Jean Sibelius Finlandia

Classical Music / Symphonic Poem

Finlandia, Op. 26 is a tone poem by Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer. Written in 1899 and revised in 1900, the piece was composed for the Press Celebrations of 1899, a covert protest against increasing censorship from the Russian Empire, the last of seven pieces performed as an accompaniment to a tableau depicting episodes from Finnish history. Finlandia was first performed on 2 July 1900,  in Helsinki, with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Robert Kajanus. A typical performance takes between 7½ and 9 minutes.




To avoid Russian censorship, Finlandia had to be performed under alternative names at various musical concerts. Titles under which the piece masqueraded were numerous—famous examples include Happy Feelings at the awakening of Finnish Spring, and A Scandinavian Choral March.

The piece is taken up with rousing and turbulent music, evoking the national struggle of the Finnish people, however, towards the end, a calm comes over the orchestra, and the serenely melodic Finlandia Hymn is heard. Initially composed for orchestra, in 1900, Sibelius arranged the work for solo piano. Lataer, he also reworked the Finlandia Hymn into a stand-alone piece. This hymn, with words written in 1941 by Veikko Antero Koskenniemi, is one of the most important national songs of Finland.  It is also sung with differient words, as a Christian hymn (Be Still, My Soul; Hail, Festal Day, and in Italian evangelical churches: Veglia al mattino.)


Video Credit:

Jean Sibelius - Finlandia. YouTube, uploaded by Tarja M. Accessed July 2, 2017.
Wild Scandinavia / Wildes Skandinavien / (2011), Director: Oliver Goetzl, Writer: Oliver Goetzl, Cinematography: Ivo Nörenberg, Jan Henriksson and Rolf Steinmann. Gulo Film Productions


Resource:

Finlandia. en.wikipedia.org. Accessed July 2, 2017. 



(c) July 2017. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Respighi Fountains of Rome

Classical Music / Symphonic Poems


Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome) is a 1916 symphonic poem written by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, now considered part of the "Roman Trilogy" of symphonic poems along with Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome, 1924) and  Feste Romane (Roman Festivals, 1928). It is the first orchestral work in this trilogy.  Each of the four sections depicts one of Rome's fountains during different periods of the day.  It was first performed on March 11, 1917, where it appeared at the Teatro Augusteo in Rome with Antonio Guarnieri as conductor. Toscanini conducted the work in Milan in 1918 with tremendous success.



Movements:

1. "La fontana di Valle Giulia all'alba"
2. "La fontana del Tritone al mattino"
3. "La fontana di Trevi al meriggio"
4. "La fontana di Villa Medici al tramonto"

First section: "La fontana di Valle Giulia all'Alba" shows this fountain at daybreak in a pastoral landscape, in which cattle pass during the morning.

Second section: "La fontana del Tritone al mattino", Naiads and Tritons dancing in the morning light, as figures of the Bernini fountain are seen nearby. Gods and goddesses using conch shells (used in many rituals as spiritual symbols) are portrayed by the French horn.

Third section:  Introduces "La fontana di Trevi al meriggio" and is ushered in by a triumph giving news of a recent victory by the god Neptune.

Final section: "La fontana di Villa Medici al tramonto" portrays a much more melancholic atmosphere as the brilliance of the sun fades.


Video Credit:

Ottorino Respighi - Fountains of Rome - Eugene Ormandy, 1957. YouTube, uploaded by mahlerman77, Accessed July 9, 2015.

Resource:

Fountains of Rome. en.wikipedia.org  


(c) 2015-2017.  Tel Asiado.  Inspired Pen Web.  All rights reserved.

Gershwin's An American in Paris

George Gershwin's  An American in Paris Premieres

"An American in Paris" by George Gershwin  premieres, December 13, 1928, conducted by Walter Damrosch with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in New York City.

An American in Paris by American composer George Gershwin is a symphonic tone poem written in 1928. It was inspired by the time he spent in Paris evoking the good feeling and wonderful experiences of Paris in the 19920s. This work is popular and considered one of Gershwin's best compositions. 

 

Gershwin: An American in Paris ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Andrés Orozco-Estrada. YouTube, uploaded by hr-Sinfonieorchester – Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Accessed December 13, 2025.  

Gershwin was on commission from the New York Philharmonic to compose  An American in Paris. He scored the piece for the standard instruments of the symphony orchestra plus celesta, saxophones, and automobile horns.


During the premiere of this work on December 13, 1928, in Carnegie Hall, New York, Gershwin brought back some Parisian taxi horns. Walter Damrosch conducted the New York Symphony. Gershwin completed the orchestration on November 18, three weeks before the premiere of the work. He collaborated on the original program notes with Deems Taylor, a critic and composer himself. 

Video Credit:

Gershwin's "An American in Paris" YouTtube, uploaded by  hr-Sinfonieorchester – Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Accessed December 13, 2025.

Source Credit:

"An American in Paris" by Richard Freed.  The Kennedy Center.  Accessed December 13, 2013.


(c) December 2013. Updated December 13, 2025. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Wagner Siegfried Idyll

Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, a Symphonic Poem for Chamber Orchestra

German composer Richard Wagner conducts his Siegfried Idyll in his Swiss villa on Christmas morning, December 25, 1870, as a 33rd birthday surprise for his wife, Cosima (daughter of Franz Liszt). It is also a tribute to the birth of their son, Siegfried.  The music lasts approximately twenty minutes.

Sibelius Oceanides, Op. 73

Classical Music / Tone Poem 


The Oceanides (Finnish title: Aallottaret, translated to English as Nymphs of the Waves or Spirits of the Waves; original working title Rondeauder Wellen; in English, Rondo of the Waves), Op. 73, is written in 1913-14 by Finnish composer Jean J.C. Sibelius. This work, which refers to the nymphs in Greek mythology who inhabited the Mediterranean Sea, premiered on 4 June 1914 at the Norfolk Music Festival in Connecticut with the composer himself conducting. The performance was praised on its premiere as "the finest evocation of the sea ... ever ... produced in music", the tone poem, in D major consisting of two subjects, is said to represent the playful activity of the nymphs and the majesty of the ocean, respectively.

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957):  Oceanides, Opus 73 (1913),  London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult (1889-1983), Recorded in 1956.

Sibelius gradually develops his material over three informal stages: first, a placid ocean; second, a gathering storm; and third, a thunderous wave-crash climax. As the tempest subsides, a final chord sounds, symbolizing the mighty power and limitless expanse of the sea.


Video Credit:

Sibelius' Oceanides (London PO/Boult). YouTube, uploaded by pianopera. Accessed June 4, 2012. 

Resource:

Jean Sibelius' The Oceanides.  en.wikipedia.org.  Accessed June 4, 2012.  

Balakirev Symphonic Poem Tamara

Classical Music / Symphonic Poem 

Orchestral Symphony No. 2 Tamara or Thamar is a symphonic poem composed by Russian composer Mily Balakirev.

Mily Balakirev conducts the first performance of his symphonic poem Tamara in St Petersburg, on March 19, 1883. One of his best known works, Tamara is based on a ballad by the poet Mikhail Lermontov, who was inspired by an ancient local legend while exiled to the Caucasus.

Initially, he saw the work as a possible symbol of the recent political unification of the Caucasus under Russian rule. The poetic style and romantic language of the poem are important to an understanding of the plot, which describes a beautiful but evil princess (Tamara) whose songs lure travelers to her enchanted castle in the Caucasus by the river Terek. After a night of passion, the princess murders the traveler, whose body is borne away by the river.




Balakirev began work on Tamara in 1867. In the mid-1870s, he had a four-year battle with depression. Fortunately, his friends confiscated his work sketches fearing what he might do to them. In 1876, his friends helped him rekindle his interest in music by returning the score to him and asking him to resume composition. Three years later, he performed Tamara on piano to an enthusiastic audience of friends. In March 1883, Tamara was premiered with the composer conducting, and the 15-year odyssey, of which perhaps only three years total were spent intensively working on the score, was completed.

The slow (and soft) introduction and conclusion to the piece is a characteristic of Balakirev's orchestral works. It opens with ripples in the strings and low brass, representing the river, which establish the impressively pervasive feeling of foreboding, the key is the ominous B minor. Lyrically supple woodwind melodies abound in the work, and the first few notes of what will later be identified as Tamara's love song are heard from the English horn. After a few more notes of the love song, the rippling returns.

The main work of the score is taken up with the two love themes of Tamara. Balakirev develops these melodies from seductive lyricism to driving passion to the murderous climax, after which the original form and the river music returns.

 Balakirev dedicated Tamara to Franz Liszt, who is considered originator of the tone poem. Despite remaining distinctively Russian in orchestral scope, Tamara, in its form and language, embraces Oriental flavor. In 1912, Diaghilev and Fokine produced a ballet to Balakirev's Tamara.


Resource: 

Mily Balakirev, Tamara, Symphonic Poem.  www.allmusic.com.  Accessed March 19, 2009. 


Video Credit:

Mily Balakirev - Tamara, symphonic poem (1867-82).  Youtube, uploaded by KuhlauDelfing2.
Orchestra: The State Academic Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Evgeny Svetlanov.  Accessed March 19, 2009
Mily Balakirev.  en.wikpedia.org.  Accessed March 19, 2009


(c) March 2009. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.