Asia Tour
Klaus Mäkelä Jean Sibelius

While his first symphony had been a success, it was strongly influenced by the composer’s admiration of Tchaikovsky. His second symphony was a work written purely in his own style. When Sibelius’ second symphony premiered in Helsinki in 1902, the disgruntlement with the Russian ruling powers had reached new heights in Finland, and the Fennomans’ crusade for the Finnish language and culture had intensified accordingly. In this context, Sibelius − the composer who a few years earlier had given the people the explosive Finlandia, and the equally political The Breaking of the Ice on the Oulu River − seemed to fit the role of national hero and cultural icon perfectly. Despite the circumstances of the time and the symphony’s unambiguous narrative, the work should not be viewed as a political one. The composer was adamant that his symphonies did not have any programmatic content, and that the music should speak for itself. 

In 1904 Jean Sibelius and his family moved to his new home in the city of Järvenpää, a few miles north of Helsinki. In the spring of 1915, he had one of his most substantial natural experiences when he saw 16 swans taking off in a flock on one of his walks. The incident directly inspired the "swan theme" in his fifth symphony, which premiered in Helsinki on the composer's 50th birthday in December of the same year.