# Fascinating analysis of Sibelius's 7th symphony (available to BBC licence holders)



## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Stephen Johnson's study begins at 19m:18s (looking initially and briefly at the first movement of his 5th):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b02lql83

Interesting that he uses 'scudding' to describe the section I have always thought of as an onomatopoeic evocation of wind (stormy in this case) - go to: 27m:20s.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Further thoughts from Stephen Johnson:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p01zb387


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2019)

I have heard most of these "Discovering Music" programmes by the BBC, including this one on Sibelius 7th Sym. Charles Hazlewood is another very good presenter in the same series.

Another series of BBC programme on classical music is "Building a Library". This involves an analysis of a long list of famous works, the item under consideration changing from week to week, where a specialist reviews a number of the main candidates and picks a favourite. The series has been going for many years.

Over a run of years I've listened to many of these programmes, made notes, and sometimes taped them etc. I have acquired many of the BAL recommendations, and have generally been very pleased with the results.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Comment made by Sibelius in his sketch books regarding the section mentioned in the OP (second appearance of the trombone theme):

_"The moon seen through storm clouds"._

Leif Segerstam and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra remains my go-to performance - and the section I am referring to is here.


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