UNITED KINGDOM SIBELIUS SOCIETYNEWSLETTER No. 76

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United Kingdom Sibelius SocietyNewsletter - Issue 76 (January 2015)

- C O N T E N T S - PageEditorial ....................................................................................... 3News and Views .......................................................................... 5Original Sibelius. Festival Review by Edward Clark .................. 6Sibelius and Bruckner by Peter Frankland .................................. 10The Piano Music of Jean Sibelius by Rudi Eastwood .................. 16Why do we like Sibelius? by Edward Clark ................................ 19Arthur Butterworth by Edward Clark .......................................... 20A memoir of Tauno Hannikainen by Arthur Butterworth ............ 252014 Proms – Review by Edward Clark ...................................... 27Sibelius. Thoughts by Fenella Humphries ................................... 30The Backman Trio. Concert and CD review by Edward Clark ... 32Finlandia. Commentary by David Bunney ................................... 33The modernity of Sibelius by Edward Clark ............................... 36Sibelius and his Violin Concerto by Edward Clark ..................... 38

The United Kingdom Sibelius Society would like to thank its corporate members for their generous support:

BB-Shipping (Greenwich) Ltd Transfennica (UK) LtdMusic Sales Ltd Skandinaviska Enskilda BankenBreitkopf & Härtel

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Editorial

Welcome to 2015!

It is as big a year for Sibelius as most of us will experience for the rest of our lives. I recall the Centenary Year, 1965, well. Sibelius’s reputation was, to quote the Sibelius scholar, Robert Layton, “close to its nadir” due to a vicious reaction by a section of critics and musicians against anything that resembled tradition in writing music.

Today we can celebrate Sibelius for being a herald of a new tradition welcomed by most living composers, a tradition for renewal of symphonic form. Is there any greater, more complex, musical form than the symphony? However you don’t have to be a fan of the symphony to appreciate Sibelius’s enormous contribution to the writing of a broad range of music that has stood the test of time as much as that of any other composer of his era or beyond.

Sadly we say farewell to the English composer, Arthur Butterworth MBE, who died at the same age as Sibelius late in 2014. In his music, Arthur stood tall against the many fashions of the day he encountered in his long life as a noted symphonist and, probably, the biggest admirer of Sibelius among his generation.

This Newsletter publishes interesting articles by many Sibelius fans, which allows us all to be part of one big family that is truly global in its membership.

We also announce plans for various performances supported or planned by the Society. It is nice to have something of value for no cost for this is what we offer in our two free concerts at Burgh House, Hampstead, North London in midsummer. Apply soon!

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So enjoy 2015 however you want to celebrate the genius of Sibelius, a composer who provides joy for millions.

Edward ClarkNewsletter Editor

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News and Views

An almighty row has broken out between the Sibelius publisher, Breitkopf & Härtel, over a dispute over the cancellation of Valse Triste which was promised by the esteemed Vienna Philharmonic at its iconic New Year’s Day Concert in Vienna but then withdrawn. The reason given was that B&H was asking for too much money from the orchestra for the film rights (synchronisation rights).Despite a further reduction offered by B&H the orchestra stuck to its guns and refused to play Valse Triste.It should be recalled that it was this orchestra that began rehearsals of the Fourth Symphony after the war only for the players to refuse to play it in concert. It took the charisma of Lorin Maazel, twenty years later, (and no doubt a sizable recording fee) for the reluctant Austrian orchestra to relent and perform what is still a highly regarded symphony cycle.To quote the B&H Press Relese dated 24 November 2014,“Jean Sibelius would have deserved a “front row seat” at the concert marking the beginning of the year in which his 150th birthday will be celebrated far and wide.”

A very talented violinist has written an article about her love for Sibelius. Fenella Humphries is supported by the Society at her February concert in London where she typically plays an imaginative programme of works by and related to Sibelius. Her concert programme is enclosed with the newsletter.

The Society is also supporting a rare concert given by Joe Tong devoted to the piano music. Details are enclosed on a concert leaflet.

Please support Fenella and Joe if you are free to attend.

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Original Sibelius

Lahti Sibelius Festival 2014(4th - 7th September)

A review by Edward Clark

Lahti Symphony OrchestraConductor Okku KamuViolinist Ilja GringoltsPianist Folke Grasbeck

Before I begin my thoughts on Original Sibelius may I mention the sound I heard at the very beginning of the festival at the now world famous Sibelius Hall in Lahti?

My ears had been recently conditioned at various Proms concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall. In certain repertoire, say large scale choral works, this is a marvellous venue. But to experience the artistry and virtuosity of James Ehnes playing Walton’s wonderfully lyrical Violin Concerto being swallowed up and rendered almost inaudible by the cavernous acoustic was a soul destroying experience.

Fast forward to Lahti with Ilja Gringolts playing the first version of the Sibelius Violin Concerto and I had entered a world of purity of sound where the proverbial pin could be heard to silently fall to the floor. Sibelius provides his soloist with prodigious demands in his music but even with a voracious orchestra in attendance Gringolts’s marvellous performance allowed every note to be heard, a feat not achieved in the only recording on the BIS label made in Lahti’s large church before the hall was opened twelve years ago. His tone from the beginning was beguiling and sensuous, his artistry totally at the service of the

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composer in this wayward but enthralling work.

The concept of the festival was to perform all the important first versions of works Sibelius was later to revise, in some cases almost immediately (The Yale version, Aallattoret, which became known as The Oceanides) in others many years hence (Lemminkäinen). As each concert progressed to the final work to be heard, the 1915 first version of the Fifth Symphony, I wondered if the conductor, Okku Kamu, and, perhaps, some of his players woke up at night in a cold sweat after rehearsing generally familiar works, but now in their first versions, put together in an often entirely different way; harmonies, structure, thematic organisation –causing disorientation and bewilderment. The stuff of nightmares indeed.

Generally though the works heard were shortened and improved in revision, among them the Violin Concerto, En Saga, Lemminkäinen and In memoriam. Sibelius’s wife, Aino, preferred both first versions of the concerto and En Saga; both are more propulsive, more flamboyant and more romantically explicit. By cutting whole sections, or interludes, from these four works Sibelius tightened the structures and exerted more discipline, both musically and emotionally, on each work.

Two curiosities were heard; the first version of the middle movement of the (as played here) entire Third Symphony, where the familiar opening (described to the author by Sir Colin Davis as like something crawling from out under a stone!) was originally a jagged, repetitive motive on the violas. Other changes are small but quite telling. This was the world premiere performance of the middle movement.

The second curiosity was Rakastava, in its string arrangement but here heard in the first version soon to be modified somewhat into the magical work we now know. Again small changes were made (including the

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keys in all three movements) but worth hearing for insights into Sibelius’s critical faculties.

By far the most controversial performance was that of the 1915, first, version of the Fifth Symphony. There are two questions: how could Sibelius write this after the mastery of the Fourth Symphony and how could he revise it so successfully five years later into its definitive, third, version?

After the tight compression of the Fourth Symphony, expressed in the darkest of moods, Sibelius emerged gradually into a different world with new choices to be made of more extravert material. (He referred to this subject in his dairy in April 1915 It is as if God the Father had thrown down mosaic pieces from heaven’s floor and asked me to put them back as they were). His early attempts are often inept and gauche. There are passages that cause embarrassment in their overextension and seeming inconsequential result.

To answer the second question perhaps only a true genius could revise the 1915 cauldron of creativity into the final version, described recently by the composer and writer, Peter Paul Nash, as “the supreme masterpiece of the 20th century”. David Matthews, the esteemed contemporary English symphonist and keen Sibelian, states that the first version should never be heard so detrimental it is to Sibelius’s reputation. He is probably right. The Sibelius family heirs have supressed performances for many years and any future ones must be rarities , of use to scholars and others interested in how musical genius can be applied to turning often second rate material into pure gold.

How many nightmares were there, I wonder, among conductor and players having to set aside preconceived notions of familiar music? Folke Grasbeck, the finest living exponent of Sibelius’s piano music,

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in his enthralling recital spoke about how difficult it is to even learn new harmonic/tonal transpositions that Sibelius made between the first and final versions of his piano pieces, not least the composer’s own piano arrangement of Valse Triste.

But, after nightmares, dawn arrived for the players to awaken to their responsibilities in regard to projecting familiar themes in unfamiliar surroundings. They did a superb job in allowing the listener to fully explore Sibelius’s creative process, disconcerting though sometimes it is. Okku Kamu assimilated these first version, and the entirely different “Yale” Aallattoret, soon to be The Oceanides, in such a way as to offer them as entirely plausible works in their own right.

There were some thrilling moments; the entire concerto performance by Ilja Gringolts was a stunning example of wonderful mastery in music of such rich tapestry; the swirl and wash sound in Aallattoret demonstrated the extreme modernity of this original concept and the first movement of Lemminkäinen was as sexually charged as the revised (1939!) version though Lemminkäinen became a more experienced lover so many years later!This brilliant festival contained so much pathos for a listener familiar (through the BIS recordings) with the early versions. The overwhelming sense (shared by Okku Kamu and others) is that Sibelius was absolutely right to make these revisions, all of which enhance his reputation. But certain episodes from many of the works heard in the festival, but cut by the composer, will always gladden the heart and quicken the pulse. For these reasons alone the visit to Lahti was eminently worthwhile.

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SIBELIUS and BRUCKNERKindred Spirits

By Peter Frankland

Sibelius arrived in Vienna during October, 1890, principally for further studies following his time in Berlin the previous year. He was also keen to digest much music in the Austrian Capital as he laboured his way through academic counterpoint. Sibelius’s friend Busoni had in fact written a letter of introduction to Brahms, but the great composer somewhat true to form refused to see him. Nor did Sibelius’s hopes of becoming a pupil of Bruckner succeed. In the event the young Finnish student studied with Robert Fuchs and Karl Goldmark. It seems that Fuchs was to find his young Finnish student’s work ‘Barbarian and Raw’ It would be useful to note at this time that Sibelius was comparatively unknown as a composer and had yet to write an orchestral piece. The city certainly made an enormous impression on the young student who spent a good deal of time in restaurants and coffeehouses, mixing with the influential Viennese bourgeoisie and, frankly, living somewhat beyond his means. This in fact came to a head during the final weeks of his stay. Sibelius spent time in a local hospital under the supervision of a certain Dr. Eder who ran a private sanatorium in Schmidgasse 14, Vienna. The exact reason why Sibelius spent time under medical supervision seems shrouded in mystery but the composer did write about an operation. With the expensive fees that Sibelius incurred, only a loan from relatives eased his financial pressures.

We know from letters written by the young Sibelius at this time that he attached enormous importance to the music of Beethoven and Bruckner. On October 28th Sibelius heard Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’ and later both Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ and Wagner’s ‘Tristan und Isolde’. On the 12th April Sibelius was overwhelmed to the point of tears when he heard Hans Richter conduct Beethoven’s ninth symphony. Richterwould later

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give the British premiere of Sibelius’s second symphony in Manchester [1905] To give an idea of Sibelius’s frame of mind at this time, he wrote the following letter to Martin Wegelius who was director at the Helsinki conservatoire ‘Vienna is a place which is exactly to my taste. Everything is big and friendly, bright and clear. The atmosphere is dizzying. Waltzes whirl around in my head, all of them like those of Schubert’. As regards Sibelius’s great contemporary Richard Strauss, Sibelius had admired a number of pieces including Strauss’s great tone poem ‘Don Juan’ which he had heard the previous year in Berlin conducted by Hans von Bulow. For Strauss’s part, he was to follow the Finn’s career with growing admiration. In 1905 he directed the premiere of the violin concerto in its revised version in Berlin.

On the 21st of December 1890, Sibelius was to hear Bruckner’s newly revised third symphony with the composer present and the music made a tremendous impression on the young Finn. In a letter to Aino, Sibelius described Bruckner as ‘the greatest of living composers’. Bruckner had been born on September 4th, 1824 at Ansfelden in upper Austria. His father had been a teacher. Devoutly religious, Bruckner became organist of the Linz Cathedral. He was a modest and in some aspects a simple soul. Later he became a professor at the Vienna Conservatory. Bruckner was a great admirer of Wagner. In fact the third symphony is dedicated to the great man and became known as the ‘Wagner Symphony’. Wagner for his part had nicknamed him ‘Bruckner, the trumpet’ a reference to the trumpet motif in the first movement of the third symphony. According to Sibelius’s biographer, Erik Tawaststjerna, Sibelius was an enthusiastic Wagnerian at the beginning of the 1890’s. On hearing ‘Parsifal’ at Bayreuth Sibelius had written to Aino ‘Nothing in the world has made such an impression on me, it moves the very strings of my heart’. But his initial enthusiasm began to wane and he described Wagner as ‘Pompous and vulgar’. Of course Bruckner’s great enthusiasm for Wagner had propelled him

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into the venom of the followers of Brahms whose most influential advocate was Eduard Hanslick. The Wagner/Brahms faction deeply divided musical opinion at that time. Sibelius, however, stayed at a relative distance from this raging debate. He had enormous respect for Brahms, reflected in his remark ‘Since Beethoven’s time all so called symphonies, with the exception of those by Brahms, have been symphonic poems’.

During his studies in Vienna Sibelius composed a piano quartet in C major and a number of songs. Importantly, however, he turned to the orchestra for the first time and produced an overture in E major which certainly revealed a Brucknerian influence. With works such as Beethoven’s ninth symphony and Bruckner’s third still resonating in his mind Sibelius returned to Finland to continue working on a huge symphonic poem ‘Kullervo’, for soloists, chorus and orchestra based on characters from the Finnish National epic ‘The Kalevala’. This is a collection of epic poetry collected by Elias Lonnrot [1801-1884] taken from purely Finnish mythology. The Kalevala was to have a huge significance for Sibelius, inspiring much of his music alongside seven remarkable abstract symphonies.

At one time Sibelius was seen as erupting onto the scene, as it were with no musical antecedents. We can now see his debt to composers ranging from Bach and Beethoven through to Bruckner and Borodin. Every great musician learns from his predecessors and contemposaries and Jean Sibelius was no exception. On 28th April, 1892 Sibelius gave the premiere of Kullervo. Certainly in size and scale the huge canvases of Beethoven’s Ninth and Bruckner’s third are influential models on this remarkable youthful creation. One can discern the influence of Bruckner especially in the first movement’s development with its heroic horn calls and undoubtedly Tchaikovsky also comes to mind at times. But after those first few performances Sibelius was

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never again to return to Kullervo’s excesses. Brucknerian and indeed Mahlerian expansiveness were not ultimately for him but the seeds had been sown for Sibelius’ remarkable symphonic odyssey.

Parallels to Bruckner can be discerned in Sibelius’ sombre brass chorales and a fondness for pedal points and indeed the slowness of the music. However Sibelius possessed the skill of suggesting great speed even in passages which are harmonically rooted. The Finnish Master had a way of creating from a vast slow motion. We seem to hurtle, while something else remains has still as the pole star. Sibelius began work on his first Symphony in Berlin at the end of April 1898 and it was completed in 1899. The Scherzo certainly has affinities with Anton Bruckner, indeed the C major section has been described as a primitive variant of a robust Viennese-classical scherzo. With the second Symphony [1902] echoes of other composers become less obvious in Sibelius’ scores, but even as late as 1909 passages in his Tone Poem ‘Nightride and Sunrise’ remind one of Bruckner. I’m thinking of those majestic brass chords in the Sunrise section which bring to mind moments in Bruckner’s great Seventh Symphony. Bruckner deployed a quartet of Wagner tubas in his final three symphonies whereas Sibelius dropped the tuba altogether in his symphonies after the second. The conductor Herbert von Karajan, who was a fine exponent of both composers, once remarked regarding Bruckner and Sibelius that there was ‘A much deeper influence, affinity, kinship—call it what you like. There is this sense of the Ur-Wald, the primeval forest, the feeling of some elemental power that one is dealing with something profound. Although they are very different, I know, there are important musical similarities too’. Writing around 1911 Sibelius wrote ‘Yesterday I heard Bruckner’s B major Symphony and it moved me to tears. For a long time afterwards I was completely enraptured. What a strangely profound spirit, formed by religiousness, and this profound religiousness we have abolished in our own Country as something no

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longer in harmony with our time’.

Looking objectively on the musical landscapes of both Sibelius and Bruckner, one can observe huge contrasts both in time-scale and approach to form. Indeed in that letter to Aino, having heard Bruckner’s third Symphony, Sibelius said that he ‘found the form laughable’. Bruckner was intensely religious and wrote much ecclesiastical music. Sibelius too, in his struggles with many of the major works was profoundly aware of his Creator. ‘The final form of one’s work is, indeed, dependent on powers that are stronger than one-self. Later on one can substantiate this or that, but on the whole one is merely a tool. This wonderful logic-let us call it God-that governs a work of art is the forcing power’. For all Bruckner’s reverence for Richard Wagner, he never produced an Opera nor did he compose one single tone poem. Sibelius wrote a whole series of tone poems rivalling those of his great contemporary Richard Strauss. Following the success of Sibelius’ tone poem ‘En Saga’ [1893 revised 1902] he had planned an Opera ‘Veneen Luominen’ [The Building of the Boat] but, however, he abandoned the plan and the overture became ‘The Swan of Tuonela’. We do have a curiosity from 1896, however, when Sibelius completed a one act Opera ‘The Maiden in the Tower’ lasting around 35 minutes; the piece was written for the benefit of a charitable lottery.

If I could single out one trait shared by both Bruckner and Sibelius, above and beyond certain orchestral mannerisms such as stormy string tremolandos and heroic horn calls, then it would be a quest for purity. Mozart and Mendelssohn come to mind in this respect and I feel it deeply in Bruckner. With Sibelius his quest for purity of utterance became an obsession. Bruckner’s vast canvases stand in contrast to Sibelius’ mastery of cogent argument and condensed expression although the Finnish Master was able to convey music on a cosmic scale merely by suggestion. Bruckner has been described as a composer who wrote one

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symphony nine times while Sibelius was hailed as the worst composer in the world by a certain Frenchman. Both Masters have had their fair share of admirers and detractors. Bruckner and Sibelius shared a deep mysticism in their work. Sibelius’ music is imbued with a pantheistic message of life and death…and hope. Bruckner composed directly to the glory of God. Undoubtedly they are kindred spirits.

Anton Bruckner

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The Piano Music of Jean Sibeliusby Rudi Eastwood

My first encounter with Sibelius occurred in my youth when I was swept away by a recording of the masterful violin concerto played by Jascha Heifetz. I was on the summit of Mont Fort in Switzerland at the time and the striking location surely enhanced the memorable experience.

The sincere and unsentimental superiority of Heifetz’ performance remains one of my favourite interpretations to this day. I soon became acquainted with Sibelius’ symphonies and other orchestral works and was overwhelmed by this new, unfamiliar sound-world. The austerity of the fourth symphony made a significant impact and I was enthralled by the strange, ghostly motifs that appeared to drift in a seemingly infinite space. These short motifs, always melodic in nature, appeared to emerge from isolation before merging into a cohesive structure, almost as if the compositional phase were taking place upon listening to the work.

I began to explore Sibelius’ works in greater depth and eventually stumbled upon the piano works. As a student at the time, I was greatly surprised to discover so many works written for the instrument. Amounting to over 150 works in total, this compelling yield should surely necessitate further exploration by pianists and music-lovers alike. In reality, this treasure trove of music travels fresh ground and Sibelius’ idiosyncratic style results in works that are highly characteristic and unique, whilst skilfully written for the piano.

Yet it is known that the piano was not Sibelius’ favourite apparatus for composition – on several occasions the composer remarked that the instrument was unsatisfactory and that he wrote piano pieces just to

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put food on the table. I personally pay little heed to Sibelius’ negative statements since the marvellous music clearly speaks for itself. There are no minor whims or second-rate vulgarities to be found in any of the opuses. On the contrary, these are top quality gems offering countless charms and challenges for any enthusiastic pianist.

One challenge is perhaps the piano’s lack of singing quality or sustaining capability. The piano could never sing as a violin or possess the sustaining capabilities of a woodwind instrument, both of which are inherent qualities in Sibelius’ orchestral music. The piano even fights against these properties, as when one strikes a key on the piano, the volume of sound instantly begins to diminish. Frustratingly, this means that it is not physically possible to ‘warm into’ a note or alter the quality of its sound once struck. I believe that this percussive aspect of the piano was contrary to Sibelius’ character – his music necessitates poetry and a cantabile even when at its most severe. Interestingly, Sibelius presumably shunned the usage of large percussion sections in his orchestral music for the same reason.

Despite the piano possessing at least one Achilles heel, I would argue that the same weaknesses actually transpire to make the piano enticing. Great pianists are capable of surpassing these shortcomings and do, indeed, succeed in making the piano sing. As a pianist, I personally strive to achieve the impossible (!) by envisioning a desired sound-world, rather than drawing from a sound that originates directly from the instrument.

I imagine that Sibelius also drew from his inner sound-world when conceiving his compositions. He did not ‘orchestrate’ as such, neither did he compose at the piano – his music hails from other transcendent realms. Nevertheless, Sibelius may have had one pianist in mind when conceiving these works - the great Italian musician, Ferruccio Bosoni:

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who Sibelius considered an exception and the only pianist capable of making the piano sing. Incidentally, Sibelius was not so tolerant of Busoni’s compositions!

When considering the piano works as a whole, what strikes the listener immediately is the sheer diversity in this rich body of music. There is an early sonata revealing the same unsurpassable energy and vigour found in Kullervo; later we encounter Kyllikki, a deeply evocative set of three pieces admired and performed by eminent pianists such as Glenn Gould. Further on, there are three exquisite Sonatinas, almost Mozartian in simplicity, where every note is of the utmost structural importance. A hint of nature’s fractal patterns can be found in all of Sibelius’ music and the great composer always succeeded in sculpturing his own musical motifs into a coherent whole that similarly blossoms pungently on every imaginable level. In all of these piano works, Sibelius retained his symphonic guise and this is evident even in the smaller miniatures.

There are many Finnish influences where Sibelius draws inspiration from sources such as the Kalevala or from National Romantic poets. Later, he delves into a more cosmopolitan world, adopting French Pastoral style, courtly style and folk music. He is influenced by Slavic and Viennese traditions and entertains his artistic temperament with the exploration of heterogeneous artistic genres. On occasions, Medieval instruments are evoked, at other times there are suggestions of grand dramas unfolding or portrayals of vivid landscapes and alluring atmospheres.

Without doubt, this is piano writing at its finest and music that warrants greater recognition in concert halls and music conservatoires across the world. Sibelius may not have written in the same virtuosic vein as Chopin or Liszt, but why should he have? He was neither concert-

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pianist nor showman. Sibelius’ gifts were so innate, and his genius so consistently unaffected that he was able to write supremely for any instrument. We are extremely fortunate to have been bequeathed this important pianistic legacy and I would hope that this music eventually comes to the fore. Great music never dates and this wonderful reservoir of treasures proffers abundant delights and enchantment for present and future generations.

British Pianist & Conductor and a devoted advocate of Sibelius’ music,November 2014.

Why do we like Sibelius?By

Edward Clark

In my editorial I end by saying that Sibelius gives joy to millions. Is it joy or some other description of a state of mind that inspires our love for Sibelius?

We can’t canvas millions but why don’t we, as Society members, share our individual thoughts on what Sibelius offers us in his music. I bet there will be many different views.

Please send your personal thoughts to:The Editorainola@blueyonder.co.uk

Replies will be published in the June Newsletter.

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An interview with Vassily SinArthur Butterworth

1923 – 2014A memoir by Edward Clark

Throughout his long life Arthur Butterworth never renounced his love for a mystical northlands landscape which permeates his music as indelibly as did the same attraction Arnold Bax had for the Celtic twilight zone. Indeed their respective music bears a strong resemblance, being full of nature’s sounds and images.

Arthur and I became firm friends ten years ago when he was already over 80. I was leaving behind a commercial career and unknowingly at the time embarking on a new direction in my life, that of music producer, impresario and employee of famous composers, the first of whom was Sir Malcolm Arnold.

Being a lover of Sibelius since my school days and having become President of the UK Sibelius Society in 1990, it was not a huge leap to grasp what the attractions were for me and many others to Arthur’s own music. In 2007 he wrote me a long letter about his affection for the music of Sibelius and, finishing with a paragraph about his newly completed Sixth Symphony.

This is so revealing that it will be published in its entirety in the UKSS Newsletter in January as a tribute to a distinguished composer of seven symphonies, various concertos, lots of works for brass band ( for which he is probably best known today), songs, chamber music and other works for orchestra.

The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra had been a loyal advocate of Arthur’s

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works up until the premiere of the Fifth Symphony in 2004. He had conducted this fine ensemble many times. But interest dried up at the time Arthur offered the orchestra the premiere of the Sixth Symphony finished in 2005. I was planning the first of three St Petersburg British Music Festivals and devoted funding for the premiere of the Sixth by the time of the second festival in 2009. It was conducted by the Festival Artistic Director, Matthew Taylor, and there is a recording made by the State Symphony Orchestra of the Capella, who gave the first performance.

Arthur told me it was his last symphony but, three years later he completed his Seventh and attended the premiere in Huddersfield. Fittingly for a true Sibelian it is cast in a single movement and lasts 20 minutes.

Arthur’s career began as a trumpet player with the then Scottish National Orchestra. He was allowed to begin conducting in certain works. The orchestra’s maestro was a German with a disregard for Sibelius so Arthur really began his serious conducting career with certain works by the Finnish master. He moved to the Halle under Sir John Barbirolli who liked the score of Arthur’s First Symphony so much that he gave the premiere at the Cheltenham Festival in 1957. In 1960 he played under the famous Finnish conductor Tauno Hannikainen in the Fourth Symphony, which never held any terrors for Arthur as it can do for many others.

Arthur’s life’s work was dedicated to a personal vison for music making, first as executant on the trumpet, then as conductor for the Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra for 35 years (as well as many other professional orchestras) and, above all as composer. In this capacity he had success for the first period of composition but more recently found himself isolated from the mainstream with its penchant

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for less overtly tonal works. He never deviated, however, from his intended route in life. The same musical squalls and sunbeams appear in all his symphonies as do similar feelings appear in Bax.

The last correspondence between Edward Clark and Arthur Butterworth.

The last section sent by Athur is his own memoir of playing in the Hallé Orchestra under it’s guest conductor Tauno Hannikainen.

Dear Arthur,This is all splendid news and information and so quick too. Thank you so much.I shall print your memoire in January.I regret not going to hear the Meiningen orchestra last year. I was working with Edward Gregson and he was invited to hear his new Dream Song (commissioned for the BBC Phil/Halle joint Mahler Feste four years ago and now just released on Chandos – his best piece I think.)He loved the experience. The conductor was a past student under Ed when he was in charge at the RNCM. This orchestra has one of the finest pedigrees in all music and you only need to see who has conducted them in the past to know its true colours. Not so well known today perhaps but still a true gem apparently. Are you able to attend the concert?

You have the satisfaction of knowing performers do love your music here and abroad. I still work for David Matthews and it is constantly a struggle to achieve overseas performances although his brother as been successful in this regard. But I have taken both of you to St Petersburg which I will always cherish Arthur.

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R3 and The Proms are doing more British music and I wonder how I can assist you. I can, for instance , request a piece by you on R3 early am programme. Is there any work in particular you would like me request? it should be short and orchestral I think. You do have a lit to look forward to in any event.I send you my best wishes and am delighted you are restored to full health,Edward

From: aebutterworth@tiscali.co.uk Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 3:25 PMTo: Edward Clark <mailto:ainola@blueyonder.co.uk> Subject: Hannikainen Dear Edward I was delighted to have our e-mail just now. Yes, I di recall writing to you in May, alhough frankly I cannot quite remember all that I could have told you; so if you have heard some of this before, do forgive the needless repetition. First of all, I’m sure I must have told you that I had a few days in hospital in March with a heart attack, but this did not last long; so that after taking medical advice and virtually not doing anything the whole summer, I am now perfectly well again and anticipate doing some - though not much - occasional conducting locally from now onwards. Yes, I shall be delighted to tell you about Tauno Hannikainen ! Anyway, the current news (I hardly I’ve told you about this yet) is that the old biblical saying seems to be a truism: “A Prophet hath no honour in his own land” Now while I ought not to complain, for I have in the past had a fair crack of the whip regarding performances and broadcats, my music is just now ignored by the BBC; they never answer even the politest of letters. I understand that it is the turn of

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the younger generation; but despite this, overall I get the impression that true musical cultute is assuredly declining, although I gather some BBC Proms have been outstandingly good and imaginative; is this really so ?However, one of my major works, “Mancunians” commissioned by the Hallé Society for the last season in the old Free Trade Hall, Manchester before their move to the Bridgewater Hall in 1996 was for the Hallé and the Scottish CWS Band (since 1995 was also the 150th anniversary of the Co-operative Wholsesale Society - so they proposed their own brass band to take part) To have a Britis brass band and large orchestra was Kent Nagano’s idea, and he conducted itHowever, to my surprise this large-scale work is to be done in Germany by the Meiningen Orchestra and brass band on 12th March 2015. More surprising still: I had a messge some days ago telling me that the Organ Concerto, written for Dame Gillian Weir in 1966 which I conducted for her when she played it in Huddersfield that year; is now to be done in Poland, on 17th October 2014 at Bialystok played by Kevin Bowyer, the English concert organist who lives in Scotland.A smaller work: the Trio for cor anglais, viola and harp is to be done in New York in the spring of next year. along with various more localised performances here and there. Lewis Foreman also tells me there are proposals to do another recording - probably with the RSNO - of some other orchestral work of mine, but which this might be, I don’t know

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Memoir by Arthur Butterworth

In the autumn of 1960 the Hallé Orchestra had a visit from Tauno Hannikainen; primarily to endow Manchester with undoubtedly the most authentic performance of Sibelius’s 4th Symphony it is ever likely to have. I took part in this most memorable concert.As contrast his programme included Mozart’s early Symphony in G K 199, Rachmaninov’s “Paganini Variations” (Andre Tscahikwsky) and Sibelius “Nightride & Sunrise” to open the concert.However, the main interest was naturally the 4th Symphony. I had long known this Symphony - at least superficially - through several earlier recordings, but this was my own first personal experience of taking part in a live performance (I played 2nd trumpet). As orchestral players will know, it is all very well and good being a member of the audience at an actual finished and well-prepared concert performance of any work in the repertoire, but to get to know it there is nothing quite so enlightening and truly revealing as actually rehearsing it. The careful dissecting of a work’s structure, the putting together of its mainifold and often subtly-hidden strands reveal things that -somewhat oddly enough - can enlighten those who actually play it more than any listner (or critic !) can ever know. Playing in the daily rough and tumble of an orchestra is far,far superior to the merely academic study of it at some high-falutin university lecture can ever be ! This is especially the case when a sympathetic band of players know that they are being guided by an absolute master who knows the work better than anyone else at that time: one whose very life experience has most thoroughly imbibed and thoroughly understood that particular piece of music’s subtle meaning, as far as its creator has meant it to be communicated to others. This was most assuredly so when Tauno Hannikainen taught us how to play it. I remember that he particularly pointed out to the basses that there was a notable printing mistake in their copies (page 15 in the miniature full score). This of course is - or

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was - a not unusual hazard in some prited full scores a century ago. I myself discovered just such an error in “The Tempest” music when rehearsing the 2nd suite with an amateur orchestra in the mid-1980s (although the printing error was then solely in the band parts, not the full score). However Hannikainen got the Hallé double basses to pencil-in the correct sequenc of bars there and then. His whole approach to this enigmatic work was enlightening as far as that could ever really be possible !. He was calm, unhurried, softly-spoken, immmnsely patient, yet tanatlisingly inscrutable. This latter quality probably on account of lhis use of the English language. That same afternoon he consented to visit my home in order to listen to the recording of my own 1st Symphony, which had been played at the BBC Proms some two years before. The Hallé did not have all that many guest conductors in that period - the years of its centenary - 1958 and onwards - but there can be no doubt that the players, and indeed the audiences and no less the coterie of Manchester critics, sensed that Hannikainen had the measure of Sibelius - and more particularly this most elusive of the conposer’s works - better than anyone else. I have remembered this occasion throughout more than fifty years; one of the great occasions of my orchestral career. Arthur Butterworth

2014 Promsnos 34 and 35

Two Nordic symphoniesReview by Edward Clark

These two Proms under review were glued together by two Nordic symphonic masterpieces, demonstrating how the symphony as an art form moved to the Nordic region in the first two decades of the 20th century for refreshment and reinvention made necessary by the excesses of late Romanticism in the Austro/Hungarian axis with Germany.

Prom 34 actually began with an important figure who has always been associated with such excessive zeal for capturing the sounds of the Romantic sentiment, Richard Strauss, no less. Here were two works separated by barely three years and yet light years apart in character and temperament.

The earlier of the two, Burlesque for piano and orchestra, is a fine romp indebted to Liszt and Chopin mainly. Of Strauss’s mature, inimitable sound world there is no clue. It was performed with appropriate aplomb by Francesco Piemontesi, piano with Thomas Søndergärd and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Before this enjoyable but anonymous work came a slightly later but still early, undisputed masterpiece, Death and Transfiguration, played with flair and great refinement by the orchestra under the nobly expressive baton of Søndergärd, surely one of the finest exponents of his profession of his generation.

After the interval the smiling geniality of Mozart’s Rondo in A major for piano and orchestra, K 386, performed with intelligence and wit by Piemontesi, gave way to the stern Nordic symphonism of Carl Nielsen’s magnificent Fifth Symphony. The opening section grew in a bleak and remorseless fashion under Søndergärd’s direction before

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the tone changed to one of melodic warmth and radiance only for it to be disrupted (by order of the composer) by a malignant soliloquy for side drum set upon the task of destruction of the progress of the orchestra. The uproar on this occasion was truly impressive before calm descends and a clarinet, here played most movingly by Robert Plane, sings a plaintive cadenza only to be again disturbed by the side drum (off stage here) seemingly determined to announce that the evil forces heard earlier had not entirely disappeared.

As if to reinforce the battle between good and evil (Sir Simon Rattle describes this work as Nielsen’s War Symphony, although not written until 1921/22 and at a time of great personal distress in his marital life) Søndergärd opened the brilliant and ebullient second movement with huge power and energy. Dark moments appeared but the human spirit, as so effectively portrayed by Nielsen’s own irrepressible temperament, finally wins out with a tremendous coda of exhilarating and defiantly positive power. This welter of emotions was projected with great commitment by the entire orchestra whose prowess was celebrated by a huge roar of approval from the audience.

The same players gathered again the next night for an enthralling concert with English music in the first half by Peter Maxwell Davies and William Walton followed by two seminal works by Sibelius. Therefore in two consecutive nights we heard the fifth symphonies of Nielsen and Sibelius, both works representing the Nordic masters at the height of their powers. Both are perfect examples of their differences of approach to composition.

Nielsen is a literal, externalised composer; Sibelius is the opposite, being concerned with process and content in about equal measure. Four Nielsen symphonies have vivid descriptive titles; Sibelius avoided any attempt to describe his symphonies, least of all by title. Thus we

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can trace the line of influence Sibelius exerted on the two English composers heard in the first half.

Maxwell Davies astonished everyone when he announced that his First Symphony (1977) was directly influenced by certain processes he heard in the first movement of Sibelius’s Fifth, particularly the art of transition between slow and fast tempi. Walton’s Violin Concerto is full of influences from Elgar and Sibelius, the former by way of a rather grand orchestral accompaniment, the latter by way of thematic content.

The Suite from Act 2 from the ballet Caroline Mathilde by Maxwell Davies adopts a favourite mixture of styles we have grown accustomed to from this composer, a mixture of astringency with parody. There is enough of the latter to offer enjoyment to a mainstream audience and the composer took a bow in front of many appreciative listeners.

James Ehnes was the authoritative soloist in Walton’s lyrical and masterful concerto. The Albert Hall acoustic prevents full examination of any violinist’s accomplishment alas, but Ehnes did his best in projecting Walton’s full bloodied themes and their virtuosic development. Søndergärd was successful in allowing Ehnes full rein in dazzling us with his marvellous technique by judiciously controlling Walton’s sumptuous orchestral accompaniment.

And so to Sibelius who, today, exerts one of the most profound influences on many if not most contemporary composers. Both The Swan of Tuonela and the Fifth Symphony have a peculiarly emotional power underpinned by an exemplary, though highly original, orchestral technique. Søndergärd showed himself to be an accomplished guide throughout these performances, aware not only of the structural edifices Sibelius builds but also the importance of small details that help bind

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the whole together.This outpouring of high octane satisfaction, culminating in the 20th century’s greatest and most enduring melody, the Swan Hymn in the symphony’s finale, was projected superbly by the BBC NOW musicians, each seemingly aware of their individual responsibilities in representing some of the most joyous and profound sounds in all music.

SIBELIUSThoughts from Fenella Humphries

I suppose that like lots of violinists, I first discovered Sibelius through his Violin Concerto – I have always had a love of early recordings, and my father happily furnished me with performances by Neveu, Heifetz and many others. Later, when was when I was about 12, one of my violin heroes came back from music school to perform it with my youth orchestra and the bug really hit. The concerto became central to the highs and lows of my school and student life, causing me to fall out briefly with various violin teachers, win competitions and scholarships, have minor meltdowns, and eventually it was the first concerto I had the pleasure to perform with a symphony orchestra.

While I gradually became acquainted with many of Sibelius’ orchestral works, and knew both the Sonatina op. 80 and the Humoresques, it was much later that I first encountered the incredible wealth of duo and chamber music he had created. Over the last few years I have gradually been seeking out, learning and programming as many of these works as possible, particularly the later sets of miniatures for violin and piano. Invariably audience members tell me of their surprise both at the music’s existence and its brilliance.

Although the majority of these works for violin and piano were bread

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and butter pieces, written due to financial difficulties during the war years and beyond (1915-1929), I never sense this in the music. The writing is at times incredibly intimate, at times highly virtuosic, occasionally beating the violin concerto hands down with sheer technical difficulty. And yet always running through the pieces is Sibelius’ extraordinary imagination and ability to paint colours and pictures. Where some salon music loses its appeal fairly quickly, the quality of this music leaves you constantly finding new enchantments however often you perform it.The 150th Anniversary in 2015 is a real joy for me, providing an extra opportunity to bring more of these gems to new audiences. I am looking forward to performing the Concerto, Humoresques and duo works, and recording the Sonatina. I am also commissioning a new set of 5 pieces by British composers: Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Alasdair Nicolson, Matthew Taylor, David Knotts and Anthony Powers, which will be based on the footprint of Sibelius’s 5 Pieces op. 81 – a real celebration of his continued influence over today’s composers. At the moment my Sibelius 2015 looks like this, with plenty of extra plans afoot for the autumn – but please do have a look at www.fenellahumphreys.com for more information:

23rd January – Ealing – Duos with Nicola Eimer4th February – Purcell Room, Southbank Centre – Duos with Nicola Eimer28th February – City of Rochester – Violin Concerto21st March – Colchester – Violin Concerto28th March – Brent – Violin Concerto29th March – Beckenham – Violin Concerto30th May – London – DuosEnd of August – Presteigne Festival – Duos with Timothy End14th November – London – Humoresques

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The Backman TrioConcert and CD review

ByEdward Clark

For those Society members who attended the Satu Jalas/Folke Grasbeck concert there was an added bonus of an invitation from the Ambassador to attend a concert at his Residence to hear the launch concert of fascinating repertoire played by the Backman Trio, an Anglo/Finnish ensemble.

With glorious weather the audience basked in the garden with copious refreshments before listening to music by Bridge, Bergman and Sibelius; all early works so not really representative of the emerging genius possessed by each composer. However the “Korpo” Piano Trio (1887) is an interesting work, an ambitious three movement trio with a large scale middle Fantasia, full of imagination and quite striking effects from the mind of the young Finnish genius.

The Piano Trio (1939) by Eric Bergman is again an early, totally unrepresentative, work though thoroughly enjoyable on its own terms. Bergman became the most modernist of all the immediate post war generation of Finns and can be seen as the Finnish equivalent of the American Elliott Carter. They both wrote diatonic music before beginning an exploratory musical style that ended in acclamation and honours in later life.

Frank Bridge, too, wrote overtly romantic music, often seemingly Russian in tone, before adopting a modernist stance in his post first world war style. Today performances of his wide range of works have allowed him to escape the long held description of being “Benjamin Britten’s teacher”. We heard his Phantasie Trio in one movement (1907), a work of melodic grace and some fervent sounds.

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This was the launch concert for the Backman Trio’s new CD, Fantasia, on the Fuga label.

It contains the full Bergman trio, John Ireland Phantasie Trio (1906), The Fantasia only from the “Korpo” Trio by Sibelius, the Phantasia Trio by Bridge and the Andantino (1887/88) and Allegro in D major (1886?0 both by Sibelius.

These make up a varied and enjoyable CD, with similar sounds of a romantic inclined style of music. None represents any of the composers in their pomp and majesty.

The playing is of a high, committed standard and bodes well for the future of this fine trio of musicians.

FinlandiaCommentary by David Bunney

In the world of classical music there are some tunes that everybody knows, often without knowing anything about them. One such tune is Finlandia, written originally by Sibelius as part of a suite of movements depicting Finnish history. It subsequently became familiar to many as a hymn-tune, but one with a rather political background. It speaks of peace wrought from despair, and once spoke particularly to a dying Christian.

For much of its history Finland was dominated by other neighbouring countries and peoples. The land of lakes and mountains sits between Norway and Sweden to the west and the Russian Federation to the East. From the thirteenth century until 1809 it was dominated by Sweden, but then Russia gained ever greater influence in Finland’s affairs. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, strong nationalist

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undercurrents began finally to gain results, with the Finnish language being formally adopted in 1892 in place of Swedish. This longing for independence finally achieved tangible results only after the First World War, when the modern Republic was established in 1919. Further struggles awaited the nation through the Second World War, when the Finns fought against the Russian and then the German forces. Further difficulties awaited the nation throughout the decades of Soviet domination. Modern Finland finally found its freedom in joining the European Union in 1995. Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) is regarded as the father of Finnish music. He was born into a professional family, but his father died when he was only two. His family life stimulated a considerable interest in the beauty and history of his native land. He was destined for a career in law, but music lured him away. He studied first in Helsinki, and then in Berlin and Vienna; after returning to his homeland he never travelled far. Having missed being appointed to the professorship in Helsinki University in1897, he was awarded a state pension, which enabled him to devote himself to composition. He was a devout nationalist, and reacted to the so-called February Manifesto in 1899 in which the Russian authorities stamped on any expressions of sympathy towards independence. The work we know as Finlandia really caught the mood of the time. It was written in that same year, the last of seven pieces of incidental music for a sequence of tableaux depicting scenes from Finnish history. It was quickly seen as a protest against the strict censorship of the Russian overlords, and could often only be included in concert programmes under assumed names. Sibelius went on to write seven symphonies which have always found support in this country, and which remain amongst the masterpieces of the modern symphonic repertoire.

The tune at the centre of the movement meanwhile began to gather momentum in its own right, quickly finding support as a national hymn

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of Finland. It also became associated with the words of a Lutheran hymn composed by Katherine von Schlegel; in the eighteenth century she was a member of a religious community based in the ducal state of Cőthen, where Bach had worked in the early part of his career. This was translated in 1855 by the Scottish writer Jane Borthwick as Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side, the copyright for which is dated 1927. Although well-known now, it was not included in English hymn-books of the immediate post-war period.

The hymn and its tune did have its champions, and one name in particular is associated with it. Eric Liddell, the “Flying Scotsman”, was a great sportsman who is remembered now as much for his Christian principles as for his achievements on the athletics track. He was born in Tientsin in China where his parents were Scottish missionaries working for the London Missionary Society. Sent to school at Eltham, he became an outstanding athlete, achieving the captaincy of Cricket and of Rugby. In 1920 he went to Edinburgh University to study science, graduating in 1924. He also gained seven caps playing rugby for Scotland in the Five Nations championship. He also achieved great things on the athletics track, leading to selection for the Paris Olympics in 1924. He refused to compete in the 100 yards when he found that the heats were to be on a Sunday, but then won gold in the 440 yards.

Eric returned to China to serve as a missionary from 1925 until 1943, when he was interned in the Japanese prison camp at Weihsien following the invasion of China. Life was hard, but he quickly began organising sporting and other activities, and teaching the children. He became seriously ill, with what was later identified as a brain tumour. As he lay dying in early 1945, he heard the strains of a band in the distance playing hymns. Through a nurse, he sent a message to the musicians asking them to play Be still my soul, which they did. This being his favourite hymn, it was to him a great consolation. It’s not known if he was able to sing, but surely he would have remembered the words:

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Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side; bear patiently the cross of grief or pain; leave to thy God to order and provide: in every change He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly friend Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end. Words and music came together to articulate a dying man’s faith in the most awful conditions, and we can only wonder at what it must have meant to Eric Liddell to have been able to hear the familiar tune and to remember such words, The poignancy of such a moment reflects our Lord’s promise always to be with us, and still speaks to our hearts today.

The modernity of SibeliusBy Edward Clark

Last year the world celebrated Richard Strauss. His music is loved for giving out a warm glow and a sense of security. Like Elgar he is a retrograde composer from the previous century using a musical language at the end of his long life barely changed from what he wrote before the turn of the 20th century. His operas are probably the high point in his output and deserve holding the high ground for opera composition in his era.

Sibelius is different. He is a brutally honest predictor of the future who forecasts many of the great composers that followed; Ligeti, Penderecki, Birtwistle, Maxwell Davies, Adams, Glass to name six.

To many listeners the Fifth Symphony is a comfortable journey culminating in the greatest tune written in the last century. But careful listening reveals a work of total unpredictability, a work which

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undermines our expectations for the next note. This sense of unease is exactly what followed in the mid to end of the century, causing no end of trouble for the average listener who could not fathom out what he or she was meant to hear in the new musical styles, both atonal and tonal.

Serialism became, eventually a red herring moving away from orthodoxy to merely one of the ways to write music. Sibelius, in his maturity (post Third Symphony say) became a prophet, creating many different ways of writing music that contained germs for the future, both for him and for others. Night Ride and Sunrise to Tapiola, with symphonies four to seven in between, have created a choice of artistic expression rarely found in others’ music,

Strauss, Elgar and Mahler were wonderful in traversing the past. Sibelius forecasts the future. That is one aspect of his genius that should be truly celebrated this year.

Richard Strauss Edward Elgar Gustav Mahler

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Sibelius and his Violin ConcertoBy Edward Clark

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, based in upstate New York, has devised a creative series of presentations by various parties to celebrate the orchestra’s performance of the concerto in this season’s series of concerts.

Under the artistic direction of Preethi Govindaraj, viewers can access talks by the following presenters:

Exploring Sibelius by Edward Clark, President UKSS

Sibelius’s violin dreams by musicologist Timo Virtainen

The Sibelius Violin Concerto by the former leader of the BPO, Michael Ludwig

Exploring the Sibelius Violin Concerto by JoAnn Falleta, BPO Music Director

www.youtube.com/preethigovindaraj

Newsletter Publication and Copy DateWe welcome contributions for forthcoming issues of the Newsletter.

We aim to publish the next edition in June 2015.

Copy date for the next issue is 1 May 2015.

Please send your articles or reviews as attachments toThe Editorainola@blueyonder.co.uk

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All inquiries to do with membership and subscriptions should be addressed to:The President51 Vernon AvenueLondonSW20 8BNainola@blueyonder.co.uk

Articles and correspondence may be shortened for publication and do not reflect the Society’s or the Editor’s own views.

The Society cannot accept any responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise of any information contained herein and the views and opinions published in this Newsletter are those of the contributors and have been expressed in good faith. The Society will not be liable for any reliance placed on the contents hereof.

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