Presents
Jean Sibelius
Andante Festivo for String Quartet
Andante festivo is a single-movement work for string quartet. In 1922, Walter Parviainen, a friend of Sibelius, requested a cantata to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his family’s sawmill. But Sibelius wrote instead a composition for a string quartet, which he entitled Andante festivo. Whether Parviainen was pleased with the result is unknown, but Sibelius clearly was. To give but one example, at the marriage of a favorite niece a few years later, the Andante festive was performed.
Sibelius often listened to the radio and had thought about adapting Andante Festivo for a radio performance. So when he was invited to conduct a piece of music as Finland's greeting to the world in a radio broadcast to celebrate the New York World Exhibition, he was delighted and wanted to use his Andante Festivo. However, he realized that a string quartet was not suitable for this use and chose to adapt it for strings and timpani in 1938. It was performed in a broadcast in early 1939 by a radio orchestra conducted by Sibelius. The performance was recorded by the Columbia Gramophone Company and was his last performance as a conductor. And while it is in this version that the work is usually heard, Sibelius gave instructions that the Andante festivo was to be played at his funeral in its original version for string quartet.
Our edition was created by senior editor Hal Stewart who consulted the original manuscript which includes an ad libitum bass part.
Parts: $12.95
Parts & Score: $15.95
