After Sibelius: Studies in Finnish Music (review)

Back in the mid-1980s when I lived in Finland, I met an American expatriate who told me that he had come to live in Helsinki largely because of its vibrant musical culture. Finland is a small country in the remotest corner of Europe, but it has had a disproportionately large impact in music. Finnish conductors occupy many of the major orchestral posts throughout the world. Like the other Nordic countries, Finland has been at the forefront in the production of contemporary music. The Society of Finnish Composers recognizes some 143 active composers of art music in Finland today. In spite of this, the average person would be hard pressed to name any Finnish composer beside Sibelius. The purpose of the present book is "to introduce a variety of music that might otherwise be unfamiliar, with a view to encourage wider appreciation of its value and importance" (p. ix).

Tim Howell, senior lecturer in music at the University of York in England, looks at the recent generation of Finnish composers, those who came of age either during or just after the era of Sibelius. His book begins with an exposé on Sibelius's impact on contemporary Finnish music. He then writes one chapter each for eight Finnish composers in chronological order by date of birth, and ends with a chapter showing how contemporary Finnish composers are advancing out of the shadow of Sibelius, but still continue to create music recognized as "Finnish."

Each of the chapters is a self-contained unit and follows a similar pattern. There is a general overview and biography for each composer, followed by detailed analyses of three representative orchestral works, in chronological order to show a sense of stylistic development. Howell has selected orchestral music because it "permits an assessment that is intrinsic to the music itself— and not swayed by the potentially distorting effect of setting Finnish texts" (p.viii). The book strives for a "sense of connection between biography and composition" and an "approach, structure, language and content designed to connect with as wide a readership as possible" (p. ix). Each chapter begins with a general overview and increases in analytical detail as it progresses, allowing readers to study to whatever depth they desire.

The first chapter discusses "The Shadow of Sibelius." A 1993 documentary film entitled Valaiseva varjo [The Shadow that Casts Light] points to the fact that every Finnish composer of the twentieth century has been measured by Sibelius's accomplishments. At the same time Sibelius was personally very supportive of younger composers and encouraged them to find their own voices. Sibelius stopped composing after 1926, perhaps because he felt he could not make meaningful contributions to many of the new currents in the twentieth century. That contribution would be left to the next generation. In the documentary, leading Finnish composers are asked which of Sibelius's works were most influential to them. Several mentioned the Sixth Symphony and Tapiola as most influential, so Howell gives an analysis of each of these works. We tend to think of Sibelius as a nineteenth-century romantic composer, but Howell makes a persuasive argument that he should also be considered a "progressive composer" of the twentieth century in a style of "modern classicism" (pp. 9–10).

The next eight chapters feature biographies and detailed analyses of works by eight composers who came "After Sibelius." Aarre Merikanto (1893–1958) was one of the first Finnish modernist composers. He studied both in Leipzig and Moscow around the time of World War I. According to Howell he was always out of step with the times, "Too modern to be understood at the time, his works were revived when it was too late to appreciate their novelty" (p. 29). His opera Juha (1922) was rejected by the musical establishment of the time and not performed until after his death. Today it is considered one of the most successful Finnish operas. Merikanto thought his Symphonic Study (1928...