Five Esquisses

Five piano pieces by Jean Sibelius (1929)

Five Esquisses
Piano solos by Jean Sibelius
The composer (c. 1927)
Opus	114
Composed	1929 (1929)
Publisher	Fazer [fi] (1973–74)^[1]
Duration	10 mins^[2]

The Five Esquisses (in Finnish: Viisi luonnosta; in German: Fünf Skizzen),^[3] Op. 114, is a collection of compositions for piano written in February 1929 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The Five Esquisses represent—along with the Suite for Violin and String Orchestra in D minor (JS 185), as well as the Op. 115 and Op. 116 seven duos for violin and piano—the dawn of a "radical new stylistic period" for Sibelius. Indeed, these compositions could provide the best clues as to the "sound world" Sibelius's never-realized (and likely destroyed) Symphony No. 8 may have inhabited.^[4]

History

An 1892 sketch of Sibelius at the piano by his future brother-in-law Eero Järnefelt

Sibelius (1927) plays the Steinway grand piano at his home, Ainola.

The Five Esquisses have a tortuous publication history. On 5 October 1928, the New York-based publisher Carl Fischer expressing an interest in publishing "works for piano, voice and piano, and violin and piano ..."^[3] Sibelius responded to Fischer on 15 February 1929 that it was his "pleasure" to offer four collections of his latest miniatures: the Op. 114 Five Esquisses, as well as the Op. 115 Four Pieces for violin and piano, the Op. 116 Three Pieces for violin and piano, and the Op. 117 (later demoted from Sibelius's opus list) Suite for Violin and String Orchestra.^[5] However, Fischer rejected all four compositions:

We must reluctantly inform you that in view of the extremely unfortunate constellation in the music publishing field in the United States, it seems to us inadvisable at the present time to publish compositions of the high standard which you have submitted to us. The market is very unfavorable for this class of music and we are compelled to return them to you with our regrets.
— Carl Fischer Music, in a 7 September 1929 letter to Sibelius^[6]

Shortly thereafter, Sibelius sent the pieces to Leipzig's Breitkopf & Härtel, and although they accepted the offer, Sibelius requested the manuscripts be returned to him so that he could revise Metsälaulu; after making the changes, however, he never mailed them back to Germany—likely due to the ever-worsening self-criticism that marred his later career. In 1945, the Helsinki-based published R. E. Westerlund [fi] inquired about the Five Esquisses: as with fifteen years prior, Sibelius initially agreed but changed his mind when preparing the manuscripts for publication. Westerlund's second attempt in 1950 was similarly unsuccessful. In the end, the pieces were published posthumously from 1973 to 1974 by Fazer Music [fi].^[1]

Structure and music

No. 1: Landscape

Landscape (in Finnish: Maisema) is marked Andantino.

No. 2: Winter Scene

Winter Scene (in Finnish: Talvikuva) is marked Allegretto.

No. 3: Forest Lake

Forest Lake (in Finnish: Metsälampi) is marked Con moto.

No. 4: Song in the Forest

Song in the Forest (in Finnish: Metsälaulu) is marked Animato.

No. 5: Spring Vision

Spring Vision (in Finnish: Kevätnäky) is without tempo marking.

Reception

Discography

The Finnish pianist Liisa Karhilo made the world premiere studio recording of the Five Esquisses c. 1976 for the Musical Heritage Society.^[6] The sortable table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:

No.	Pianist	Runtimes^[a]						Rec.^[b]	Recording venue	Label	Ref.
No.	Pianist	Op. 114/1	Op. 114/2	Op. 114/3	Op. 114/4	Op. 114/5	Total	Rec.^[b]	Recording venue	Label	Ref.
1	Liisa Karhilo							c. 1976		Musical Heritage Society	^[c]
2	Tapani Valsta	3:24	2:48	2:11	3:17	1:22	13:02	1975		Finlandia	^[d]
3	Erik T. Tawaststjerna	2:34	2:16	1:37	2:22	1:34	10:40	1984	Studio BIS, Djursholm	BIS	^[e]
4	Izumi Tateno	2:15	2:04	1:06	1:39	1:35	8:39	1994	Ainola	Canyon Classics	^[f]
5	Annette Servadei [ja]	2:28	2:26	2:25	2:39	1:37	11:32	1994	St George's Church, Brandon Hill	Olympia	^[g]
6	Ralf Gothoni	1:57	2:10	2:03	2:06	2:25	10:34	1995	Järvenpää Hall [fi]	Ondine	^[h]
7	Eero Heinonen [fi]	2:52	2:07	1:32	2:23	1:33	10:27	1999	YLE M2 Studio, Helsinki	Finlandia	^[i]
8	Kyoko Tabe [ja]	2:24	2:18	1:38	2:04	1:57	10:29	1999	New Broadcasting House, Manchester	Chandos	^[j]
9	Katriina Korte	2:23	2:07	1:26	1:46	1:24	9:09	2001	Järvenpää Hall [fi]	Alba [fi]	^[k]
10	Håvard Gimse	2:21	2:58	1:23	2:16	1:44	10:44	2001	St Martin's Church, East Woodhay	Naxos	^[l]
11	Kikuo Watanabe	2:18	2:12	1:36	1:47	1:55	9:48	2003	Tokyo Bunka Kaikan	Exton	^[m]
12	Vladimir Ashkenazy	2:24	2:03	1:16	1:54	1:31	9:08	2007	Järvenpää Hall [fi]	Exton	^[n]
13	Tuija Hakkila	2:36	2:00	1:26	1:44	1:42	9:28	2008	Nya Paviljongen	Alba [fi]	^[o]
14	Folke Gräsbeck [fi]	2:35	2:28	1:27	2:46	1:53	11:25	2009	Kuusankoski Hall [fi]	BIS	^[p]
15	Rudi Spring	2:45	1:51	1:36	1:52	1:47	9:51	2009	Sounddesign Peter Guschelbauer, Hagenberg	Alessa	^[q]
16	Joseph Tong	2:24	2:22	1:23	2:05	1:37	9:51	2014	Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building	Quartz	^[r]
17	Janne Mertanen	2:09	2:24	1:54	1:57	2:13	10:37	2015	[Unknown], Helsinki	Sony Classical	^[s]
18	Leif Ove Andsnes	1:48	1:55	1:40	1:49	2:05	9:17	2016	Teldex Studio	Sony Classical	^[t]
19	Yi Zhong	2:53	2:19	2:16	2:34	2:00	12:02	2023	[unknown]	TYXArt	^[u]

Notes, references, and sources

Notes

^ All runtimes are official, as printed on CD or LP liner notes.
^ Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
^ L. Karhilo–Musical Heritage (MHS 3596) 1976
^ T. Valsta–Finlandia (FACD 811) 1991
^ E. Tawaststjerna–BIS (CD–278) 1987
^ I. Tateno–Canyon Classics (PCCL–00243) 1994
^ A. Servadei–Olympia (OCD 635) 1997
^ R. Gothóni–Ondine (ODE 847–2) 1995
^ E. Heinonen–Finlandia (8573–80776–2) 2000
^ K. Tabe–Chandos (CHAN 9833) 2000
^ K. Korte–Alba (ABCA 159) 2001
^ H. Gimse–Naxos (8.555853) 2004
^ K. Watanabe–Exton (OVCX–00009) 2004
^ V. Ashkenazy–Exton (EXCL–00017) 2008
^ T. Hakkila–Alba (ABCD 297) 2010
^ F. Gräsbeck–BIS (CD–1927/29) 2010
^ R. Spring–Alessa (ALC 2001) 2010
^ J. Tong–Quartz (QTZ 2111) 2015
^ J. Mertanen–Sony Classics (888751614222) 2015
^ L. Andsnes–Sony Classics (886446267067) 2017
^ Y. Zhong–TYXArt (TXA24187) 2023

References

^ ^a ^b Dahlström 2003, pp. 485–487.
^ Dahlström 2003, pp. 484, 486–487.
^ ^a ^b Dahlström 2003, p. 484.
^ Barnett 2007, pp. 329–331.
^ Dahlström 2003, pp. 484–485.
^ ^a ^b Dahlström 2003, p. 485.

Sources

Barnett, Andrew (2007). Sibelius. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-16397-1.
Dahlström, Fabian [in Swedish] (2003). Jean Sibelius: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke [Jean Sibelius: A Thematic Bibliographic Index of His Works] (in German). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. ISBN 3-7651-0333-0.

External links

Five Esquisses, Op. 114: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

Jean Sibelius

Symphonies

Kullervo (1892)
Symphony No. 1 (1899, rev. 1900)
Symphony No. 2 (1902)
Symphony No. 3 (1907)
Symphony No. 4 (1911)
Symphony No. 5 (1915, rev. 1916, 1919)
Symphony No. 6 (1923)
Symphony No. 7 (1924)
Symphony No. 8 (mid 1920s–c. 1938, abandoned)

Concertante

Violin Concerto (1904, rev. 1905)
Two Serenades (1912–1913)
Two Serious Melodies (1914–1915)
Six Humoresques (1917–1918, No. 1 rev. 1940)
Suite for Violin and String Orchestra (1929)

Tone poems

En saga (1892, rev. 1902)
Spring Song (1894, rev. 1895)
The Wood Nymph (1895)
Lemminkäinen Suite
- 1895, rev. 1897, 1900, 1939; includes The Swan of Tuonela
Finlandia (1899)
Pohjola's Daughter (1906)
Nightride and Sunrise (1909)
The Dryad (1910)
The Bard (1913)
Luonnotar (1913)
The Oceanides (1914, rev. 1914)
Tapiola (1926)

Opera & theatre

The Building of the Boat (1893–1894, abandoned)
The Maiden in the Tower (1896)
King Christian II (1898)
Kuolema
- 1903; includes Valse triste
Pelléas et Mélisande (1905)
Belshazzar's Feast (1906)
Swanwhite (1908)
The Lizard (1909)
The Language of the Birds (1911)
Scaramouche (1913)
Everyman (1916)
The Tempest (1925)

Cantatas

Cantata for the University Graduation Ceremonies of 1894
Cantata for the Coronation of Nicholas II (1896)
Cantata for the University Graduation Ceremonies of 1897
The Origin of Fire (1902, rev. 1910)
The Captive Queen (1906)
My Own Land (1918)
Song of the Earth (1919)
Hymn of the Earth (1920)
Väinämöinen's Song (1926)

Other voice(s) & orchestra

The Rapids-Rider's Brides (1897)
The Breaking of the Ice on the Oulu River (1899)
Snöfrid (1900)
Marjatta (1905, abandoned)
Impromptu (1902, rev. 1910)
The Raven (1910, abandoned)

Other orchestral

Overture in E major (1891)
Ballet Scene (1891)
Karelia Suite (1893)
Rakastava (1894, arr. 1912)
Scènes historiques I (1899, arr. 1911)
Overture in A minor (1902)
Romance in C major (1904)
Cassazione (1904, rev. 1905)
Pan and Echo (1906)
In memoriam (1909, rev. 1910)
Scènes historiques II (1912)
Suite mignonne (1921)
Suite champêtre (1922)
Suite caractéristique (1922)

String quartets

String Quartet in E-flat major (1885)
String Quartet in A minor (1889)
String Quartet in B-flat major (1890)
String Quartet in D minor, Voces intimae (1909)
Andante festivo (1922, orch. 1938)

Piano trios

Piano Trio in A minor, Hafträsk (1886)
Piano Trio in D major, Korpo (1887)
Piano Trio in C major, Lovisa (1888)

Other chamber

Water Droplets (c. 1875–1881)
Pieces for brass septet (1889–1899)
Piano Quintet (1890)
Malinconia (1900)
Violin Sonatina (1915)

Piano

Six Impromptus (1893)
Piano Sonata (1893)
Ten Pieces, Op. 24 (1895–1903)
Kyllikki (1904)
Three Sonatinas (1912)
The Bells of Kallio Church (1912, arr. 1912)
Two Rondinos (1912)
Five Pieces, The Trees, Op. 75 (1914)
Five Pieces, The Flowers, Op. 85 (1916–1917)
Five Esquisses (1929)

Songs

Seven Runeberg Songs, Op. 13 (1891–1892)
"Serenad", JS 168 (1894–1895)
Six Songs, Op. 36 (1899–1900)
Five Songs, Op. 37 (1900–1902)
Seven Songs, Op. 17 (1891–1904)
Five Songs, Op. 38 (1903–1904; includes "Höstkväll")
Six Songs, Op. 50 (1906)
Two Songs, Op. 35 (1908)
"Kom nu hit, död", Op. 60/1 (1909, orch. 1957)
"Arioso", Op. 3 (1911)
Five Christmas Songs, Op. 1 (1897–1913; includes "Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt")
Six Runeberg Songs, Op. 90 (1917)