Sibelius

by Andrew Barnett

Informed by a wealth of information that has come to light in recent years, this engaging biography tells the complete story of the life and musical work of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Drawing on Sibelius’s own correspondence and diaries, contemporary reviews, and the remarks of family and friends, the book presents a rich account of the events of the musician’s life. In addition, this volume is the first to set every work and performable fragment by Sibelius in its historical and musical context. Filling a significant gap, the biography also provides the first accurate information about much of the composer’s early music. Writing for the general music-lover, Andrew Barnett combines his own extensive knowledge of Sibelius’s music with the insights of other scholars and musicians. He lays to rest a number of myths and untruths—that Sibelius wrote no chamber music of value, for example, and that he stopped composing in 1926 and didn’t need to compose to earn a living. Barnett completes the volume with the most thorough worklist available and an authoritative chronology of Sibelius’s entire output.

Genres: Music, Classical Music

464 pages, Hardcover

First published December 5, 2007

Reviews

[Mark Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I approached the reading of this book expecting it to either suck or be a more or less detailed catalog of works placed in their immediate context along the lines of the author's ongoing series of notes for the complete recorded edition of the composer's works for BIS. Instead, I was pleasantly to find a book that could best be thought of as "Tawaststjerna lite," as a one-volume version of the essential points of Tawaststjerna's currently definitive 5-volume biography (3 vols in English translation) usefully updated with material delineating the wealth of recent information since unearthed by the recovery of Sibelius's substantial youth output of chamber music, and several works that were long unavailable that have substantially altered our views of the composer and his achievements. There are some eye-rolling gimmicky formulations that the author seems to think are "insightful," but reveal meager results, particularly his notion of an "S" motive permeating Sibelius's music (a motive consisting of a tone framed by lower- and upper-neighbor tones in the manner of an "S" laid on its side). It's not that such an interpretation is "wrong" or "extramusical," but rather that it is relatively trivial, small beer indeed, but is trumpeted here as though it were a major scholarly finding. Such features permeate the existing Sibelius literature, which is one of the most substandard in all of musicology for a major composer, and do not advance the composer's cause or reputation. Still, all-in-all the book is useful as a one-volume Tawaststjerna and handy reference for scholars seeking a broad chronological listing of his works in the context of his life and times.

[Erin]

Dnf

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barnett interweaves a serious consideration of Sibelius' music and its development, Sibelius' professional development, and Sibelius' personal life. I am not particularly knowledgeable about music or music history and found the book initially difficult reading. But perseverance paid off. Barnett makes clear the historical events of the time and how Sibelius responded to these personally, professionally, and as a composer. For many pieces of music, Barnett is able to trace the history of composition and how one piece is or may be related to others, thus, uncovering the process of composition as well as Sibelius as a composer. On the more personal side, Barnett portrays Sibelius' family life with the passing of family members, struggles of others, births and marriages of children, family moves, and the struggles and strengths of his marriage. Within this personal life. Barnett situates Sibelius' more productive periods with periods of creative struggle against publishing and other deadlines and professional opportunities. Overall, Barnett's treatment is well done giving a full perspective of Sibelius and his contribution.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew Barnett's biography SIBELIUS was first published in 2007. It sets itself apart from other biographies of the great Finnish composer in English by working from the immense store of manuscripts that the Sibelius estate donated to the University of Helsinki in 1982. Barnett is project advisor to BIS Records' Complete Sibelius Edition and when he charts the composer's career, he describes the whole range of Sibelius' music, not only the most famous repertoire.

The other reviewer is right that Barnett's biography is essentially a chronological collection of works interspersed with a general description of Sibelius' home life and travels. Readers looking for a more probing psychological account of Sibelius and what thoughts guided his composition may be rather disappointed. Still, for anyone who is buying the BIS' Complete Sibelius installments, or the shorter but still ample Essential Sibelius boxset, then Barnett's biography is very helpful in sorting out where all those myriad little-known piano pieces and songs fit in among the more famous works that most fans already know about.

[Rtm Taylor-Manning · Rating 2 out of 5]

boy. i guess i'd need to be a lot more interested in sibelius to read this, cause the writing sure wasn't enough.