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Donald Macleod hears how, having survived a serious health scare, Sibelius began the 1910s creatively rejuvenated.

The 1910s were a crucial decade in Sibelius’s life. He would write some of his greatest works during these ten years, including his fourth and fifth symphonies and the beginnings of his sixth. Sibelius’s meditations on the symphony and its role in his creative life are a recurring theme in the week’s programmes. This period also reflects Sibelius’s life in microcosm, including his battles with alcohol and indebtedness; his need for the stimulus of foreign travel, and the periods of creative inertia, which would decisively return during his later years. We travel around the world with Sibelius, returning to Finland at the outbreak of the First World War, which would have a major impact on his life and work, not least with the Finnish Civil War of 1918 and Finland’s subsequent independence: these were formative events for Sibelius.

In this episode, Donald Macleod hears how - having survived a serious health scare - Sibelius began the decade creatively rejuvenated. He vowed to forsake the drinking and smoking which had beleaguered him until now. But he was also in debt to the tune of ten years’ average earnings. Sibelius’s perilous financial situation caused him constant anxiety and paranoia throughout this decade, ultimately leading him back towards alcohol.

In memoriam, Op. 59 (revised version 1910)
Lahti Symphony Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor

Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63
I - Tempo molto moderato, quasi adagio
II - Allegro molto vivace
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor

String Quartet in D minor, Op. 56, "Voces Intimae"
II – Vivace
III – Adagio di molto
Emerson String Quartet

Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47
III. Allegro ma non tanto
Viktoria Mullova, violin
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa, conductor