From Publishers Weekly
In this illuminating survey of Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), Barnett, founder of the U.K. Sibelius Society, attempts to place Sibelius's music in context by discussing all of his surviving works. The book benefits from the ambitious project of the Swedish record company BIS to record everything in its Complete Sibelius Edition, an undertaking in which Barnett has been closely involved since the mid-1980s. He traces the life of the composer from his early music lessons (violin, piano, cello) as a youth in Hameenlinna, Finland, and his first serious attempts at composition during the 1880s to the recognition of his talent at the Helsinki Music Institute (now the Sibelius Academy) and further studies in Berlin and Vienna, followed by the 1892 success of his first major orchestral work, his prolific creations over the following decades and his dwindling output after 1927 when he wrote in his diary, Abused, lonely, all my real friends dead. Just now my prestige here is non-existent. Impossible to work. In 1935, however, his status as an international icon was secure. Incorporated throughout is Barnett's in-depth analysis of Sibelius's compositions, a critique so finely tuned that many readers will want to listen as they read. 16 b&w illus. unseen by
PW.
(Dec.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Kurzbeschreibung
Informed by a wealth of information that has come to light in recent years, this engaging biography tells the complete story of the life and musical work of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). Drawing on Sibelius' own correspondence and diaries, contemporary reviews, and the remarks of family and friends, the book presents a rich account of the events of the musician's life. In addition, this volume is the first to set every work and performable fragment by Sibelius in its historical and musical context. Filling a significant gap, the biography also provides the first accurate information about much of the composer's early music. Writing for the general music-lover, Andrew Barnett combines his own extensive knowledge of Sibelius' music with the insights of other scholars and musicians. He lays to rest a number of myths and untruths - that Sibelius wrote no chamber music of value, for example, and that he stopped composing in 1926 and never needed to compose to earn a living. Barnett completes the volume with the most thorough worklist available and an authoritative chronology of Sibelius' entire output.
