Ravinia 2024 Issue 2

JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957) Finlandia , op. 26 Scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and strings The land now known as Finland belonged to the Kingdom of Sweden from the mid-12th century until 1809, when Gustav IV Adolf was deposed following Sweden’s disastrous defeat by Russia during the Napoleonic Wars. Sweden ceded the eastern third of its kingdom—the Grand Duchy of Finland—to the Russian Empire. Tsar Alexander I convened a legislative assembly of the Four Estates (nobility, clergy, burghers, and peasants) at the Diet of Porvoo in order to formalize the oaths of allegiance. Alexander I became Grand Duke of Finland and vowed to keep Finland’s constitution, religion, rights, and privileges unchanged. For the next nine decades, Finland functioned as an autonomous state within the Russian Em- pire, with its own legislative assembly, the Senate of Finland, chaired by a Governor-General ap- pointed by the Tsar. The population enjoyed in- creasing advantages during the middle of the 19th century under Alexander II through educa- tion reforms, the recognition of Finnish as the official language of local governance, laws pro- tecting religion from state intervention, and reg- ular meetings of the Diet of Finland. Alexander III, who became Tsar on May 27, 1883, reversed many of his father’s liberal policies and launched a campaign of Russification of lan- guage, laws, education, and monetary systems throughout the Empire. Russification intensified during the reign of his successor, Nicholas II, who rose to power in 1894. Nicholas II issued the February Manifesto of 1899, severely limiting the Duchy of Finland’s autonomy by asserting that the Tsar held ultimate authority over gen- eral legislation, by downgrading Finnish laws to a local level, and by reducing Finnish legislative bodies to advisory roles. The Manifesto raised great alarm and was widely viewed as a betrayal of an Imperial oath. Finnish countryside (1918) Almost immediately, Finns experienced lim- itations on the free press when the imperial government closed Päivälehti (today known as Helsingin Sanomat )—a liberal newspaper that stalwartly defended the Finnish Constitution— while the more politically moderate newspaper Uusi Suometar continued to operate. This silenc- ing of the press stirred outrage around the globe. An editorial in London’s Daily Mail , written by a Swedish correspondent who implored mighty England to intervene on Finland’s behalf, also ap- peared in Australia: “Russia may use her power over the press to prevent the voice of the people being heard, but in spite of this no violence shall be done to Finland whereof the world shall not know!” ( Sydney Morning Herald , May 30, 1899). Finnish nationalists in Helsinki rallied around the press and those impacted by the newspaper’s closure by staging three-day Press Pension Cel- ebrations on November 3–5, 1899. Jean Sibelius composed an overture for winds, brass, and per- cussion and orchestral preludes to six historic tableaux , collectively known as Music for Press Celebrations , for the final gala performance at the Swedish Theater on November 4. Kaarlo Bergbom, founder of the Finnish National The- ater, directed the production. The poet Eino Lei- no and writer-director Jalmari Finne authored the spoken texts. Sibelius conducted the Helsin- ki Philharmonic Society Orchestra. The tableaux traced key moments in Finnish his- tory: the song of the wise old man Väinämöin- en from the epic poem Kalevala ; Henrik, the Bishop of Uppsala, who brought Catholicism to Finland in the 12th century; Turku Castle during the 16th-century reign of Duke John of Finland (later, John II, King of Sweden) and his wife, Catherine Jagiellon; the participation of Finnish forces during The Thirty Years War (1618–48); and the Russian invasion and occupation of Fin- land during the Great Northern War (1713–21), a period known as “The Great Wrath.” The sixth and final tableau —“Finland Awakes”— celebrated the recent emergence of Finland’s na- tional identity through the benevolent rule of Al- exander II, the poetry of Johan Ludvig Runeberg, the nationalist teachings and writings of philos- opher-statesman Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Elias Lönnrot’s transcriptions of runes in the Kaleva- la , members of the first Diet, the establishment of elementary education, and the introduction of steam locomotives. “The powers of darkness menacing Finland have not succeeded in their terrible threats,” reported the Hufvudstadsbladet , the Swedish-language newspaper in Helsinki, following the performance. “Finland awakes.” Six weeks later, on December 14, conductor Robert Kajanus led the Helsinki Philharmonic Society Orchestra in a reduced five-movement concert version of the Music for Press Celebra- tions . Sibelius revised the final tableau, “Finland Awakes,” replacing the somewhat bombastic ending with a more solemn conclusion. This movement was first performed as an indepen- dent tone poem called Suomi (Finland) on July 2, 1900—the orchestra’s farewell perfor- mance before leaving on a 19-concert European tour that culminated in an appearance at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Its title varied through- out the tour, generally a variant of “fatherland” to avoid political controversy. (Though Finland had its own pavilion on the Rue des Nations, it participated in the 1900 Paris Exposition as part of Russia.) Kajanus chose this “fatherland” tone poem to open the orchestra’s first concert at the exposition. Months earlier in May 1900, Sibelius’s ardent supporter Axel Carpelan, who helped fund the European tour, had proposed an overtly nation- alistic overture for the exposition performance. “You should put something really devilish in that overture. Rubinstein wrote a Fantasy com- pletely based on Russian motives for the Paris Exhibition of 1889 and called it ‘Russia,’ Surely your new overture must be called ‘Finlandia.’ ” Sibelius eventually applied the title Finlandia to his tone poem when the piano arrangement was published in November 1900. Kajanus pro- grammed the orchestral score for the first time under the new title Finlandia in February 1901. Considering its numerous evolutions, the music of Finlandia remained remarkably close to the original “Finland Awakes” tableau , except for the revised ending. Menacing brass and timpani continue the overwhelming terror and perse- cution portrayed in “The Great Wrath” tableau . Winds and strings enter, but they fail to cast off this sense of dread. A dramatic tempo change to Allegro moderato begins the glorification of the leading figures in Finnish nationalism. Sibelius next introduces an expressive pastoral theme for winds and tremolo upper strings that has come to be known as the “Finlandia Hymn.” The glo- rification music resumes, and then it combines with a magnificent reprise of the hymn. Jean Sibelius (c.1890–99) RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 67 VÄINÖAUER(FINLAND);DANIELNYBLIN(SIBELIUS)