"I was at an age where one chases chimeras," said Jean Sibelius of his resigned abandonment of a career as a violin virtuoso. He had given that career a healthy try, for as a young student he became competent enough to perform the Mendelssohn E minor Concerto. But Sibelius had begun study of the violin at age 15 and perhaps lacked the total assurance that goes beyond accomplishment. Nonetheless, his understanding of the instrument served him in good stead not only in his own Violin Concerto, but also in his numerous chamber works. That he could write with understanding for the virtuoso may be divined from his five Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 81.

While this collection not as highly regarded from a purely musical standpoint as the composer's other efforts in this medium, there are occasional glimpses of the characteristic Finn in Op. 81. The first of the set, "Mazurka," alternates a typically Sibelian melody, brooding and Nordic-flavored, with virtuoso leaps and slides. The second of the set, the brief, charming "Rondino," alternates a melody curiously anticipatory of Prokofiev's lighter moments with trills and fermatas; a cello arrangement of this piece also exists. No. 3, "Waltz," and No. 4, "Aubade," are more solidly in the salon tradition. However, the last in the set, "Menuetto," is a bit less conventional in a subtle way. Although the title would seem to hearken back to the age of Rococo elegance, the main melody has an icy fragility to it, a Mozart-in-furs quality. The trio is more hearty yet unpredictable. Even when writing with an eye to what is lucrative (as salon music still was in 1918), Sibelius still chose to stroll, however briefly, from the well-worn path.

© All Music Guide