Suite for Violin and String Orchestra

The Suite for Violin and String Orchestra in D minor, JS 185 ( Op. 117 ), is a concertante composition for violin and strings written in 1929 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece is in three movements, as follows:

1. Country Scenery (Allegretto)

2. Serenade: Evening in Spring (Andantino)

3. In the Summer (Vivace)

The individual movements bear English language titles, as Sibelius intended to sell the Suite to the New York-based publisher Carl Fischer.

Fischer wrote to Sibelius on 5 October 1928: "However, we would be much more interested in works for piano, voice and piano, and violin and piano ... If we are permitted to make the suggestion, we would like to recommend that you write some characteristic numbers in the form of an orchestra suite ... We have every reason to believe that an orchestral suite from your pen ... would be a very commercial proposition".

Sibelius wrote back to Fischer on 15 February 1929: "I take pleasure in handing to you herewith the following compositions: Op. 114 Piano-solo .../ Op. 115 Violin-solo with piano .../ Op. 116 Violin-solo with piano .../ Op. 117 [JS 185] Suite for Violin-solo with accomp. of strings".

Fischer responded to Sibelius on 7 September 1929: "We must reluctantly inform you that in view of the extremely unfortunate constellation in the music publishing field in the United States, it seems to us inadvisable at the present time to publish compositions of the high standard which you have submitted to us. The market is very unfavorable for this class of music and we are compelled to return them to you with our regrets".

As a result of Fischer's rejection, Sibelius wrote on the manuscript, "Sketch. To be reworked!"—although he never completed a revision.

The Suite was never performed in Sibelius's lifetime. It received its world premiere in Lahti, Finland on 8 December 1990, the composer's sesquicentennial; the Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä conducted the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, with the Finnish violinist John Storgårds as soloist.

Recordings
The Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording in April 1992 for BIS Records; the soloist was South Korean violinist Dong-Suk Kang. The sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of the Suite:

Notes, references, and sources

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 * Sources