Journey to Finland: It Begins With A Painting

Leon — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:18:58 +0000

2012 is the year I am going to Finland. It may be surprising, but although I have loved Sibelius’ music for more than two decades, and championed it for more than one, I have never been to Finland.

It all begins with a painting.

This beautiful portrait of Sibelius was painted by artist

Drawings by 6th Grade Children after listening to Sibelius

Leon — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:39:19 +0000

I came across this video while looking for Sibelius on YouTube. It is titled simply, “Sibelius Pictures” but the thumbnail gives a clue why it seems unusual. As you start the video, the video explains that these are “Drawings by 6th Grade Children After Listening to Sibelius”. The video is credited to Escola [...]

Echoes of the Forest God

Leon — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 10:50:51 +0000

Ten days ago in the middle of March I received an email from Gerry Henkel, the Editor of New World Finn, a quarterly journal on Finnish culture in the New World. The approximately 30-page journal features Finnish newsmakers, musicians, artists, writers and more, in North America. To my pleasant surprise, Gerry asked for permission to reproduce my 13-year-old article on Tapiola, which I published on Earth Day (April 22) 1999.

Sibelius at Hawk Lake, a poem by Tom Henighan

Leon — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:00:43 +0000

“We were all enthralled by the dark pine forests and the shadowy gods and wood-nymphs who dwell therein. The coda with its icy winds sweeping through the forest made us shiver.” On the Sibelius tone poem 'Tapiola'. From a letter to the composer by Walter Damrosch, who conducted the premiere of that work in 1926.

At the Singapore Symphony, 3 March 2012

Leon — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:22:25 +0000

Before going to this concert, I scanned through my entire collection of CDs looking for an album by Marc-André Hamelin for him to autograph. I could not find a single one. I was thoroughly disgusted with myself.

During the days at the Flying Inkpot (or go to flyinginkpot.com [...]

At the Singapore Symphony, 24 Feb 2012

Leon — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 15:24:59 +0000

I ran for the Fourth Symphony. I sprinted for the tritone. I was running late, simply because I stopped for dinner right after knocking off from office, before heading to the Esplanade Concert Hall, and the meal took much longer than expected. Burned my tongue.

7pm and I was at Queenstown Station. On the way [...]

Jean and Aino: In the very trees of Ainola

Leon — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:01:18 +0000

When Jean Sibelius and Aino Järnefelt first chanced upon each other, their eyes locked for so long that she faltered. He was visiting her family flat in Helsinki and was providing, with her brother Armas, musical accompaniment to a pantomime being put up by the ladies of the house. So intense was Jean’s blue-eyed gaze [...]

Kaija Saariaho

Leon — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:20:17 +0000

The wonder that is Twitter. I was having breakfast in front of my laptop when a tweet popped up in the corner of my browser (thanks to the Echofon plug-in for Firefox),

And the remains of my Subway roast chicken sandwich watched the following with me:

As a little girl,

For the coming generations – the birth of a national composer

Leon — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:01:20 +0000

Siitäpä nyt tie menevi, ura uusi urkenevi.

“From here today the path is going, a bright new star the way is showing.”

Thus were these words written on a celebratory wreath presented to Sibelius by the eminent conductor and his close friend, Robert Kajanus, on the premiere of the Kullervo Symphony, in [...]

The sounds we’re not meant to hear: is this Sibelius’ 8th?

Leon — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:25:14 +0000

News is emerging in the English language world of music that significant parts of Sibelius’ Eighth Symphony may have been truly found. Not only that, but they’ve been played and recorded. My friend KH alerted me via Facebook, quoting the English version of the report by Finnish music critic Vesa Sirén, who ponders if they [...]

The Dust of Hue