# Which are the five greatest works by Jean Sibelius in your opinion?



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

The works are ordered more or less chronologically. Define "greatest" as you wish. If you choose _Other(s)_, please tell us here in the comments section which work(s) you had in mind.

You may change your vote later.

*P.S.: Karelia, JS 115, includes "Karelia Suite"; Music for the Press Celebrations, JS 137, includes "Finlandia"; Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22, includes "The Swan of Tuonela"; Kuolema, JS 113, includes "Valse triste".*

==================================================================

Top ten most voted works that belong to Jean Sibelius' five greatest according to the poll at the moment (in case of tie, later work gets priority in the ordering):

1. Violin Concerto, Op. 47 (31 votes)
2. Symphony No. 5, Op. 82 (28 votes)
3. Symphony No. 7, Op. 105 (25 votes)
4. Symphony No. 2, Op. 43 (23 votes)
5. Tapiola, Op. 112 (19 votes)
6. Symphony No. 4, Op. 63 (19 votes)
7. Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22 (16 votes)
8. Symphony No. 6, Op. 104 (11 votes)
9. Pohjola's Daughter, Op. 49 (7 votes)
10. Karelia, JS 115 (7 votes)

Works that aren't directly in the poll and were cited by members who voted for _Other(s)_ so far (in alphabetical order): 

Andante Festivo, JS 34 (1 vote)
King Christian II, Op. 27 (1 vote)
Luonnotar, Op. 70 (2 votes)
Piano Quintet in G minor, JS 159 (2 votes)
Total votes at the moment: 53.

Last update: 10/06/2022.


----------



## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

His violin concerto, symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 5 and Finlandia.


----------



## Philidor (11 mo ago)

Symph #4, #5, #7, Lemminkäinen Suite, Tapiola.


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

haziz said:


> His violin concerto, symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 5 and Finlandia.


I saw that you marked _Other(s)_, but all five works you cited are actually present in the poll (_Finlandia_ is one movement of _Music for the Press Celebrations_, JS 137).


----------



## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

I voted for symphonies 2, 4, 5, 7 and The Oceanides.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Xisten267 said:


> _Finlandia_ is one movement of _Music for the Press Celebrations_, JS 137.


Dubious. Wikipedia (quoting Dubal, David. The Essential Canon of Classical Music, p. 466. New York: North Point Press, 2001) states (my bolding):

"The *last two movements *of the suite were *reworked *to become Finlandia."

Also, there are hardly any recordings of the complete _Music for the Press Celebrations_ and numerous recordings of Finlandia.


----------



## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Tough one - 

Symphonies 5, 1, 4, 2, Vln Cto...
but Sym #7, Lemminkainen, Karelia, En Saga, Tapiola also rate very highly with me...Finlandia, too.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I picked in order of preference: Tapiola, Violin concerto, Symphony 4, Pelleas and Melisande, and Symphony 5. But all other symphonies and many tone poems are great as well.


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Art Rock said:


> Dubious. Wikipedia (quoting Dubal, David. The Essential Canon of Classical Music, p. 466. New York: North Point Press, 2001) states (my bolding):
> 
> "The *last two movements *of the suite were *reworked *to become Finlandia."
> 
> Also, there are hardly any recordings of the complete _Music for the Press Celebrations_ and numerous recordings of Finlandia.


The following quotes come from Wikipedia:

"It [Finlandia] was written in 1899 and revised in 1900. The piece was composed for the Press Celebrations of 1899, a covert protest against increasing censorship from the Russian Empire, and was the last of seven pieces performed as an accompaniment to a tableau depicting episodes from Finnish history." - source here.

"Another patriotic work followed on 4 November in the form of eight tableaux depicting episodes from Finnish history known as the _Press Celebration Music_. It had been written in support of the staff of the _Päivälehti_ newspaper, which had been suspended for a period after editorially criticizing Russian rule. The last tableau, _Finland Awakens_, was particularly popular; after minor revisions, it became the well-known _Finlandia_." - source here.

"The composer later arranged tableaux Nos. 1, 3, and 4 as _Scènes historiques I_ (Op. 25) and tableau No. 6 as _Finlandia_ (Op. 26)" - source here.

Due to the limitation of number of choices in polls, I had to decide between including _Finlandia_ alone or the entire _Press Celebration Music_ in it. I opted for the latter as it seemed to me the most complete option.

There's at least one performance of the entire _Press Celebration Music_ on youtube:


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Your thread, your choice, but I think for clarification you might have added (includes Finlandia) to the Press Celebration Music - I would doubt that many members would realize that it is in some form in there.


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Art Rock said:


> Your thread, your choice, but I think for clarification you might have added (includes Finlandia) to the Press Celebration Music - I would doubt that many members would realize that it is in some form in there.


You're right. I added the clarification in the first post.


----------



## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I would pick:
Symphony No. 2, 5, 7
Violin Concerto 
Music for the Press Celebrations (Finlandia)


----------



## Georgieva (7 mo ago)

My top 3: 
Symphony №5, №7 and Violin Concerto


----------



## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Symphonies 3, 4, 5 and 7, Tapiola.


----------



## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

I could only vote for Tapiola and the violin concerto since my brain doesn't remember. Oh, there's a magic song about roses (and death I think), that I loved since high-school "Flickan kom ifrå sin älsklings möte" in Swedish.


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

_*"The music paints a gossamer, transcendental image of a mystical swan floating through Tuonela, the realm of the dead. Lemminkäinen, the hero of the epic, has been tasked with killing the sacred swan; but on the way, he is shot with a poisoned arrow and dies. In the next part of the story he is restored to life."*_


----------



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Andante Festivo
Valse Triste 
Symphony 2
Symphony 3 
Symphony 6


----------



## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

I changed a vote from Lemminkäinen suite to "other", i.e. Luonnotar. I find this both haunting and highly original (like a tone poem with soprano) and one of the best works of an uneven composer. (Nevertheless I had forgotten about it last night maybe because it was not a direct option)
Other votes went to symphonies 4, 5, 7 and "The Oceanides"; the latter may not be the greatest of tone poems but it shows an "impressionist" side of the composer mostly absent in his more austere works.


----------



## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

There is a strong case for _Luonnotar_. I happen to really like his early string trio _Korpo _though to say it's objectively among his five finest might be going a bit far. Still, the greatest works are really to be found in the later symphonies - particualrly 4,6 and 7. Quite why anyone would list the tedious Violin Concerto among them is a mystery!


----------



## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

For sure *Symphony No. 7* and *Violin Concerto*, but as Sibelius is my favorite composer, I like many of his works, so I have a problem with choosing the other three works.

List of my favorite works composed by Sibelius:

Piano Quintet in G minor, JS 159 (1890)
En Saga, Op. 9 (1892. rev. 1902)
The Wood-Nymph, Op. 15 (1895)
Spring Song, Op. 16 (1895)
Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22 (1895, rev. 1939)
Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 (1899)
Malinconia for cello and piano, Op. 20 (1900)
Finlandia, Op. 26 (1900)
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 (1902)
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 (1905)
Pohjola's Daughter, Op. 49 (1906)
Nightride and Sunrise, Op. 55 (1908)
Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63 (1911)
Rakastava, Op. 14 (1912)
Two Serenades for violin and orchestra, Op. 69 (1912)
The Oceanides, Op. 73 (1914)
Two Serious Melodies, Op. 77 (1914)
Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82 (1921)
Symphony No. 6 in D minor, Op. 104 (1923)
Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105 (1924)
2 Pieces for Organ, Op.111 (1931)


----------



## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Violin Concerto
Symphony 7
Pelleas et Mélisande
Tapiola
The Wood-Nymph


----------



## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

dko22 said:


> Quite why anyone would list the tedious Violin Concerto among them is a mystery!


If one excludes a few short pieces like Finlandia and Valse triste I'd bet that the violin concerto has been the most popular Sibelius piece by a large margin at any time of the last 100 years.


----------



## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

exactly my point!


----------



## Cristian Lee (Aug 13, 2017)

En Saga
Symphony no. 1
Symphony no. 2
Violin Concerto
The Wood-Nymph


----------



## Beethoven123 (Nov 25, 2021)

Symphony #7, Tapiola, Violin Concerto, Symphony #3, Symphony #2 for me


----------



## Doublestring (Sep 3, 2014)

Violin Concerto
Finlandia
Kullervo
Lemminkäinen Suite
Piano Quintet in G minor, JS 159


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I chose symphonies #4, 5, 6 and 7, and _Tapiola._ I'd like to have added _Kullervo_, the _Violin Concerto_, and _The Swan of Tuonela._


----------



## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

_Luonnotar_ most definitely!


----------



## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Kreisler jr said:


> I changed a vote from Lemminkäinen suite to "other", i.e. Luonnotar. I find this both haunting and highly original (like a tone poem with soprano) and one of the best works of an uneven composer. (Nevertheless I had forgotten about it last night maybe because it was not a direct option)
> Other votes went to symphonies 4, 5, 7 and "The Oceanides"; the latter may not be the greatest of tone poems but it shows an "impressionist" side of the composer mostly absent in his more austere works.


If you had to split the main output into two groups, The Good and The Not So Good, how would you do it? Just curious how you see the unevenness.

There has always been works by Sibelius I have rejected. This little piano piece is in my opinion probably the worst of them all, and I have been of this opinion ever since my teenage years. 






Also, I do not listen to the incidental music by Sibelius at all and never really have. Even the Tempest music is not particularly to my liking although it is praised here in Finland.

Luckily the great works by Sibelius rank amongst the greatest music I know along with some of the other greats. These works are in my opinion just perfect:

En etsi valtaa loistoa (a christmas song I always require to be sung during the christmas time)
A few songs like "Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte"
Opus 24 Piano Pieces
Finlandia Hymn (not the tone poem, but the sung version)
Karelia Suite
En Saga
Lemminkäinen Legends
Symphony no. 1
Symphony no. 2
The Violin Concerto
Pohjola´s Daughter
Symphony no. 3
Symphony no. 4
The Voces Intimae String Quartet
The Three Sonatinas for Piano
Luonnotar
The Bard
Symphony no. 5
The Oceanides
Symphony no. 6
Symphony no. 7
Andante Festivo
Tapiola

Not quite as many great works as Bach, Beethoven or Brahms created but still absolutely excellent.

I did not include Nightride and Sunrise because the ending is without focus. I did not include most of his piano music or any incidental music. I do not care for Kullervo (have to admit it), The Wood Nymph, Dance Intermezzo, The Spring Song, Pan&Echo, The Violin Humoresques, Finlandia or Valse Triste to name a few.


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Added a list of the top ten most voted works of the poll in the first post. I'll keep updating the numbers of the list as new votes appear.


----------



## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

I chose his Symphonies 2, 5, & 7, along with the tone poem, Tapiola, & the Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22. Sibelius's Violin Concerto would be my next choice, & on another day it could easily have been substituted for the Lemmink_äinen Suite, as my 5th pick.

My favorite recordings of these great works,

Symphony No. 2--
--Paavo Berglund, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra:




--Sir Alexander Gibson, Uppsala Chamber Orchestra:_




--Okko Kamu, Berlin Philhrmonic Orchestra: 



_--Sir John Barbirolli, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: 




Symphony No. 5--
--Paavo Berglund, London Philharmonic, live at the Barbican Centre:




Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 82: II. Andante mosso - quasi allegretto
Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 82: III. Allegro molto

--Robert Kajanus, London Symphony Orchestra (historical, mono): Sibelius:Symphony#5-Robert Kajanus & London Symphony Orchestra

Symphony No. 7--
--Paavo Berglund, London Philharmonic, live at the Barbican Centre:
Symphony No.7 in C Major, Op. 105: I. Adagio_
--Leif Segerstam, Danish National Symphony Orchestra: Jean Sibelius - Symphony no.7 (Leif Segerstam - Danish National SO) HD
--Leif Segerstam, Helsinki Philharmonic: Sibelius: Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 107 (Segerstam, Helsingin kaupunginorkesteri)

_Tapiola--_

--Neemi Jarvi, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, DG:








Sibelius : Tapiola (Full) - Neeme Järvi (DGG)*


Sibelius' powerful landscape of cool waters, endlessly forests and massive rock formations in a mighty composition on one single theme, with completely new s...




www.youtube.com




--Leif Segerstam, Helsinki Symphony Orchestra:








Sibelius: Tapiola, symphonic poem for orchestra Op. 112 (Segerstam, Helsingin kaupunginorkesteri)







www.youtube.com




--Paavo Berglund, Philharmonia:








Sibelius- Tapiola op.112


Premiere: 26, December, 1926Philharmonia Orchestra, Paavo Berglund




www.youtube.com




--Vladimir Ashkenazy, Philharmonia: Sibelius: Tapiola, Op. 112

_Lemminkäinen Suite--
--Leif Segerstam, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra: 








Lemminkainen Suite, Op. 22: I. Lemminkainen and the Maidens of Saari


Provided to YouTube by NAXOS of AmericaLemminkainen Suite, Op. 22: I. Lemminkainen and the Maidens of Saari · Helsinki Philharmonic OrchestraSibelius, J.: Le...




www.youtube.com




--Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra: Sibelius - Four Legends from the Kalevala (Ormandy/Philadelphia SO, Mobile Fidelity vinyl rip)
--Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra, 1953: Sibelius - Lemminkäinen Suite (Ormandy, 1953)
--Neeme Jarvi, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, BIS:








Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22: I. Lemminkainen and the Maidens of Saari


Provided to YouTube by NAXOS of AmericaLemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22: I. Lemminkainen and the Maidens of Saari · Göteborgs Symfoniker · Neeme JärviSibelius: Lem...




www.youtube.com




--Okko Kamu, Helsinki Radio Symphony Orchestra:








Karelia Suite Op 11, and Lemminkainen Suite, Op 22 , no 1 , Okko Kamu, Conductor


The music and the images were extracted from my lp.




www.youtube.com




_








sibelius, Lemminkainen Suite, Op 22 no 2,3,4,,,Okko Kamu, Conductor


The music and the images were extracted from my lp.




www.youtube.com





While my favorite individual recording of "The Swan of Tuonela" is easily the one from Paavo Berglund & the Philharmonia; though, surprisingly, Berglund never recorded the entire Suite: 2. The Swan of Tuonela


----------



## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

Symphonies 3, 4, 7, violin concerto. Lemminkainen sute


----------



## mahler9 (9 mo ago)

Symphonies 2, 4, 5 - Pohjola's Daughter, Lemminkaïnen Suite -- Magnificent music in all of them, though I love most of Sibelius


----------



## mahler9 (9 mo ago)

larold said:


> Symphonies 3, 4, 7, violin concerto. Lemminkainen sute


An underrated work, especially the first part LemminkaInen and the Maidens of Saari, as wonderful as anything else he wrote, imho


----------



## Ice Dragon (Jun 20, 2018)

I haven't gotten much into Sibelius, but I reread the Kalevala recently and played the Lemminkainen and Kullervo pieces when reading, and it was good background. Nightride and Sunrise is nice, and I enjoyed the 3rd Symphony, but haven't heard much else, so I didn't vote. He's one of those composers I want to hear more of.


----------



## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Josquin13 said:


> I chose his Symphonies 2, 5, & 7, along with the tone poem, Tapiola, & the Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22. Sibelius's Violin Concerto would be my next choice, & on another day it could easily have been substituted for the Lemmink_äinen Suite, as my 5th pick.
> 
> My favorite recordings of these great works,
> 
> ...


Josquin - as much as I admire your posts you have way, way too much time on your hands!🤣


----------



## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Kjetil Heggelund said:


> I could only vote for Tapiola and the violin concerto since my brain doesn't remember. Oh, there's a magic song about roses (and death I think), that I loved since high-school "Flickan kom ifrå sin älsklings möte" in Swedish.


So since high-school I thought this song was about death and roses (heavy metal thunder), but it's about a girl who meets her darling some times and finds out in the end that he is unfaithful. Damn him!! Love the song still


----------



## Floeddie (8 mo ago)

Finlandia Op. 26


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Floeddie said:


> Finlandia Op. 26


_Finlandia_ is a movement extracted from a longer piece called _Music for the Press Celebrations_, that is included in the poll. You may want to check it if you don't know it yet, it's very beautiful (in my humble opinion).


----------



## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

An impossible question, so I went for five works I particularly love, and aren't daft candidates for his greatest work: the final two symphonies, the violin concerto, Pohjola's Daughter; and my "other", the King Christian music, which I really think deserves a mention ....


----------



## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

Extremely solid composer at #10. I could probably credit a lot to Symphony 5, but so many other terrific works.


----------



## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

He's not in my top ten, maybe top twenty, definitely top 50.


----------



## Floeddie (8 mo ago)

Xisten267 said:


> _Finlandia_ is a movement extracted from a longer piece called _Music for the Press Celebrations_, that is included in the poll. You may want to check it if you don't know it yet, it's very beautiful (in my humble opinion).


I have a men's choral version of this that really brings Finlandia to life, you can feel the pride that is exuded over their love for the land.


----------

