Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957)
Prelude "The Tempest", Op. 109

Sibelius wrote a considerable amount of music for the theatre, most of which is now rarely played. The most well known is probably his music for Maeterlinck's play "Pelleas and Melisande", one movement of which has found popularity as the signature to BBC TV's The Sky at Night. Among other plays for which he wrote incidental music are Kuolema, which includes the famous Valse Triste, a play called Belshazzar's Feast (which is nothing to do with William Walton's splendid oratorio on the same subject) and a production of The Tempest given in the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen in 1926. The production was successful, and it moved to Helsinki the following year. The music was originally written for the unlikely forces of soloists, mixed choir, orchestra and harmonium, but was rescored for normal orchestra in the two suites Sibelius arranged soon after.

Even if you don't know Shakespeare's play it is obvious from the 5 minute span of this prelude that it opens with a violent storm at sea. The prelude is really a miniature tone-poem of extraordinary intensity, in which you can almost feel the surging seas, imagine strange distant lights, and hear the howling gusts of wind.