Tapiola Op.

Opus number

An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...

 112, is a tone poem

Symphonic poem

A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...

 by the Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 Jean Sibelius

Jean Sibelius

Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...

, written in 1926. It was the product of a commission from Walter Damrosch for the New York Philharmonic Society

New York Philharmonic

The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...

. Tapiola portrays Tapio, the animating forest spirit mentioned throughout the Kalevala

Kalevala

The Kalevala is a 19th century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology.It is regarded as the national epic of Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature...

, lurking behind the stark Finnish pine-forests that enveloped Sibelius's isolated home Ainola

Ainola

Ainola, meaning "Aino's land", was the home of Jean Sibelius, his wife Aino and their family from the fall of 1904 until 1972. It stands on the scenic shores of Lake Tuusula in Järvenpää, 38 kilometers north of Helsinki, the Finnish capital. It was designed by the famous Finnish architect Lars Sonck...

 outside Järvenpää

Järvenpää

Järvenpää is a town and municipality of Finland.-History:Järvenpää was separated from its parent community Tuusula in 1951. Järvenpää was granted the status of a market town after the separation. Neighbouring districts Kellokoski and Nummenkylä were not added to the municipality of Järvenpää and...

.

It was premiered by Walter Damrosch and the New York Symphonic Society on 26 December 1926.

When asked by the publisher to clarify the work's program, Sibelius responded by supplying a quatrain

Quatrain

A quatrain is a stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines of verse. Existing in various forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and China; and, continues into the 21st century, where it is...

:

Widespread they stand, the Northland's dusky forests,

Ancient, mysterious, brooding savage dreams;

Within them dwells the Forest's mighty God,

And wood-sprites in the gloom weave magic secrets.

Tapiola was Sibelius's last major work, even though he would go on to live for another thirty years. The composer began working on an Eighth Symphony, but he burnt the sketches after becoming unhappy with the work.

A typical performance lasts between fifteen and twenty minutes. It is scored for three flutes (third doubling piccolo), two oboes, English Horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, timpani, and strings. The original publisher was Breitkopf und Härtel, who published most of Sibelius's works.

Sir Thomas Beecham

Thomas Beecham

Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...

 and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...

 recorded the music in 1955; it was one of the first stereophonic recordings made by EMI Classics

EMI Classics

EMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed classical music releases....

. Since then, numerous conductors and orchestras have recorded the work.