The Swan of Tuonela, Op. 22, No. 2

Composer: SIBELIUS, Jean
  • Written in 1895, The Swan of Tuonela is the second symphonic poem of Sibelius’s Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22, which is based on the Finnish mythological epic, the Kalevala.1
  • Interestingly, of the four symphonic poems included in Op. 22, The Swan of Tuonela is the only work that does not draw on poetry from the Kalevala. The Swan of Tuonela originated as an overture for Sibelius’s (failed) opera, “The Building of the Boat” and was given a second life as a mood-setting piece for his Lemminkäinen Suite.
    • In the score, Sibelius wrote: “Tuonela, the Kingdom of Death, the Hades of Finnish mythology, is surrounded by a broad river of black water and rapid current, on which the Swan of Tuonela glides in majestic fashion and sings.”2

Sources

  1. “The Swan of Tuonela, Op.22 No.2 (Sibelius, Jean),” IMSLP, accessed November 26, 2024, https://imslp.org/wiki/The_Swan_of_Tuonela,_Op.22_No.2_(Sibelius,_Jean).
  2. Jeff Counts, “Sibelius – The Swan of Tuonela No. 2 from Legends, op. 22,” Utah Symphony, accessed November 26, 2024, https://utahsymphony.org/explore/2012/11/sibelius-the-swan-of-tuonela-no-2-from-legends-op-22/.

Cut IDs

25980 41801 42119 18506