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Tag Archives: Sibelius

The Journals of Jean Sibelius.

21-Oct-17

At a certain point in my college career I stopped worrying very much about my classes, and decided to get my education directly from the university library.  One of the books I read at the time was Erik Tawaststjerna’s monumental three-volume biography of Sibelius.  I often find that great musicians can also write, but Sibelius […]

Sibelius’s Back Catalog.

29-Aug-12

solo My father’s idea of a good evening was to sit in the half-darkness getting drunk and listening to classical music; he had us kids turn the record or tape over for him.  I always had preferences for some of the music above others – when I was five I conceived such a passion for “The […]

The Jewish Girl’s Song, by Hjalmar Procope.

02-Oct-11

A very nice poem, part of the play Belshazzar’s Feast, where it gets a beautiful setting from Sibelius.  An improvement on the psalm.  Original text follows the translation. I sat by the rivers of Babylon And wept with my brothers, day and night. And my sisters were moved by my tears, By my brothers’ deep […]

Reflections of an Artist.

16-Mar-10

“My gift for composition is not the kind which will ever be ‘successful.’  It is far too subjective for that.  When I was a boy I thought I would invent an altogether new art (it would be half-sculpture and half-music, I thought).  I began with sculpture and as you know that turned out disastrously.  But […]