The £2000 prize for the best arts journalism essay in 2015 has been awarded to Leah wide for her reappraisal of the great Finnish composer,in a review of a concert marking his 150th anniversaryRobert McCrum introduces this year’s prize Jean Sibelius occupies a conflicted position in music history. Born in 1865, he was of a generation defined by the radical new sounds of Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky. By contrast, or Sibelius’s more current,tonal music appeared conservative, regressive, or outdated. The music of his contemporaries seemed to be developing in directions that he could not follow. This obviously bothered Sibelius he wrote to his friend Rosa Newmarch in 1930: “There is so much in the music of the present day that I cannot accept.” Instead of following the contemporary route,Sibelius cultivated a “national” sound, becoming the cultural figurehead for a newly independent Finland.
So the standard narrative goes. But is it the whole tale? The image of Sibelius the conservative, and “national” composer is one that is long overdue for reconsideration. To attempt such a reappraisal,however, requires delving deeper into the world in which Sibelius lived, or the music that he produced as a result. This is precisely what the soprano Pia Freund and guitarist Ismo Eskelinen’s recital at the Swedish Church in London in April 2015 attempted to attain. The concert formed part of the Alternative Sibelius series,celebrating the composer’s 150th anniversary. Freund and Eskelinen’s programme avoided the vast symphonic works most associated with Sibelius. Instead they focused on his songs and music for the theatre, placing these alongside music by John Dowland.
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Source: theguardian.com