Conductor, RICHARD AUSTIN
ISOLDE MENGES (violin)
Relayed from The Pavilion,
Bournemouth
ORCHESTRA
Symphony (No. 1) in E minor Sibelius i. Andante ma non troppo, Allegro energetico ; 2. Andante ma non troppo lento; 3. Scherzo; 4. Finale (quasi una Fantasia)
Only one of Sibelius's symphonies is identified by name with any part of h's country's folk-lore. Composed already when he returned home in 1893, Kullervo, a symphony for solo voices, chorus and orchestra, is based on the national epic, the Kalevala, in which he found inspiration for so much of his music. But he has never allowed it to be published. Op. 39, which has always been known as. his first symphony, appeared six years later, after such distinctively Finnish music as En Saga, Karetia, Rakastava, and Finlandia had made it clear wherein lay his strength and his downright sincerity.
The symphony, nameless though it is, is as definitely a part of Finland's racial heritage as any of those. It is more strictly in accord with tradition, in its form, than any of the latter symphonies.
Ore of the foremost present-day Italian composers, Respighi was first made known to us in this country by the music for this ballet. The tunes are taken from some of the light pieces, chiefly written for pianoforte, which Rossini composed in his last years, after he had practically retired from the operatic world, and Respighi has arranged them to make a delightfully fresh and dainty ballet.