The first version of the new symphony kept much of his familiar orchestral style (consonant sonorities, woodwind lines in parallel thirds, rich melodic development, etc.) but also shows some similarities with the more modernist Fourth Symphony, featuring a few bitonal passages. The final version, which is the one most commonly performed today, was premiered again by the Helsinki Philharmonic, conducted by Sibelius, on 24 November 1919.

The second version, only part of which survives, was first performed by the Orchestra of Turun Soitannollinen Seura in Turku exactly one year later. The original version of the work was premiered by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sibelius on 8 December 1915, his 50th birthday.

The symphony was originally composed in 1915 it was revised in 19.ĭuring his creative process, Sibelius wrote in his diary: 'It was as if God the Father was throwing pieces of mosaic from the edge of heaven and asking me to figure out what the pattern was.' Sibelius was commissioned to write the symphony by the Finnish government in honour of his 50th birthday, 8 December 1915, which had been declared a national holiday. 82, by Jean Sibelius is a symphony in three movements. The picture was taken shortly after he had suffered in the food shortages during the Finnish Civil War of that year.

Songs in e flat major