Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
T023311831
Archive :: production:T023311831, concert:S1589340900, venue:V765
Current production:Work
Production details
Sibelius' last symphony absorbs the traditional four movements into a single, fascinating arch of music. Each section grows out of the previous one, referring to and developing its material to make a truly organic whole. The drama of the Elgar concerto's opening movement is followed by a perpetuum mobile scherzo, and a slow movement of elegiac beauty. The powerful finale is memorably interrupted by a haunting reminiscence of the slow movement before rushing to a close. Nielsen wrote that his forth and finest symphony is a depiction of "the force of life which cannot be suppressed." Written during the First World War, it pulsates with musical power in the outer movements, including an electrifying tympani ‘duel' in the finale.
