10 Thursdays, 2.30–4.30pm on Zoom, starting 28 April 2022

After four in-depth terms on Russian music, one on the Czechs and the most recent on the Hungarians, David Nice’s course covering national identity in music turns to Finland, where one name towers above all the others: that of Jean Sibelius. While he only started learning to speak Finnish aged 9 at one of the country’s first national schools – Swedish was his mother tongue – Sibelius’s musical consistency is absolute, from the early tone poems and the programme symphony Kullervo of the early 1890s through to his turning away from all major works in the 1920s.

We’ll be following the adventure from the bracing early masterpieces through to the supreme concentration of the Seventh Symphony and Tapiola, with excursions to the music of other Finnish composers both contemporary with Sibelius and of later generations. Hopes are high for the kind of special guests who’ve been a feature of earlier courses – among them conductors Vladimir Jurowski, Antonio Pappano and Paavo Järvi; pianists Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy; violinists Alina Ibragimova and Josef Špaček; and harpist Jana Boušková.

A wide range of works will be illustrated with excerpts on CD, DVD and YouTube.

‘I cannot recommend these classes highly enough. The classes, all guided by the expert hand of David Nice, comprise discussion, listening to recordings and watching scenes on DVD as well as interviews with internationally renowned singers, conductors and directors who have a particular association with the works being studied.’ – Susan Bullock MBE, soprano and regular class visitor

Fee: £100 for the whole term of ten two-hour classes on Zoom

Email: david.nice@usa.net ASAP to confirm a place