Svendsen, Rachmaninoff & Sibelius: Sep 23-25, 2026
Welcome to this program that I’m calling The Nordic Hat Trick, Muotkavaara Meetup, or Cairn We Do It? YES WE “THREE-COUNTRY CAIRN”! (please reference the photo above, showing the tri-point meeting place of Norway, Russia, and Finland while I see myself out for these terrible concert titles) 🤓
Johan Svendsen
Norwegian artists' carnival
DIVE IN!
Johan Svendsen (1840 - 1911) was a Norwegian composer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist. Although he was born in Norway, he lived and worked all over the place and ended up spending most of his life in Denmark. Svendsen's compositional output is primarily in symphonic writing including two symphonies, a violin concerto, a cello concerto, and the Romance for violin, as well as a number of Norwegian Rhapsodies for orchestra.
Svendsen was raised in a family that valued music. His father was a music teacher and military bandmaster, who taught him both the violin and clarinet. He began playing violin in orchestras at age nine and began composing by age eleven. At fifteen he enlisted in the military band where he played lots of different instruments including clarinet, flute, trombone, and percussion. By the time he finished high school he was working as an orchestral musician and making short concert tours as a violinist. From 1863 to 1867 he studied composition at the Leipzig Conservatory where he was awarded first prize in his final year.
He went on to become highly respected as a symphonist in Norway, although not achieving quite as much fame and recognition as his Norwegian peer composer Edvard Grieg.
In my research of Svendsen I found it interesting that there were consistent off-hand mentions of his less than stellar reputation for personal relationships. Here are a few examples of his scandalous foibles:
This is a direct quote out of left field, regarding his college study years in Leipzig: “During this period, Svendsen had a son out of wedlock.” Literally. That’s all it said. Apropos of nothing but apparently important enough to the author to include.
There’s also this gem of a set of personal life facts:
In the summer of 1871, Svendsen married Sarah Schmidt, whom he had met while working a conducting job in France. They divorced in 1884 because - and this is a direct quote - “Their relationship had been chaotic for several years.” No kidding, because just 13 days after their divorce he married Juliette Haase, with whom he had been living and had three children. Don’t think too hard on that timeline!
The realm of classical music! Such virtuous and wholesome family friendly content!
LOLz wompwomp
About the Music:
Svendsen composed Norwegian Artists' Carnival in 1874.
The word "artists" in the title reflects the fact that the work depicts the carnival festivities of the Norwegian artists' colony in Rome, where the great Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen maintained a sculpture workshop of international importance earlier in the 19th century.
Both Italian and Norwegian elements are represented by the inclusion of folk songs from each place, which are then woven into a virtuosic and joyous auditory celebration. This was the first time Svendsen used folk material in his music and it ended up setting the tone for some of his most successful compositions.
Norwegian Artists’ Carnival was quickly picked up by a major publisher and has remained in fairly high rotation as an overture and on "light classics" concert programs ever since.
A typical performance of Norwegian Artists Carnival Overture lasts about 7 minutes.
Resources:
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto No. 3
About the composer:
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) was a Russian pianist, conductor, and composer who primarily wrote in a late Romantic era style during the Modernist era. He is best known today for his piano and symphonic works. Rachmaninoff left Russia after the revolution there, immigrating to the United States in 1918 first living in New York and finally in California. He spent the majority of his time traveling and performing as a soloist but managed to compose in short bursts when he could.
About the music:
Rachmaninoff composed three concertos for piano and orchestra. He wrote Piano Concerto No. 3 during a time he was feeling buoyed by professional success, and when he was about to embark on his first US performance tour. He has said it was his favorite of the three. It received a warm initial review but really became popular with audiences two decades after its premiere when legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz made it a performance priority.
Rachmaninoff composed Piano Concerto No. 3 in 1909 and premiered it himself in NYC later that same year. Here’s a fact that would make any piano teacher or student smash their hands to their heads to know - he actually ran out of time to practice the piece at home before traveling to NYC for the premiere performance, so he brought a fake keyboard and practiced on the way there. I mean… maybe get a little more efficient with that to-do list next time??
Piano Concerto No. 3 is in D minor, lasts for 40-45 minutes and is in three sections called movements, like chapters of a book. It follows a typical concerto structure for these musical chapters, fast-slow-very fast. If it sounds like there are only two movements, or chapters, it’s because Rachmaninoff uses an excellent trick making the final note of the second movement the blast-off beginning of the third movement!
Pianists everywhere agree Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is one of the most monumental and difficult pieces to play. The orchestra accompaniment is also richly detailed and often takes a more central role, making this piece of music extra engaging to listeners and performers alike.
Rachmaninoff’s compositions have a cinematic sound to them, so it’s no surprise to find them used in films. For extra credit, binge watch these movies and listen for Rachmaninoff’s music: Brief Encounter, The Seven Year Itch, To the Wonder, Somewhere In Time, Groundhog Day, and Shine. In fact, Piano Concerto No. 3 plays such a prominent role in the film Shine that it practically becomes a character itself!
Explore a bit more:
Here is a listening map that can guide you through the concerto. Read it in advance or while you’re listening to a recording!
Movement 1: Allegro ma non tanto (in English: Quick, but not too much)
This music begins with a restless urgency in the orchestra while the solo piano plays a simple melody over the top. Right about the time we are lulled into thinking this is all just a nice tune, the tempo picks up and the piano takes the restless role while the low strings play the melody. The music rides along like this, shifting roles through the orchestra, until a lush interlude introduces new ideas on the horizon. This new material shows up in a dialogue between solo piano and groups of instruments within the orchestra. A bit later a beautiful intimate conversation begins between the piano and solo bassoon which again blossoms into including more instrument groups. The restlessness begins to return and we get moving again just to fall into a slightly fancier statement of the opening material. From here the attitude morphs and changes but the restless quality stays somewhat prominent as the music tries to figure out what it’s trying to say. An extended cadenza, or a sort of rhapsodized solo section for piano alone becomes a pure power chord festival and lasts until the entrance of a solo flute, who passes the melody to the oboe, then clarinet, and finally to the horn before melting into another solo piano section. The entrance of the horns a few minutes later signals our return to the world of the orchestra and the final statement of the opening melody to take us out to the end of the movement.
Movement 2: Intermezzo - Adagio (in English: Interlude - Slowly)
This music sings as much as the first movement danced. We begin with solos in the woodwind instruments before the violins take the melody, twisting and pulling at it like warm taffy. A bit later the mighty and awesome viola section transitions the music back to the full orchestra led by the horns before the piano finally enters, playing alone for a couple minutes until the orchestra enters again. The tempo picks up and we are suddenly in a whirlwind torrent version of the same melodic material. Things calm again for a bit but it doesn’t last long! Another outburst reminds us that this story is not done. Many attitude changes later we have the beginning of a series of chorale moments in the winds and brass, once again leaving the violas to transition into the full orchestra sound. This material sounds like it’s closing, but then becomes the very active and splashy sounding transition material that precedes the beginning of the Finale movement.
Movement 3: Finale – Alla breve (in English: Ending – on the half*)
*”on the half”? What does that even mean?? Well, it’s not a specialty coffee order!
Basically it’s an indication the music will move at a brisk and flowing pace. Playfulness and power are at the core of this final movement. It’s an all out celebration for fifteen minutes that seems breathless even in the slower melodic moments. One thing to listen for is the way Rachmaninoff uses dynamics, the loudness and softness in music, to create drama and character. His music swells and slams and whispers its way through this movement with the flair and confidence of Freddie Mercury. It’s impossible not to get caught up in it!
Resources:
Consider and discuss:
Consider the ‘title’ of the third movement – “alla breve”. This is actually an interesting piece of ‘inside baseball’ music lingo. Generally, when music is structured around a pattern of 4 pulses, a composer can notate in what is referred to as Common Time, or in Cut Time. Common Time gets a repeating count of 4, one for each of those steady pulses so the “heart” of the music “beats” on each pulse. Cut Time [secret agent code name Alla Breve, which means “on the half”] generally moves much more quickly through those 4 pulses, so much so that it sounds more like a repeating count of 2 beats – each on the first and third pulses. In this case Rachmaninoff wants the pianist and the orchestra to move very quickly, with a sound that practically levitates as it flies through the pulse pattern. When performers see an indication for “alla breve” they typically understand the tempo will be brisk and flowing.
How might the music feel or sound different if we were more aware of each pulse (1, 2, 3, 4) rather than every other? (1, -, 3, -, 1, -, 3, - ) Can you imagine it having just one beat for every 4 pulses? (1, -, -, -, 1, -, -, -, 1, -, -, - ) How might that further change the way it feels or sounds?
Jean Sibelius
Symphony No. 1
About the composer:
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early Modern eras. He is celebrated as Finland's greatest composer, succeeded only recently by the incredible Kajia Saariaho, and his music is often credited with having helped Finland develop a national identity during its struggle for independence from Russia. The Finnish 100 mark note featured his image until 2002, when the euro was adopted. Since 2011, Finland has officially celebrated Sibelius's birthday of December 8, which is also known as the Day of Finnish Music.
Sibelius composed music inspired by nature, Nordic mythology, and the Finnish national epic, Kalevala. His seven symphonies are regularly performed around the world, as are some of his most popular works Finlandia, Valse triste, The Swan of Tuonela, and the sweeping epic Violin Concerto.
About the music:
Sibelius composed Symphony No. 1 over a period of about a year and a half in 1898 and 1899. It was first premiered by the Helsinki Orchestral Society with Sibelius himself conducting. This version, however, no longer exists. Following the premiere, Sibelius made revisions which were completed in 1900. This version of Symphony No. 1 was premiered again, this time in Berlin, and has become the standard performance version.
Symphony No. 1 is a four movement work that follows a fairly standard tempo structure of quick-slow-lively-fast. There are many moments of woodwind and string solos, and some powerful writing for the brass as well.
The first movement begins with a low rumbling in the timpani over which a clarinet solo wanders through the major themes of each of the movements in a sort of auditory preamble before the 2nd violins burst onto the scene and set the quick tempo for the bulk of the movement.
The second movement begins as a sort of lullaby, becomes turbulent in the middle, and returns to the gentle music which offers contemplation mixed with some anxiety.
The third movement is a very lively dance in three beats, with a lighter middle section.
The fourth movement begins by recalling the opening clarinet solo from the first movement but this time searing and quite loud from the strings punctuated by low brass chords before moving into and out of very fast tempo music. After all this, it ends with a very quiet and short chord, disappearing instantly almost as if the performance didn’t happen!
Was is all just a 40 minute dream???
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