What about the music?
An inside look with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra
COFFEE CONCERT: Sibelius’s Second Symphony
Friday, October 3, 2025 | 11AM | Diamonstein Concert Hall – Ferguson Center – Get Tickets
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 2
By Stella Feliberti
The Performers
VSO Principal Guest Conductor
Thomas Wilkins
Thomas Wilkins is currently principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Artistic Advisor for Education and Community Engagement at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and he holds the Henry A. Upper Chair of Orchestral Conducting at Indiana University. He recently stepped down after 17 successful years leading the Omaha Symphony and his guest conducting credits include every major American orchestra.
Devoted to promoting a life-long enthusiasm for music, Mr. Wilkins brings energy and commitment to audiences of all ages. He is hailed as a master at communicating and connecting with audiences. Following his highly successful first season with the Boston Symphony, the Boston Globe named him among the “Best People and Ideas of 2011.” In 2014, Mr. Wilkins received the prestigious “Outstanding Artist” award at the Nebraska Governor’s Arts Awards, for his significant contribution to music in the state while in 2018 Thomas Wilkins received the Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society conferred by Boston’s Longy School of Music.
Mr. Wilkins is a graduate of the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He and his wife Sheri-Lee are the proud parents of twin daughters, Erica and Nicole.
The Creator
Jean Sibelius
Fast Facts:
- Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer born in 1865. His parents weren’t musicians as his father was a doctor and mother, a house wife. However after his father’s death, he moved with his mother to live with his grandmother where his uncle introduced him to music through the violin.
- Sibelius first grew up as a violinist after his uncle started giving him lessons at age 10. His uncle became his musical adviser as he was the one who encouraged Sibelius to begin composing.
- Despite showing promise as a self-taught composer, Sibelius still sought to be a violinist first. He even auditioned for the Vienna Philharmonic, but was sadly denied. He eventually turned to composing full time, allowing him to realize his full potential.
- Sibelius from a young age enjoyed nature and the Finnish landscape. Many of his pieces tap into the natural world to reflect his love for nature.
- Sibelius is now known for his contributions to the symphonic repertoire. His seven symphonies and symphonic poems. He had a unique approach to form, theme, harmony, and orchestration that inspired many composers like Ralph Vaughn Williams and William Walton.
The Piece
Sibelius
Symphony No. 2
Listen to Sibelius’ Symphony No.2 by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra:
- Sibelius composed his second symphony between 1901 and 1902. He recently had been pressured to travel the world to broaden his inspiration as his contemporaries Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss had done. Here he had images of Don Juan and Jean Paul haunt him, inspiring some of the major themes of the work.
- During the composition process, Sibelius noted images with certain motifs and themes he sketched. He noted on some drafts themes for Death and Christ for the second movement, hinting at a possible theme of death, defeat, and resurrection. However, Sibelius says that he only writes absolute music* indicating that the work is not programmatic*.
- After the premiere of the work, the public admired the majestic finale as it resonated with the recent struggle for Finland’s independence. Some even dubbed the piece the “Symphony of Independence.” Sibelius never revealed whether the symphony was made with independence and nationalism in mind.
- Robert Kajanus, founder and conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, describes the entire symphony best: “The Andante strikes one as the most broken-hearted protest against all the injustice that threatens at the present time to deprive the sun of its light and our flowers of their scent.… The scherzo gives a picture of frenetic preparation. Everyone piles his straw on the haystack, all fibers are strained and every second seems to last an hour. One senses in the contrasting trio section with its oboe motive in G-flat major what is at stake. The finale develops towards a triumphant conclusion intended to rouse in the listener a picture of lighter and confident prospects for the future.”
Glossary
Absolute Music
Music that has no association with an outside source
Programmatic Music
instrumental music that musically renders a narrative, picture, idea, or piece of literature
Discussion Questions
Explore the history of Finland when Jean Sibelius was writing this piece in 1901-1902. How do you think the music depicts the struggle for Finland’s independence?
Is Sibelius Symphony No 2 programmatic music or absolute music and what leads you to your choice?