Book Description
Distinguished by a simplicity and lucidity that has made it one of Sibelius’ most popular works, the Fifth Symphony, according to Grove's, "is simply in its most characteristic manifestations, unlike any other music." Popular with concert audiences for its rich, deeply stirring score, the work is reprinted here unabridged from the original 1921 full-score edition.
Customer Reviews:
Dover Score of Sibelius 5th Symphony.......2006-12-12
Nice score from Dover. There are some minor corrections made in latest Hansen scores (this is a reprint from first Hansen print), so it is recommended to check them out. More of that I wait for new complete edition, the blue one to come out after copyright issues are over in Europe. The new edition of Sibelius 2nd and Kullervo-Symphony already exists and is highly recommended, although very expensive in big format (the study score of 2nd has just come out as well).
Book Description
Jean Sibelius was not only Finland's greatest composer, he was one of the most distinctive and appealing musical voices in the first half of the 20th century, especially renowned for his characterful handling of the romantic symphony orchestra. His example has led directly to an unprecedented cultural flowering in his homeland, making this small country of 5 million people a powerhouse in the world of classical music composition and performance. Sibelius The Orchestral Works - An Owner's Manual considers over 80 individual orchestral pieces, from songs and choruses to symphonies, tone poems, overtures, and theatrical music. Along the way, readers are invited to identify and enjoy the fascinating mix of elements that make up Sibelius's colorful personal idiom. Two CDs accompanying the text offer not only a rich selection of music by Sibelius, including two complete symphonies and two of his most popular tone poems, but also a representative selection of the best Finnish music by his contemporaries and successors. This approach offers a unique opportunity: to hear Sibelius in context and gain an understanding of exactly what distinguishes him from his contemporaries, how he influenced later generations, and how it was that he came to be viewed as the musical spokesperson of an entire nation.
Customer Reviews:
A Must-have Book for Sibelians!!!.......2007-09-23
David Hurwitz's book on the orchestral works of composer Jean Sibelius is definitely a must-have for anyone doing extensive research on Sibelius's music.
This book offers a highly detailed analysis on all of Sibelius's symphonies, tone poems and shorter works and puts these works under the microscope so-to-speak. Granted, after reading this book, you'll probably never listen to a Sibelius piece the same way again.
Additionally, the book comes with two audio CDs. One is nearly 80-minutes worth of highlights from Sibelius's masterworks including the third and seventh symphonies heard in their entirety. The second disc is a compilation of music from various Finnish composers who have followed in Sibelius's footsteps. Brief bios of these composers are spread throughout the book as well.
Mr. Hurwitz has definitely performed his research well in writing this book. I personally have never read such an analysis on Sibelius's music that cuts right down to the most minute detail until this book was released. It's about time too.
Definitely a must-have for die-hard Sibelians!!!
An in-depth, at times modestly technical analysis.......2007-05-13
Written by radio commentator David Hurwitz, Sibelius the Orchestral Works An Owners Manual is a book and CD set celebrating the classic creations of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The text discusses Sibelius' musical language, symphonies, violin concerto, tone poems, theatrical music, and more, while two full-length CDs offer a beautiful cross-section of not only Sibelius' work, but also the compositions of his contemporaries and successors. An in-depth, at times modestly technical analysis, written especially for dedicated music lovers and musicologists, and a "must-have" for anyone interested in learning about and experiencing the Finnish master.
Gigantic Book for a Tiny Market.......2007-05-12
When I call the book Gigantic, I'm not referring to its physical size, which is quite modest. I'm talking about its intent and accomplishment.
Writing about classical music is difficult. Much of the terminology is unfamiliar to most readers, and there's always the temptation to go in one of two unwelcome directions: either over-popularizing the subject or being dry and academic. The effective path lies along a fine line between those two extremes, and David Hurwitz walks that line beautifully. I'm so impressed by this treatise on Sibelius that I'm going to immediately start collecting the rest of his similar books on Dvorak, Mahler, Haydn, and anybody else he's covered that I don't know about yet.
Although the market for a book like this one must be incredibly narrow, Mr. Hurwitz has waxed expansive and entertaining. His insights into the composition techniques employed by the Finnish master are unparalleled. The illustrative samples on the two included CDs are both wisely chosen and luminously recorded-- bravo!
I should probably explain that I consider myself somewhat of an expert on Sibelius and his music, having studied both the composer and his output for well more than fifty years. David Hurwitz, who is considerably younger than I am, has nevertheless studied these subject even more deeply than I have, and his analyses and evaluations ring absolutely true. From now on, when people ask me about Sibelius, I will quote Hurwitz rather than myself!
For anyone familiar with the jargon of classical music essays and with an interest in the subject, this book is a godsend. I had high expectations for it, and it exceeded them.
Must have for teachers/students.......2007-04-11
I have some of the other books from this Unlocking the Masters series, and they are WONDERFUL!!! Not only are they factual and informative, but they are easy to read and really show you what to look/listen for in the music! It comes with a CD which has musical examples of pieces that are talked about in the book! This book is a wonderful tool for any student!
Book Description
Full orchestral scores of Finlandia, Valse Triste, The Swan of Tuonela, Lemminkainen’s Return, En Saga, Pohjola’s Daughter, Night Ride and Sunrise, and The Oceanides. Masterly compositions reveal the Finnish composer's great gifts for thematic development and formal structure. Reproduced directly from authoritative German editions. Table of contents. List of instruments.
Book Description
Finland's greatest composer and a major figure in the development of Scandinavian music, Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) is revered in Western music for his mastery of symphonic forms and orchestral scoring. Sibelius' first two symphonies remain among his most accessible and popular.
Customer Reviews:
As expected.......2005-07-25
For a Dover score, this is standard. You get what you pay for--it's a reprint, which means the quality is only as good as the original was. For a student like me, it works very well as a study score. If you want to be picky, it is a pain to have to remember which line is which instrument (and what key the instruments are in, e.g. Trumpet in F in #1) since the instruments are only given on the first page of each movement (with a few exceptions throughout the score).
Sibelius-A Modern Master.......1998-06-28
These two symphonies are the greatest of a modern composer. They are deep, emotional, and very melodic.
Book Description
These revolutionary works brought a strikingly organic — almost architectural — unity to the symphony that music historians recognized as "far in advance of anything in the classical masters." Austere and intensely concentrated, Sibelius's symphonies of 1907 and 1911 are performed today by major orchestras around the world.
Customer Reviews:
bad printing makes 1st movement unreadable.......2006-05-03
I don't what gremlin invaded the printing plant, but the first signature is overinked or overprinted in such a way that pages appear almost transparent, so that runs of eighth notes on a verso appear on the recto and vice versa. It's only the first sig, so you get used to it, but it's a serious defect and presumably would make for some tough orchestral harmonies if you actually had to play it this way.
Average customer rating:
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Sibelius 1904-1914
Erik Tawaststjerna
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Sibelius, Jean
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ASIN: 0520058690 |
Book Description
3 of the most popular modern violin concertos: Sibelius' Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47 — among the most played and recorded of all violin concertos; Elgar's Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61, a ravishing combination of bravura and sweetness; and Glazunov's Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 82, a masterpiece of lyricism and virtuosity.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Presentation of Great 20th Century Violin Concertos.......2000-12-06
This excellent set of scores, published by Dover, brings Dover's consummate work at a reasonable price. The editors do a marvelous job of staying true to the original text from which their reprints are derived. The print is clear, and the staves are nice and distinct. (The only concern maybe that too much erasing could permanently wipe off the ink on the page.) Instruments are clearly labled and numberings of key pts. in the concerti help a lot. I highly recommend this book to any music enthusiast, and especially to all violinists who are playing, or will play, any of these great violin concerti.
Average customer rating:
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Sibelius and His World
Robert Layton
Manufacturer: Studio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Sibelius, Jean
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ASIN: 067064353X |
Average customer rating:
- A Well-Written Biography of Jean Sibelius!!!
- good life-and-works biog.
- "Inner Logic"
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20th Century Composers: Jean Sibelius
Guy Rickards
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Sibelius, Jean
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ASIN: 0714835811 |
Customer Reviews:
A Well-Written Biography of Jean Sibelius!!!.......2005-07-19
Guy Rickards' biography of Jean Sibelius is probably the most throroughly written document on the great Finnish composer who lived from December 1865 to September 1957.
Greatly researched with detailed emphasis, Rickards not only offers an historic insight to Sibelius as a composer but also as a person. The author goes to great lengths to reveal the troubled spirit behind the man who created such monumental works as "Finlandia", "Kullervo" and seven well-crafted symphonies amongst many others. Not only that, Rickards provides an insight to the Finnish/Swedish culture that Sibelius was born into. This book is as much of a history of Finland in the late 19th and early 20th century as it is of Sibelius.
This is probably the most accurate and well-written biography on Jean Sibelius. It is presented in an up-close-and-personal fashion and provides the reader with an opportunity to 'meet' Sibelius so-to-speak. Readers will no doubt finish this book with a greater appreciation for Finland's greatest musical hero.
Excellent Book!!!
good life-and-works biog........1998-11-30
Rickards gives us a good all-around introduction to Sibelius. It's mostly biographical, with very little technical detail on the music itself. It's fairly brief (took me an afternoon and a couple of train rides to read) and describes Sibelius's life, interaction with other composers, and relationship to the music of the early 20th century.
"Inner Logic".......1998-01-02
Reading this book was above all a learning experience. First it is very sobering, for example, for its lucid account of the financial/material excesses and terrible debts of this great composer, as well as his strained but somehow unbrokable relationship with his wife, Aino, to whom he was married for over 60 years.
And yet it subtly brings to light the essentially "natural" genius that is Sibelius. Rickards does not talk so much about his music (which to the reader unfamiliar with it, would perhaps be a flaw), but writes 'around' them, showing the reader the overall environment which surrounds Sibelius and his works. The result is often like a sudden realization of something you already know. I was for example stirred by his account of Sibelius's struggle with the premiere of the Kullervo Symphony, of how the 32-year old composer employed the "sheer force of his will" to unify the multi-cultural group that was to perform it. Somehow you can hear this in the music. In fact, Rickards, as in his careful account of Sibelius's long struggle with the 5th Symphony, makes you want to hear the music again.
Rickards's selection of quotations with regards to Sibelius's compositional aesthetics really hit home. On the 'title'-page of Chapter 6, aptly titled "The Forging of Thor's Hammer" (a reference to the 5th Symphony's 'Swan Hymn'), the following quotation is printed:
"My symphonies were a terrible struggle. But now they are as they must be."
Sibelius's pursuit of organic unity, of "inner logic" is unobtrusively taught to the reader. There are powerful descriptions of Sibelius's kinship with nature. Sibelius recounted that at the moment he finished the final version of the 5th Symphony (which he revised four times in four years), twelve white swans settled on the lake (outside his house), and then circled the house three times before flying off - spine-tingling stuff. Again, my impression is that Rickards lets this demonstrate itself. In the same way, Sibelius's music demonstrates its material itself. Like the composer, the author of this book recognizes himself as a middleman. Sibelius considered himself the composer of a jigsaw puzzle that dropped from heaven. He only (re)constructed that which already existed. Likewise, Rickards is a faithful deliverer of Sibelius's life, not seeming to do more than the pieces demanded. Both are therefore the artist who allows the art to speak for itself.
Like this inner logic, I found myself connecting the things Rickards writes about. He makes a number of attempts to 'defend' Sibelius's rather strange habit of composing salon pieces next to symphonic masterpieces. One of these is the key quote regarding the 6th Symphony, that each symphony is a "phase in one's inner life." In this, the inevitability of change (as excruciatingly shown via the composer's intense self-criticism and rampant revision of his works) and the recognition of 'permanency' ("phase") is somehow explained.
It's so difficult to explain. Suffice to say, I've always known this quote. But after reading this book, I finally understood what it meant, and yet I am unable to explain it. Not surprisingly, this is the same with nature and Sibelius's music. Things you "understand" but cannot explain.
And so, it was with genuine pleasure and high spirits that I read the 2nd last sentence of the Epilogue:
"His music survived the vicissitudes of fashion across a century and has still been found to contain within it the seeds for the future..."
Something which I have always told my friends. It is something which I seem to know, to feel; in saying this, Rickards, whom I do not know, echoes my sentiments, and makes me feel that thing which I have always felt when conversing with my fellow Sibelius-supporters: natural, unspoken kinship of the type in which we don't often realize we share.
And isn't that none other than kinship with Mother Nature?
CHIA Han-Leon,
Singapore
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Jean Sibelius: A Guide to Research (Composer Resource Manuals)
Glenda Daw Goss
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 0815311710 |
Book Description
This book is a comprehensive annotated bibliography of writings about the life, times, and music of Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Over 1,000 sources in 11 different languages are represented, from the earliest writings, which appeared in the 1890s, to studies published through 1994. Historical information and background are supplied together with an indication of the reliability of each source. Translations of studies into English, German, and French are noted, particularly important in a field where so many items are in Finnish and Swedish. Introductory essays to each section discuss Sibelius in different contexts: for example, vis--vis his contemporaries in Scandinavia, in relation to folk music, in reception history, and in the scholarly literature. Individual musical compositions have their own sections with bibliography. Comprehensive indexes cover the musical works, authors, and people and subjects mentioned. Index.
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Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 in Full Score
Symphonies 1 and 2 in Full Score
Finlandia and Other Tone Poems in Full Score
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 (Cambridge Music Handbooks)
Great Twentieth-Century Violin Concertos in Full Score: Sibelius, Elgar, Glazunov
