Sibelius: Humoresques – 2 Serenades – Suite for Violin and String Orchestra – Swanwhite Suite

Jean Sibelius, Pekka Kuusisto and myself all played the violin in our youth, but only Pekka turned out to be a violinist. Janne and I spent time developing theories as to why we never made it into the big time on the violin, even though it was such a beloved and important part of our growing up. An accident is always a convenient excuse. In the summer of 1879, Sibelius hurt his right arm seriously enough to fracture the ulna. As a result, the arm was left stiff and even a bit shorter than his left one, it is said. Oh yes, and I dislocated my right shoulder a couple of times. When Sibelius had his first violin lesson, he was 15 years old – 12 years older than when Pekka had his. Sibelius had owned a violin for some time, but in the absence of a proper teacher he used it for his own fantasies, sawing away wildly in places like a rock in Kalalahti which commanded an impressive view of Vanajavesi lake. He also liked to play in the bow of a sailboat, the self-taught violin artist playing for the sea with no regard to his own safety (or that of his violin), oblivious to how a sudden change of tack might impact the performance