Gerhard Griesel is having trouble with the Sibelius #4.

> ... It comes
> from a man who does not worry what his audience might think, for coming
> from a lesser soul an audience might boo.  There is no strong theme,
> snatches of unrelated passages, an abrupt end that one thinks Jean decided
> 'Well I'm fed up with this, off to the publisher today', the use of
> 'Glocken' (could apparently be glockenspiel or bells) for nice but
> unmotivated four-note passages.  Or am I missing something here?

Well yes.  Gerhard is obviously missing everything.  I understand because
that is exactly how I felt on first exposure back in 1956.  Fortunately
I had an excellent teacher who led (forced?) me through weeks of thorough
analysis of #4 and Tapiola.  The material is not obvious and it is not
developed using traditional sonata-form techniques.  It can be a puzzle
even a century after its creation.  Still, it is a profound work and
will repay all the study you can devote to it.

As for Glockenspiel or bells...  it is clearly bells (Glocken).  Do not
settle for Glockenspiel or tube chimes or tuned brake drums or whatever.
Gerard Schwarz in Seattle used Glockenspiel doubled with tube chimes.
It was ghastly.  Horreurs!  Listen to the fine bells in the von Karajan
recording of c. 1952.  That is just right.  If you like Glockenspiel,
try Oceanides.

Good luck!

David Lamb in Seattle

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