Sibelius

When the New York Philharmonic's radio audience was polled in 1935, the most popular composer was Jean Sibelius, whose music held a unique fascination for listeners of the 1930s, '40s and '50s. Having passed through a period of coolness on the part of the musical establishment, in the 1990s Sibelius's music again enjoys widespread critical appreciation, along with greater exposure than ever before in concert programs worldwide. Meanwhile, our knowledge of the man and the sources of his music has expanded and deepened. It is this new awareness that Robert Layton has distilled into this…