Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957)
Symphony No. 7 in E minor, Op. 105
Adagio - Vivacissimo, Adagio - Allegro moderato, Vivace, Presto, Adagio

While Walton was just beginning his career, Sibelius was at the peak of his powers, and the years 1923 - 1926 saw his four last orchestral masterpieces completed: the 6th and 7th symphonies, the tone poem Tapiola and his incidental music for The Tempest.

The earliest sketches of the seventh symphony are mixed up with material which ended up in the sixth, and even parts of Tapiola. It is first referred to in a letter of 1918, while he was still finishing the fifth symphony. After talking about the fifth, he goes on to mention plans for the sixth and seventh. The latter was to be "full of joy of life and vitality, in three movements, of which the last is a 'Hellenic Rondo'". He goes on to add that ".. the plans may be altered according to the development of the musical ideas. As usual I am a slave to my themes and submit to their demands."

The form took a long time to settle. His ideas went through many stages (at one time he even planned the normal four movements) before the work ended up in a single movement, and musicologists still argue today over whether it is 'really' a symphony. Some can find four movements condensed into one, others can find a normal sonata form structure concealed within its single movement. The lack of agreement is, at the very least, testimony to the originality and subtlety with which Sibelius has shaped his material. He was indeed "a slave to his themes", but he "submitted to their demands" with astonishing originality. The symphony was first performed in 1925 under the title Fantasia Sinfonica. It was only after several performances over the following months that Sibelius himself decided that it is a symphony, and re-titled it Symphony No.7, in one movement.

The originality of form makes it hard to describe its twenty minute span. Although the tempo varies from very slow to very fast and back, twice, the changes are all gradual and not obvious.

The opening is slow, and a number of fragments of themes soon appear. However the tonality is uncertain, until a long meditative string passage works up to a big C major climax. Here a trombone theme appears, which plays a key role in the work. Earlier themes are explored further, and the tempo gradually accelerates to a spiky vivacissimo (as fast as possible). This quite soon loses momentum however, and the big trombone theme reappears, but in the minor key this time, above a surging chromatic string line. This dark section eventually heaves itself out of C minor into a brighter key, and the speed picks up again to allegro moderato. Now the air clears, and a light and fresh C major tonality is established for the 'Hellenic rondo' theme. This is worked out quite thoroughly, dropping into E flat for a while, and gets even faster in the vivace. A gradual slowing down from presto to adagio brings us to the closing section, where the trombone theme forms the basis of the final declamation. But this is no simple triumph, and by the shifting tonality in the last few bars we are reminded of the doubts and uncertainties that underpin this hard won but ultimately affirmative view of life.

These uncertainties affected Sibelius profoundly, and hint at the factors that caused him to completely destroy every trace of his eighth symphony. He was working on it over several years in the 1930s, but it was never delivered. It was burnt, along with many other manuscripts, by the composer himself.