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Book Review
Dec. 21st, 2019 03:45 pmSibelius
by Robert Layton
This book did a great job of helping me to understand and appreciate Sibelius and his music more. Unfortunately, the biography sections are too brief and superficial. Layton goes through the narrative of Sibelius' life in a nearly perfunctory manner, concentrating on his professional activities to the near exclusion of his personal life, personality, or inner life. The childhood death of one of his daughters is even relegated to an aside in a discussion of the genesis of one of Sibelius' smaller works. The reader is thus left with a rather narrow and superficial sense of Sibelius as a person. Luckily, Layton's discussion of Sibelius' music, especially the symphonies, is quite good. He gives just enough technical detail to give the reader a sense of how the music works without being overwhelming. I especially liked the way Layton compares pieces and places them in the context of Sibelius' output. His discussions of the composition and reception of the major works was also enjoyable.
by Robert Layton
This book did a great job of helping me to understand and appreciate Sibelius and his music more. Unfortunately, the biography sections are too brief and superficial. Layton goes through the narrative of Sibelius' life in a nearly perfunctory manner, concentrating on his professional activities to the near exclusion of his personal life, personality, or inner life. The childhood death of one of his daughters is even relegated to an aside in a discussion of the genesis of one of Sibelius' smaller works. The reader is thus left with a rather narrow and superficial sense of Sibelius as a person. Luckily, Layton's discussion of Sibelius' music, especially the symphonies, is quite good. He gives just enough technical detail to give the reader a sense of how the music works without being overwhelming. I especially liked the way Layton compares pieces and places them in the context of Sibelius' output. His discussions of the composition and reception of the major works was also enjoyable.
