Achim Breiling wrote:

>I read several times now that Sibelius had completed his 8th Symphony but
>destroyed it in a rage of frustration. Is this true or a tale?

We'll never know for sure, but there are several reasons to believe that he
did indeed finish an 8th Symphony.  One visitor glimpsed what he was fairly
sure was the score.  If he did produce the symphony, there can be little
doubt that he destroyed it, though whether it was in a "rage of
frustration" no on can really say.

If he did destroy an eighth symphony, it may have been a tremendous loss
for us.  He tried to withdraw his masterpiece and last major work, Tapiola,
shortly before the premiere.  Happily for us, things had gone too far and
the music survived.

Richard, who invites you to visit his music, outdoors and other WWW sites
at:  http://infoweb.magi.com/~richard/