Jean Sibelius : NPR

Classical Music In 2015: The Year In Review

Osmo Vänskä conducts the Minnesota Orchestra in Havana, Cuba in May 2015. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images

Classical Music In 2015: The Year In Review

January 4, 2016 • As a new year begins, take a quick glance back at some of the notable birthdays, anniversaries, awards, trends and farewells that made 2015 unique in classical music.

Finland's Finest: The Seven Symphonies Of Jean Sibelius

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, photographed at Ainola, his home outside Helsinki, in the 1940s. Santeri Levas/Finnish Museum of Photography hide caption

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Santeri Levas/Finnish Museum of Photography

Finland's Finest: The Seven Symphonies Of Jean Sibelius

December 8, 2015 • For the sesquicentennial of the composer's birth, Michael Steinberg introduces his proud and sometimes mysterious music, confirming his reputation as one of the greatest symphonists.

Enigmatic Endings: A Farewell To Summer Quiz

Music can be like a fleeting summer. You get to the end wondering, "How did we get here already?" iStockphoto hide caption

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iStockphoto

Enigmatic Endings: A Farewell To Summer Quiz

August 26, 2014 • The end of summer has a tendency to sneak up on us — or come to an unsettling halt. Try a quiz filled with fantastic finales and tremulous terminations.

Review: Augustin Hadelich, 'Sibelius, Adès: Violin Concertos'

Violinist Augustin Hadelich pairs a classic concerto with a contemporary one on this new album. Rosalie O'Connor hide caption

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Rosalie O'Connor

Review

Review: Augustin Hadelich, 'Sibelius, Adès: Violin Concertos'

March 2, 2014 • On his new album, the 29-year-old violinist finds connections between two seemingly disparate concertos by Jean Sibelius and Thomas Adès.

Sibelius, Adès: Violin Concertos

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

NPR Classical's 10 Favorite Albums Of 2013

Classical albums we loved this year. NPR/Denise DeBelius hide caption

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NPR/Denise DeBelius

NPR Classical's 10 Favorite Albums Of 2013

December 13, 2013 • A guide to some of the most beautiful, thought-provoking and inspiring releases from the year gone by — from luminous choral singing to thunderous percussion to smart violin solos.

The Conductor Who Gained Power By Giving It Up

Colin Davis found power in humility later in his career — and one astonished music journalist. Alberto Venzago hide caption

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Alberto Venzago

The Conductor Who Gained Power By Giving It Up

April 17, 2013 • What impressed most about Colin Davis wasn't his extraordinarily broad view of music and art, his eloquent turns of phrase, or even his naughty sense of humor, but it was instead something less tangible — his sense of self.

Davis On First Hearing Berlioz's Melodies

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Violist Nadia Sirota. Samantha West/courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Samantha West/courtesy of the artist

Review

The New Baroque And A Nod To Minnesota

February 12, 2013 • From Christopher Purves' bottomless bass voice and the soaring Sibelius Fifth to a violist's new take on the Baroque, it's this week's list of albums we can't stop listening to.

Hear Nadia Sirota Play Greenstein's 'In Teaching Others We Teach Ourselves'

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Herbert von Karajan's Top 5 Recordings

April 4, 2008 • Throughout his three-decade history leading the Berlin Philharmonic, the conductor struggled to find perfection in the symphony orchestra. Karajan biographer Richard Osborne offers a list of five albums that embody the maestro's magic.

A Rebirth for Classical Composer Sibelius

October 8, 2007 • This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of classical composer Jean Sibelius. Musician David Was says the composer's work was in danger of falling out of fashion, but is recently enjoying a burst of new interest.

A Rebirth for Classical Composer Sibelius

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Beauty Amid the Discord: Music in the 20th Century

October 12, 2007 • From the musical buzz in pre-WWI Vienna to the experimental New York scene of the 1960s and on through today, Alex Ross reveals the story of 20th-century music in his new book The Rest Is Noise.

Beauty Amid the Discord: Music in the 20th Century

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Salonen on Sibelius: 'Finlandia'

December 1, 2006 • The symphonic poem "Finlandia" by Jean Sibelius has become a deeply felt expression of patriotism for Finns. Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen talks about the origins of the work, and what it means to Finns today.

Hear Esa-Pekka Salonen discuss Sibelius' 'Finlandia'

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Jean Sibelius: Music About the Weather

July 24, 2006 • Finnish composer Jean Sibelius was deeply moved by the changing seasons and their effect on nature. Camerata Nordica plays Sibelius' "Suite for Violin and Strings." The movements are "Country-scenery," "Evening in Spring," and "In the Summer."

Jean Sibelius: Music About the Weather

Audio will be available later today.

Russian National Orchestra in Concert

July 21, 2006 • Fred Child, host of NPR's Performance Today, hosts an exclusive webcast from Festival del Sole, featuring pianist Piotr Anderszewski and violinist Nikolaj Znaider, with Stephane Deneve conducting the Russian National Orchestra.

Pianist Olli Mustonen Plays Sibelius Miniatures

February 13, 2006 • Olli Mustonen is a great fan of Finnish music. This season, he's been touring with a set of lovely and rarely-played miniatures by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. We hear from a set called "Ten Pieces for Piano."

Pianist Olli Mustonen Plays Sibelius Miniatures

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Finlandia

July 23, 2000 • Jean Sibelius was Finland's most famous composer at the beginning of the 20th Century. Now Finland is the leader in classical music exports, from players to composers and conductors. NPR's Julie McCarthy talks to classically minded Fins, from orchestra performers to composers: Magnus Lindberg, Arttu Takolo, and Einojuhani Rautavaara (11:00).

Finlandia

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Real Media

Sibelius' 5th Symphony: A Song For Swans

In his diary, Sibelius noted the inspiration for the grand theme in his Fifth Symphony: "Today I saw 16 swans. God, what beauty! They circled over me for a long time. Disappeared into the solar haze like a silver ribbon." Istock hide caption

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Istock

The NPR Classical 50

Sibelius' 5th Symphony: A Song For Swans

October 6, 2009 • Finnish composer Jean Sibelius introduces some of his most memorable ideas in his fifth symphony. Inspired by swans in flight, the symphony ends in a magnificent blaze of glory.

Ted Libbey And Fred Child Recommend Sibelius' Fifth Symphony

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Ask Your Doctor About Prescription Bolero

Pablo Helguera

Deceptive Cadence

Ask Your Doctor About Prescription Bolero

January 20, 2012 • Fridays are funnier with a classical cartoon at noon, from Deceptive Cadence.

Around The Classical Internet: December 23, 2011

One of the great unknown Russian composers?: Tsar Alexander II of Russia, in a portrait from c. 1875. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images