Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 (Cambridge Music Handbooks)

click here for more details, find new or used items	James Hepokoski Our price £14.24 (£14.99) New from £11.65 Used from £11.30 Pages: 121 (Paperback) ISBN: 0521409586 Pub: Cambridge University Press Pub date: 1993-04-01 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 234839

Reader Reviews:

"Today at ten to eleven I saw sixteen swans ... They disappeared into the solar haze like a gleaming, silver ribbon." (0/0 people found this helpful)

I am not musically-trained, so it is a little unfair for me to review this work. But then again, I am able to advise potential purchasers, who are also not musically-trained but have a deep appreciation for Sibelius's fifth symphony, whether this volume will add to their knowledge. I am pleased to say that it probably will, for the author does well in placing the symphony within the context of general musical developments of the first decades of the twentieth century. He is especially good on references to what he refers to as the modern wave of contemporary composers born around 1860.

Consequently the opening chapters on "Sibelius and the problem of 'modernism'", and "The crisis, 1909-1914" are fascinating enough to hold steady interest. However, the remaining four chapters are definitely for those who can fully understand compositional principles and musical processes. And yet here too, there are glimpses to be had to form a deeper understanding of this amazing work. For example, how the effect of seeing sixteen swans circle over his head affected a theme in the finale.

The work is full of musical examples with innumerable references to the scores of the three versions of this work that Sibelius produced. A bibliography and index appear at the end.

Similar Products

Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 82, in Full Score

Categories

Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories: