We’ve been playing Karelia all wrong, say Finns
NewsThe conductor Tuomas Hannikainen has discovered that the published scores of Sibelius’ Karelia Overture, Op. 10 and the Karelia Suite, Op. 11 are based on the 1893 manuscripts, even though the composer revised and extended them a year later.
Somehow the 1894 revisions have been languishing all these years in the YLE radio archives. The 1894 manuscripts, which Hannikainen says ‘solves all the problems’, will be premiered at an extra Helsinki Festival concert on August 26.
I wonder whether the revisions reflect what so many performances end up like anyway?
My introductionto the Intermezzo was as a child. It was used as the theme music for some current affairs programme on TV.
Loved it then, love it still.
Always have, always will.
I hope that this movement doesn’t get changed.
Well, it’s time for Volume 14 in that Bis complete Sibelius edition. I’d like to know what “problems” are solved. I’ve played the suite many times and I don’t seem to remember any problems.
Maybe not enough cowbell?
Anybody know how performing rights costs work for a new edition of Karelia given that 2027 is the 70th anniversary of Sibelius’s death? Hmmm…
Nothing in the US. The manuscript is in the public domain. You’d just have to be willing to undergo the task of making a set of parts…
In much of the world, including almost all of Europe, copyright in a music composition or literary work persists until the end of the calendar year 70 years after the death of the composer. For that reason, it is unusual for publishers other than those who have been assigned the rights by the composer (or the composer’s estate) to take-on a new edition until the “life+70” term has expired, since it results either in the need to make an agreement on the sharing of royalties (the rightsholder has no obligation to agree to anything in this regard, although it may sometimes be in his/her interests, especially if the money on offer is substantial or there is a prospect of a big royalty share in a new “definitive” edition that will enjoy an /editio princeps/ or “scientific edition” copyright term that will continue beyond the “life+70” copyright… although people less concerned about the revisions may just opt for the previous edition as soon as it enters the public domain and gets on IMSLP &c.) or the need to impose severe restrictions on where the new edition can be disseminated and sold. (It should also be remarked that some jurisdictions have longer copyright terms, notably Mexico with its “life+100” term, but a large enough part of the world is “life+70” as to make publishing shortly after the expiry of that term a worthwhile proposition even with a “not for sale/hire/distribution in Mexico &c.” caveat… this is manifested in the fairly rapid speed with which /Urtext/ editions of Rachmaninoff and Bartók have commenced proceedings.)
He forgot to press “send”.
D’oh!
Any plans to record them? Say, on BIS??
I’m secretly hoping that the revision will get rid of the horrible-to-play fifth intervals in the violas at the outset of the Intermezzo that are either horrible string crossings or cruel and unusual punishment in fingerings on a larger viola, but I’m guessing that’s not what’s happening.
Another pretext to re-record the piece over and over again. 😉
Again another reason to make money and attract attention using Sibelius’ name.
Sibelius heard his popular Karelia Suite on record by the likes of Beecham, Ormandy, Barbirolli, Karajan, Sargent etc. If he had wanted, he would have said: “Hey, there’s a revised version! Play it and record it!” – But did he?
It is nice to notice, that the “new” Karelia has risen interest and questions.
One might get a picture of this version by listening the broadcasting with Helsinki Phil. in 26.8.2023. (I hope it works globally?).
https://areena.yle.fi/podcastit/1-66133740
In the concert we play first Sibelius’ Concert Ouverture (that was found in 2018) followed by sounding examples of Karelia. “Karelia Concert version 1894” itself starts around 26:20.
(Sibelius wrote in 1894 to his friend, Adolf Paul: “now my suite is modified for concert use. It should be easy to be sold now”. The first version was not written for concert, but for tableaux vivants).
Specially the Ouverture is quite different from the printed one: the counter-point is richer, tempos faster, melodies more vivid and the articulations more accurate. Some totally new bars are added. The culmination is grand.
The other movements have several changes in tempos and articulations, especially the Ballad’s, which last part is written nicely to Horn and Harp.
It is strange and still unclair why this version wasn’t printed instead of the original. There are several hypotesis though…
It is interesting, however, that in his handwritten materials as well as in Breitkopf printed materials, Sibelius wrote many changes that correspond to the Concert version 1894.
So far I have an edition for my own use (accepted by Breitkopf). Breitkopf’s edition will come out somewhat later.