Sibelius Reconsidered

Jean Sibelius, 1939 (Photo: Public Domain)

Sibelius Reconsidered presents papers from the Fifth International Jean Sibelius Conference, held in September 2010 in Oxford, UK, edited by Timothy L. Jackson and Veijo Murtomäki (in the early phase also by Andrew Barnett). Included here are articles on Sibelius reception, analyses and sketch studies of his works, discussions of his position in the early 20th-century music as well as his relationship to the political events of his time.

The papers are listed below and may be downloaded free of charge.

The International Jean Sibelius Conference is held every five years and is a unique gathering of academics and enthusiasts from all over the world. They have taken place in Helsinki (1990, 1995, 2000), Texas (2005), Oxford (2010) and Hämeenlinna (2015). Similar events have taken place in (for example) Meiningen (1993) and Paris (1994, 2007).

The 2010 conference took place at Worcester College, Oxford. Founded in 1714, it occupies a 26-acre site on the western side of the city centre where the Benedictines first founded Gloucester College in 1283. Some of the buildings of the earlier college survived, and the resulting mixture of architectural styles is a happy blend of ancient and modern. The library, chapel and dining hall were created by some of Britain’s finest eighteenth- and nineteenth-century architects.

Veijo Murtomäki and Andrew Barnett at the 2010 International Sibelius Conference at Worcester College, Oxford

The conference included not only a wide range of presentations, but also several concerts: one featuring sings and piano music (Annika Rioux, soprano and Folke Gräsbeck, piano) and one with music for violin and piano (Madoka Sato, violin and Folke Gräsbeck, piano).

Click on the titles listed below to view or download the papers as pdf files.