Sibelius anniversary

Fifty years ago today, the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius died. I first came across his music 40 years ago when I was 19. At the time, I lived in Manchester and started to go to concerts given by the Halle Orchestra at the Free Trade Hall. The orchestra’s conductor was the great John Barbirolli and he was a strong supporter of the music of Sibelius and ensured that it featured frequently in the repertoire. The Second and Fifth Symphonies are particular favourites of mine.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 at 7:38 am and is filed under Cultural issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

One Comment

  • Janet
    September 21st, 2007 at 11:23 am

    I particularly like the tone poem “The Swan of Tuonela” . Generally performed in a concert hall, I was lucky enough to see the Royal Ballet dancing to the music some years ago in Bristol.