Lemminkäinen Suite
| Lemminkäinen Suite | |
|---|---|
| Cycle of tone poems by Jean Sibelius | |
The composer (c. 1895) | |
| Native name | Lemminkäis-sarja |
| Opus | 22 |
| Based on | Kalevala (No. 1: Runo XXIX; No. 2: Runo XIV; No. 3: Runo XV, No. 4: Runo XXX) |
| Composed | 1893–1895, rev. 1897 (all), 1900 (Nos. 2, 4), 1939 (Nos. 1, 3) |
| Publisher |
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| Duration | 50 mins. |
| Movements | 4 |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 13 April 1896 |
| Location | Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland |
| Conductor | Jean Sibelius |
| Performers | Helsinki Philharmonic Society |
The Lemminkäinen Suite, or more correctly Four Legends from the Kalevala, Op. 22, is a sequence of four tone poems for orchestra completed in 1896 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The work was conceived as Veneen luominen (The Building of the Boat), an opera with a mythological setting, before taking its form as a suite. There is a narrative thread: the exploits are followed of the heroic character Lemminkäinen from the Kalevala, which is a collection of folkloric, mythic, epic poetry. The second tone poem, The Swan of Tuonela, is popular as a standalone orchestral work.