Sibelius surprise

On receiving my November issue, I put on the cover CD featuring Sibelius tone toems and sat down to enjoy. When Track 2 arrived I was surprised and then delighted to hear – in the words of Morecambe and Wise – that they were the right notes but not necessarily in the right order! I can only guess that the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Sakari Oramo and were actually playing Sibelius’s predecessor to Oceanides which is called Rondo of the Waves. As so often with Sibelius, he came up with good ideas initially but recognised that these needed recasting. A fascinating piece – and well done for not giving the game away directly!

David Symington, Haddington The editor replies: You are very nearly correct. The work featured on our disc was the ‘Yale’ version of Oceanides, the score of which Sibelius sent to the US ahead of the work’s first performance in June 1914. Between sending the score and conducting that performance, however, he made significant changes, resulting in the final work that we know today. We should, of course, have made this clear in our accompanying notes, and apologise for any confusion.