Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

This week, Kate Molleson traces the development of Jean Sibelius’s symphonies. Set against Finland’s changing political climate and Sibelius’s own, turbulent personal circumstances, the podcast explores what shaped each symphony’s character – from the nationalism surrounding Nos. 1 and 2, to the renewed sense of form in the Third, the more inward Fourth, and the reworked Fifth. The week concludes with the distinctive Sixth and the single‑movement Seventh, composed during a period of uncertainty both for Finland and Sibelius himself. Music featured includes: Symphony No 2 in D, Op 43 Song of my Heart, Op 18 No 6 Symphony No 1 in E minor, Op 39 The Diamond on the March Snow, Op 36 No 6 Sunrise, Op 37 No 1 Kyllikki, Op 41 No 3 Symphony No 3 in C, Op 52 The Captive Queen, Op 48 Erloschen String Quartet in D minor, Op 56 ‘Voces Intimae’ Des Abends, Op 58 No 5 Symphony No 4 in A minor, Op 63 Spring’s Spell, Op 61 No 8 Romance, Op 78 No 2 The Oceanides, Op 73 The Echo Nymph, Op 72 No 4 Symphony No 5 in E flat, Op 82 Jokamies, Op 83 Autrefois, Op 96b Symphony No 6 in D minor, Op 104 Danses Champêtres, Op 106 No 1 Symphony No 7 in C, Op 105 Presented by Kate Molleson Produced by Luke Whitlock for BBC Audio Wales and West For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here:

You can listen to Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) is an episode from Composer of the Week by BBC.

This episode is 65:19 long.

This episode was published on Mar 6, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Composer of the Week when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.