Jean Sibelius: Finlandia – Symphonic poem
Sibelius’s most emblematic musical composition is undoubtedly the symphonic poem entitled ‘Finlandia’. Its creation is closely linked to the then current political events. In 1899, the tsarist Provisional Government dissolved the Finnish parliament, and restricted freedom of speech and the press. Sibelius was a member of an artists’ group that organised a series of performances to express their protest: the events staged in the scope of the series included the four-movement suite ‘Finland Awakens’. The fourth movement of the piece entitled ‘Suomi’ later became a standalone composition, was reworked and ultimately became an independent piece under the title ‘Finlandia’. ‘Finlandia’ was premiered in 1900. Even if for a long time the piece was believed to be an adaptation and rearrangement, its folk song-like musical content highlights Sibelius’s great musical inventiveness and imagination.
Antonin Dvořák: Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53
A few days after Johannes Brahms’s ‘Violin Concerto’ premiered in Leipzig on New Year’s Day in 1879, the great violinist Joseph Joachim and Brahms set off for Prague to give a joint concert. Of course, they did not fail to visit Dvořák, and perhaps it was at that time that the initial idea of a violin concerto to be composed by Dvořák arose, which was to be premiered by Joachim.
The composition was being completed relatively quickly, and Joachim consulted Dvořák on certain details of the piece. When the violinist suggested some changes, the composer always accepted them. However, Joachim later came up with newer and newer ideas, which made this collaboration increasingly burdensome for Dvořák. Even so, Dvořák still counted on Joachim to premiere the piece. Soon three years passed and the ‘Violin Concerto’ was still not performed in public. What is more, Joachim actually refused to premier it. Finally, a young Czech artist called František Ondříček performed the composition for the first time: he showed complete dedication to both the composer and the work. The premiere (on 14th October 1883) was eventually a great success.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
‘Symphony No. 4’ was composed in 1877, at the same time as ‘Eugene Onegin’. In a letter to his brother, Tchaikovsky wrote: “I am perfectly aware that the symphony I am writing at the moment is an extraordinary work and the most perfect in form of all my compositions up to today.” This symphony is dedicated to Tchaikovsky’s legendary patroness Madame von Meck. The composer introduced the poetic programme of the piece to his patroness writing: “At the core of the symphony lies an introductory idea, on which I subsequently built the entire work. This motif is Fate itself: it is Destiny, which stands in our way as we seek happiness. It watches over us ensuring that we will not ever find complete peace. It is this Destiny that hangs over our heads like the sword of Damocles. This power is invincible and unavoidable. It leaves us with nothing but longing. (…) The second movement of the composition sings of sorrow. (…) Suddenly memories swirl around us. And how beautiful they are! The only sad thing about this is that all these memories are now gone, all this is in the past. (…) Unlike and as opposed to the first two movements, the third movement does not express any definite emotion. A strange, elusive and scattered image flits through our minds, just like the flight of fantasy of a soul intoxicated by wine. Then, the message of the fourth movement is the following: if you cannot find joy within yourself, seek it in others! Mingle with such people and see how joyous they are in their happiness. The main theme of the composition is a festival and celebration of people.”
Nikolai Rubinstein conducted the premiere of this piece. Tchaikovsky himself was not present at the concert, therefore he learned about the atmosphere of the event and the reception of the symphony only from subsequent accounts. It seems that the new piece was not a real success. In fact, the premiere of the Symphony was met with a cool and uncomprehending reaction, and Tchaikovsky was informed of this reception in a very tactful manner. It was only the always cruelly honest Tanyayev who expressed his opinion bluntly. The first foreign performances of the Symphony failed to bring about a breakthrough, either. In fact, interestingly enough the critics repeatedly expressed doubts about the formal structure of the piece. They somehow failed to notice that the symphony was the “most perfect in form” of all of Tchaikovsky’s “compositions up to today”. Tchaikovsky believed that traditional, classical formal principles could still function as guiding lines in the case of certain genres. At the same time, it was actually in connection with ‘Symphony No. 4’ that the ambivalence of Tchaikovsky’s relationship with classical musical heritage became apparent. Tchaikovsky wrote about this topic to his patroness Madame von Meck saying: “If you ask me whether I adhere to established musical forms, my answer is both “yes” and “no”. There are certain types of compositions that require the use of well-known forms, such as the genre of the symphony. Concerning this, I stick to the usual traditional forms in broad terms, but only in broad terms. That is, as far as the order of the movements of the piece is concerned. At the same time, the details can be treated very freely if the development of ideas requires so. In the new symphony, for example, the first movement was written using very marked musical deviations. The second theme, which should be situated in the parallel major key, is now very distant and features in a minor key. In addition, in the recapitulation of the main part of the movement, this second theme does not appear at all. And I could go on giving further and further examples.” Regarding the finale, Tchaikovsky noted that this part is related to many different classical musical forms, which phenomenon analysts later called “hybrid form”. With respect to ‘Symphony No. 4’, it is worth adding that the sequence of formal sections does not yield a closed form, but it rather creates a narrative, linear form.