fuck yeah, sibelius
Sarah Chang is amazing. Regardless of your views on classical music, everyone ought to listen to this.
Also, Fuck Yeah Sibelius!
Jean Sibelius Symphony No 5 E flat major 1915 Salonen Swedish RSO
Published on Mar 26, 2012 by HaydnHouse
The above link is to a playlist of all seven of Sibelius’ symphonies as performed by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Swedish RSO.
Sibelius was commissioned to write this symphony by the Finnish government in honor of his 50th birthday, which had been declared a national holiday. The symphony was originally composed in 1915. It was revised first in 1916 and then again in 1919.
The original version was premiered by Sibelius himself with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra on his own 50th birthday, 8 December 1915. The second version (only part of which has survived) was first performed by the Orchestra of Turun Soitannollinen Seura in Turku exactly one year later. The final version, which is the most commonly performed today, was premiered by Sibelius conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra on 24 November 1919.
Kajustaflan by Axel Gallén. From left to right: Axel Gallén, Oskar Merikanto (head modeled on a rutabaga), Robert Kajanus, Jean Sibelius.
(Source: astronotical)
Jean Sibelius: Lemminkäinen’s Return
Scores for Sibelius' 5 Pieces for Piano
1 
A drawing by young Jean Sibelius in 1875 in a letter to his Aunt Evelina
Sydämeni Laulu (The Song of My Heart) by Jean Sibelius, lyrics by Aleksis Kivi. Performed by Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat.
