The Sibelius Kullervo Symphony
Classical Fine Music Magazine
Dan Bickel investigates the work’s epic background
The Kullervo Symphony, an early composition by Jean Sibelius, is a five-movement work for soprano, baritone, male choir, and orchestra. The premiere took place on 28 April 1892 in Helsinki and was both a great success and a breakthrough for Sibelius in establishing his career as a composer. It also came at a time when Finland was trying to gain independence from Imperial Russia and critics praised the work for its strong nationalism based on the Finnish language national epic, The Kalevala, and for evoking the melody and rhythm of Finnish runic singing. However, subsequent performances received only lukewarm reviews. Sibelius withdrew the manuscript and it wasn’t revisited until 1958, the year after his death.