Boston Symphony Orchestra
Sir Colin Davis
Symphony No. 3 in C major, Op. 52, was composed by Sibelius in 1907. Coming between the romantic intensity of Sibelius’s first two symphonies and the more austere complexity of his later symphonies, it is a good-natured, triumphal, and deceptively simple-sounding piece. The symphony’s first performance was given by the Helsinki Philharmonic Society, conducted by the composer, on 25 September 1907. In the same concert, his suite from the incidental music to Belshazzar’s Feast, Op. 51, was also performed for the first time.
The work is in three movements:
0:00 Allegro moderato
10:50 Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto
21:08 Moderato – Allegro ma non tanto