(literal English translation: "The Realm of Tapio"), Op. 112, is a tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, written in 1926 on a commission from Walter Damrosch for the New York Symphony Society. Tapiola portrays Tapio, the animating forest spirit mentioned throughout the Kalevala. It was premiered by Damrosch on 26 December 1926.

History

When asked by the publisher to clarify the work's program, Sibelius responded with a prose explanation converted by his publisher (Breitkopf & Härtel) into a quatrain prefixed to English language editions of the score:

Wide-spread they stand, the Northland's dusky forests, Ancient, mysterious, brooding savage dreams; Within them dwells the Forest's mighty God, And wood-sprites in the gloom weave magic secrets.

Tapiola was premiered by Walter Damrosch and the New York Symphonic Society on 26 December 1926. The program opened with Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which was followed after the interval by Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F, played by the composer. Tapiola closed the concert.

The first performance in Finland on 25 April 1927 was conducted by Robert Kajanus, when the overture to The Tempest and the Seventh Symphony were also introduced to Finland. The composer Leevi Madetoja noted, "At times we hear the melancholy, repeated call of an elf, at times a lonely wanderer in the woods is giving vent to the pain of life. A beautiful work, technically close to the seventh symphony."

The piece was given its British premiere on 1 September 1928 at the Promenade Concerts, conducted by Henry Wood, a Queen's Hall.

The original publisher was Breitkopf & Härtel, who published most of the composer's works. Tapiola was Sibelius's last major work, though he lived for another thirty years. He began working on an Eighth Symphony, but he is said to have burned the sketches after becoming unhappy with the work.

Instrumentation Tapiola is scored for the following instruments, organized by family (woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings):

3 flutes (the third doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, 1 cor anglais, 2 clarinets (in A), 1 bass clarinet (in B), 2 bassoons, and 1 contrabassoon 4 horns (in E), 3 trumpets (in B), and 3 trombones Timpani Violins (I and II), violas, cellos, and double basses

Music A typical performance of Tapiola lasts between fifteen and twenty minutes.

The opening gesture from which the whole piece develops is:

Karl Ekman wrote in the Hufvudstadsbladet: "Indeed, Tapiola is a monothematic whole – although there has been disagreement as to whether the core motif can actually be considered a theme. Erkki Salmenhaara argues that it is not. In his view, the 'core' motif gives rise to at least four central, interconnected basic motifs. These, in their turn, produce 'around thirty highly characteristic, original and inimitably Sibelian musical motifs'."

Discography The Finnish conductor Robert Kajanus and the London Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording of Tapiola in June 1932, which appeared on Volume 1 of HMV's The Sibelius Society series (C 507, 1933). Since Kanajus's pioneering example, three conductors—in terms of superlatives—have made four recordings each: Sir Thomas Beecham (1946, 1954, 1955, and 1955); Herbert von Karajan (1953, 1964, 1976, and 1984); and Paavo Berglund (1968, 1972, 1982, and 1987). The table below lists these and other commercially available recordings:

ConductorOrchestraTimeRecording venueLabel1London Symphony Orchestra (1)193218:04Abbey Road Studio No. 1Naxos Historical2Boston Symphony Orchestra (1)193917:19Boston Symphony HallNaxos Historical3 (1)Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1)194617:44Abbey Road Studio No. 1Biddulph4Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra195218:05Concertgebouw, AmsterdamDecca5 (1)Philharmonia Orchestra (1)195320:15Kingsway HallEMI Classics6 (2)Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (1)195417:26University of Helsinki Great HallOndine7 (3)Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2)195517:25Royal Festival HallBBC Music8 (4)Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (3)195517:47Abbey Road Studio No. 1EMI Classics9 (1)Philadelphia Orchestra (1)195518:03Academy of Music, PhiladelphiaSony Classical10London Philharmonic Orchestra195618:05Walthamstow Town HallSOMM11Berlin Philharmonic (1)195718:26Deutsche Grammophon12London Symphony Orchestra (2)195916:15Walthamstow Town HallEverest13Orchestre de la Suisse Romande196316:20Victoria Hall, GenevaDecca14 (2)Berlin Philharmonic (2)196420:11Deutsche Grammophon15Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra196718:28?Berlin Classics16Vienna Philharmonic196819:04SofiensaalDecca17 (1)Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (1)196816:08KulttuuritaloFinlandia18 (2)Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra197218:11Southampton GuildhallEMI Classics19 (2)Philadelphia Orchestra (2)197619:55Scottish Rite Cathedral, PhiladelphiaSony Classical20 (1)Boston Symphony Orchestra (2)197617:59Symphony Hall, BostonDecca Records21 (3)Berlin Philharmonic (3)197619:14Berlin PhilharmonieEMI Classics22Royal Scottish National Orchestra197715:34Glasgow City HallsChandos23 (1)Philharmonia Orchestra (2)198218:11Kingsway HallDecca24 (3)Philharmonia Orchestra (3)198217:14St. John's, Smith SquareEMI25 (4)Berlin Philharmonic (4)198420:13Berlin PhilharmonieDeutsche Grammophon26Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège198519:22Royal Conservatory of LiègeRicercar27 (1)Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (1)198518:48Gothenburg Concert HallBIS28Japan Philharmonic Orchestra198617:29?Japan PO29 (4)Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (2)198714:52KulttuuritaloWarner Classics30Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (2)198816:30KulttuuritaloRCA Red Seal31San Francisco Symphony199119:28Davies Symphony HallDecca32Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra199118:41Mosfilm StudiosBrilliant Classics33 (1)Danish National Symphony Orchestra199221:08Danish Radio Concert HallChandos34 (2)London Symphony Orchestra (3)199218:29Watford Town HallRCA Red Seal35Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (4)199418:01St Barnabas' Church, MitchamIMP Classics36 (2)Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (3)199419:20Finlandia HallOndine37 (2)Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (2)199520:09Gothenburg Concert HallDeutsche Grammophon38Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (1)199618:47Stockholm Concert HallFinlandia39Lahti Symphony Orchestra (1)199717:22RistinkirkkoBIS40Iceland Symphony Orchestra200018:43[], ReykjavíkNaxos41 (1)City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra200315:42Symphony HallErato, Warner Classics42 (2)Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (2)200718:47Stockholm Concert HallExton43Lahti Symphony Orchestra (2)201117:36Sibelius HallBIS44Atlanta Symphony Orchestra201319:45Woodruff Arts CenterASO Media45 (2)BBC Symphony Orchestra201518:03Royal Albert HallBBC Music Magazine46Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (3)201618:14Helsinki Music CentreOndine47Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra202118:02Grieg HallChandos48Oslo Philharmonic202119:23Oslo Concert HallDecca49BBC National Orchestra of Wales202219:44BBC Hoddinott HallBBC Music Magazine

Notes, references, and sources Notes

References

Sources

Further reading Grimley, Daniel M. (Summer 2011). "Music, Landscape, Attunement: Listening to Sibelius's Tapiola," Journal of the American Musicological Society, vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 394–398. Mellers, Wilfrid (2001). "Tapiola'''s Search for Oneness and Cunning Little Vixen as a Parable of Redemption." In Singing in the Wilderness: Music and Ecology in the Twentieth Century (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press), pp. 37–52.

External links

Inkpot review of Tapiola'' (audio no longer available) , Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan