. “Sibelius is neither classic nor romantic - as these terms are generally understood. He lacks the poise and serenity of the one, and the stains and dyes and odours of the other". These words of Neville Cardus, the great music (and cricket) commentator encapsulate Sibelius's enigmatic musical character perfectly. He straddles the 19th and 20th centuries and would seem to be writing Romantic symphonies in a modernist age and yet his music seems to stand outside of time.
He is the greatest poet of nature in music, not of the fields, forests and mountains of Schubert, Schumann and Mahler but of the bleak, desolate, windswept north, of light and darkness and a landscape without human habitation.
His seven symphonies and many tone poems (another Romantic form) are extraordinary and unique and we shall spend the weekend exploring their delights and ambiguities and uncovering the mind behind them. The 1st, 2nd and 5th are hugely popular (as is Finlandia) but the relatively neglected 4th and 6th symphonies are equally rewarding.

There will be numerous recorded examples and (I hope) lots of lively discussion.