fear to hope. 

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Programme notes by Vanessa Williams