Sibelius Quotes

• The Northern idea of form is more of a process. The various units of the form overlap. You can't tell where some things stop and new things start. This is typical of Sibelius.

  Esa-Pekka Salonen

  Ideas, Typical, Form

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• I never listen to music when I am writing. It would be impossible. I listen to Bach in the mornings, mostly choral music; also some Handel, mostly songs and arias; I like Schubert's and Beethoven's chamber music and Sibelius' symphonies; for opera, I listen to Mozart and in recent years Wagner.

  Colm Toibin

  Song, Morning, Writing

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• Sibelius justified the austerity of his old age by saying that while other composers were engaged in manufacturing cocktails, he offered the public pure cold water.

  Neville Cardus

  Water, Age, Cocktails

  Sir Neville Cardus (1966). “The Delights of Music: A Critic's Choice”, London : Gollancz

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• It's so legato it's difficult to splice. Sibelius was famous for that.

  Eugene Ormandy

  Funny, Orchestra, Difficult

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• I like to sing to Verdi, I like singing to Sibelius, and Mahler maybe.

  Rufus Wainwright

  Singing, Mahler, Verdi

  "Crystal clear". Interview with Tim Adams, www.theguardian.com. February 20, 2005.

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• Every couple weeks I'll listen to Sibelius's Seventh Symphony, just to check in, to see how it's doing. It's doing OK.

  Nico Muhly

  Couple, Symphony, Week

  Interview with Sean Michaels, believermag.com. October 1, 2008.

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