Sibelius’ Second Symphony: The Creation of a Divine Mosaic
The famous 1907 meeting between Jean Sibelius and Gustav Mahler in Helsinki revealed two opposing, yet equally compelling, conceptions of the symphony. Mahler insisted that “the symphony must be like the world. It must embrace everything.” In contrast, Sibelius expressed admiration for the symphony’s “style and severity of form, as well as the profound logic creating an inner connection among all of the motives.” On another occasion, Sibelius observed, similarly, Music is, …