Symphony No. 5 (Sibelius)
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Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, op. 82 is a major work for orchestra in three movements by Jean Sibelius. He was commissioned to write it by the Finnish government in honour of his 50th birthday, which had been pronounced a national holiday in Finland. It was originally composed in 1915 but revised in 1916 and again in 1919. The first version was premiered by Sibelius himself with the Helsinki City 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 common version performed today, was premiered by Sibelius with the Helsinki City Orchestra on 24 November 1919. The first recording was made by Robert Kajanus with the London Symphony Orchestra for the HMV label in 1932.
This symphony is somewhat unique in its structure:
- First movement: Tempo molto moderato - Allegro moderato (ma poco a poco stretto) - Vivace molto - Presto - Più Presto
- Sibelius had originally intended for this to be two separate movements, but manages to link the slower introduction with the faster, waltz-like "scherzo" section to create a single form. The movement opens with a "horn call", containing much of the musical material of the work.
- Second movement: Andante mosso, quasi allegretto - Poco a poco stretto - Tranquillo - Poco a poco stretto - Ritenuto al tempo I
- This quiet movement is a set of variations on a theme heard at the beginning on the strings, played pizzicato.
- Third movement: Allegro molto - Misterioso - Un pochettino largamente - Largamente assai - Un pochettino stretto
- This movement begins with a fast melody in the strings, played tremolando. After this is developed, a swaying, triple-time motif begins in the horns, which is said to have been inspired by the sound of swan-calls, as well as a specific instance wherein the composer witnessed 16 of them taking flight at once. Over this, Sibelius has the flutes and strings play one of his most famous melodies. Both this and the motif are developed, until in the final section the motif returns majestically in the home key. The symphony ends with one of Sibelius's most original ideas — the six chords of the final cadence, each separated by silence.
The form of the symphony is symmetrical when it comes to tempo: the first movement starts in a slow tempo but ends with the fast "scherzo". The second movement is neither really a slow movement, nor fast; it forms a calm "intermezzo". Then follows the third movement, which begins in a fast tempo but ends slowly.
The duration is approximately 32 minutes.
