The long and the short of it was, the important audiences and critics of Germany and France found it severely lacking in comparison with the far-reaching new compositions of Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and Richard Strauss, among others. The fifth symphony was composed at a particularly crucial time in his creative life his previous symphony had in his mind pushed the limits of modernity, and its dark and somewhat abstruse nature are evidence of his intent to create a progressive style of increased dissonance, innovative structure, and dense motivic textures. But tastes change, and the current crop of composers and scholars now take a more balanced view of Sibelius’s compositions, and his seven symphonies enjoy renewed respect. One respected and well-known critic entitled an essay about Sibelius, “The Worst Composer in the World.” These controversies, and Sibelius’s life-long struggle with alcoholism and depression no doubt played a signal part in his composing nothing of significance from the nineteen thirties until his death in 1957 at the age of 91. But, those who favored the avant-garde of Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and company-and that included most of continental Europe and American intellectuals-were scathing in their contempt. Likewise, Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, programmed a cycle of Sibelius’s symphonies, and dogged the composer to finish the eighth-which he never did. Typical was Olin Downes, music critic of the Times, whose relentless public support of Sibelius bordered on sycophancy.
Pigeonholed by many as primarily a Finnish nationalist, whose dark, remote music was a shallow representative of Romanticism’s last gasp, Sibelius was nevertheless deemed a champion by American and British conservative musical tastes between the world wars.
The compositions of Jean Sibelius constitute a case study in the capriciousness of musical taste and the power of the artistic avant-garde.
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