Symphony 5 -Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

Tempo molto moderato: Andante mosso, quasi allegretto: Allegro molto

My original idea for this opening concert of the 1998/99 season, the whole series being planned over a year ago incidentally, included the "Eroica" Symphony of Beethoven. The amazing response to our performance of Sibelius' 1st Symphony earlier this year persuaded me to change my mind and include a further masterpiece from his pen. I can quite honestly say that I have rarely received such a positive feedback from you, the audience, and the musicians to this performance - it was one of those wonderful occasions when everyone seemed in the mood! This decision was welcomed by the members of the orchestra who need no encouragement to play music for which they undoubtedly feel great empathy. Make no mistake, Sibelius' music is technically difficult to play requiring hours, not only of ensemble rehearsal, but also of individual practice. Above all it must be performed with the utmost sincerity and emotional involvement but without sentimentality.

The 5th Symphony was first conceived in the early months of 1914. By September, in spite of the hazards and turmoil of war which were surrounding Sibelius, the outline of the work must have been thought out. He wrote, "In a deep dale again. But I already begin to see dimly the mountain I shall certainly ascend ... God opens the door for a moment and His orchestra plays the 5th Symphony". We will do our best to deputise for our heavenly colleagues.

The Symphony opens with a wonderfully evocative moment. The horns, supported by the timpani to play the bass notes, portray one of the key melodic motifs of the first movement. As so often, Sibelius reveals his ideas almost sparsely, like a painter establishing his mood with dabs of colour from his palette. The undercurrent is one of high emotional intensity, including a meandering bassoon solo which conjures up real Nordic darkness and despair, culminating in an impassioned outcry from the unison strings before, with a masterstroke of rhythmic trickery and soaring trumpets, the music slips up a gear into a lilting three-in-a-bar scherzo. The music hurries and scurries with tantalising glimpses of melodic ideas spread throughout the orchestra, all the time becoming more and more animated until a blaze of brass heralds the truly awe-inspiring dash for the end. The opening of the second movement settles the nerves. Some simple chords from the woodwind and horns overlay a peaceful theme introduced by plucked strings and the flutes in turn. The whole has an air of calm in spite of the composer's whipping up of the tempo in the middle section. Once again the unison strings are used to telling, emotional effect just before the poignant ending. The Finale is headed "Allegro molto" - very lively! Indeed the pace hardly slackens with the strings given handfuls of notes to help create the mood necessary for the release of tension at the entry of one of Sibelius' most memorable themes (once heard it's one of those ideas that is almost impossible to get out of your head). Introduced by the horns over a backdrop of sustained upper strings, the melodic line is embellished by impassioned interjections from the woodwind and cellos. To add to the texture, the double-basses have an extraordinary piece of clattering writing - the effect you will hear today was passed on from the composer as what he wanted. A return to the opening industry of the strings includes wonderfully subtle hints of the return of the big theme and then the climactic moment. Woodwind give us the fragmented main theme while the strings have the glorious melodic statement that we have been waiting for, finally ushering in the trumpets to lead us to a triumphant conclusion. And, what an extraordinary ending!

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