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Jean Sibelius

Symphony No. 1 (Sibelius)

The Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39, is a four-movement work for orchestra written from 1898 to 1899 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The work was first performed on 26 April 1899 by the

Instrumentation#

The First Symphony is scored for the following instruments, organized by family (woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings): *2 flutes (each doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in A for Movements I and IV; in B for Movements II–III), and 2 bassoons *4 horns (in F), 3 trumpets (in F), 3 trombones, and tuba *Timpani, bass drum, cymbals, and triangle *Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, double basses, and harp

Movements#

Like most symphonies, it is in four movements:

Discography#

The Finnish composer Robert Kajanus and the London Symphony Orchestra (credited as the “Symphony Orchestra” for contractual reasons) made the world premiere studio recording of the First Symphony on 21–23 May 1930 at Westminster Central Hall, for the Columbia Graphophone Company (Columbia LX 65/69, 1931). (Two years later, in 1932, the British record producer Walter Legge founded the His Master’s Voice Sibelius Society, a subscription service that promised to record “all his Sibelius’s major works and to culminate in the forthcoming Eighth Symphony”. Kajanus’s pioneering recording of the First Symphony was incorporated retroactively into this cycle.)

  • “First symphony Op. 39 (1899–1900)”, history and analysis, sibelius.info
  • Flying Inkpot review
Composer
Jean Sibelius