"" (literal English translation: "Autumn Evening"), Op. 38/1, is an art song for vocal soloist (typically soprano) and piano written in 1903 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece, which is a setting of the eponymous poem by the Swedish poet Viktor Rydberg, premiered on 12 September 1903 at the Finnish National Theatre in Helsinki, with the Finnish soprano Aino Ackté as soloist accompanied by the Finnish composer Oskar Merikanto on piano.
In 1904, Sibelius arranged "" for voice and orchestra—along with its catalogue mates, "" ("On a Balcony by the Sea", Op. 38/2) and "" ("In the Night", Op. 38/3). This version of the song received its first performance on 14 January 1905 in Paris, with Alfred Cortot conducting; the soloist was the American soprano Minnie Tracey.
Instrumentation The orchestrated version of "" is scored for the following instruments and voices, organized by family (vocalists, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):
Soprano (or baritone) 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, and 1 contrabassoon 4 horns and 3 trombones Snare drum Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, double basses, and harp
Reception The British musicologist Robert Layton has praised "" as "astonishingly forward-looking" and it is routinely celebrated as being among Sibelius's best songs.
Discography
The Norwegian conductor Øivin Fjeldstad and the London Symphony Orchestra, joined by the Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad, made the world premiere studio recording of "" in 1958 for Decca. The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings of the version for orchestra: SoloistConductorOrchestraTimeRecording venueLabel1London Symphony Orchestra19585:29Kingsway HallDecca2Vienna Opera Orchestra19655:14SofiensaalDecca3Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra19844:29Gothenburg Concert HallBIS4City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra20015:16Symphony Hall, BirminghamWarner Classics † (1)Lahti Symphony Orchestra20054:55Sibelius HallBIS5Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra20054:54Finlandia HallOndine6Norwegian Radio Orchestra20214:31 † = version for vocal soloist and string orchestra (1904)
The version of "" for piano accompaniment received its first studio recording in 1967, when the Finnish baritone Tom Krause and the Finnish pianist recorded it for Decca. The table below includes this and other commercially available recordings: SoloistPianistTimeRecording venueLabel1 (1)19674:11Kingsway HallDecca Eloquence2 (2)19814:00Kingsway HallDecca3 (3)19933:55Finlandia420004:44Naxos5 (2)20084:44BIS620134:34NoteStandRecords
Notes, references, and sources Notes
References
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