On the trail of orchestral colors

The symphonic poem Tapiola op. 112 is the last major work that Sibelius was able to complete and publish. It was commissioned by the New York Symphony Society and premiered there in 1926. According to Finnish mythology, the Nordic forest is inhabited by gods and goddesses, over whom Tapio rules as king of the forest. His home, hidden deep in the forest, is called "Tapiola".

In his work, Sibelius unfolds his vision of the forest in incredibly suggestive ostinati and delicate sound magic. Anyone who has heard these orchestral colors can hardly imagine that a piano rendition can somehow keep up with them. All those long organ dots, the many string tremolos and the rich sounds of the winds ... How can this be transferred to a keyboard instrument? Peter Lönnqvist has set himself this courageous task and Tapiola arranged for piano four hands (or for two pianos). According to the publisher, this version, published by Breitkopf und Härtel in 2021, is based on an earlier copy of the score by Einar Englund (1916-1999), who was himself a prolific composer and wrote seven symphonies - just like Sibelius.

The result is astonishing: the transfer to the piano works much better than expected. Of course, much is left to the player and his imagination, as Lönnqvist writes in the preface: "Performers should find the balance between piano notation and orchestral sound by studying the orchestral score and listening to the work in its original form." This is particularly important to bear in mind at the end, where Sibelius Tapiola in the most delicate B major of the multi-divided string section. The tremolos suggested here in the piano will hardly be able to suggest this sound. Perhaps continuous calm arpeggios would be more appropriate, such as those suggested by Liszt at the end of his arrangement of "Isolde's Liebestod".

Apart from that, however, Lönnqvist's transcription is a successful version and is certainly an enrichment for all those who would like to get to know this fascinating orchestral work even better at the piano or perform it as part of a chamber music concert. And last but not least, it would also be a rewarding task for conducting classes ...

Jean Sibelius: Tapiola for orchestra, transcribed by Einar Englund, arranged for piano four hands by Peter Lönnqvist, EB 9390, € 32.90, Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden