Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82

The symphony unfolds in three movements, though the first two sections of the opening movement are played without a break and gradually speed up until they feel like one continuous arc.

I. Tempo molto moderato, quasi adagio, leading to Allegro moderato. It opens softly with a horn call over murmuring winds, an idea that feels unhurried and spacious. Little by little the tempo quickens, instruments layer on top of each other, and what began as a slow unfolding turns into a swirling, dance-like rush by the movement's close.

II. Andante mosso, quasi allegretto. A theme and variations built on a simple, rocking figure in the strings, plucked and gentle at first. The mood stays light and pastoral, with woodwinds passing the tune around, offering a breathing space between the two more powerful outer movements.

III. Allegro molto. Strings launch into a busy, whirring motion while the horns announce a broad, swinging theme, often called the "swan hymn" because Sibelius associated it with watching swans in flight. The music builds patiently to a close made of widely spaced, hammer-blow chords, separated by silence, an ending unlike almost any other in the symphonic repertoire.

Sibelius wrote his Fifth Symphony to mark his own fiftieth birthday, conducting the first version himself in Helsinki on December 8, 1915. He remained dissatisfied with it and revised the symphony twice, arriving at the final version premiered in Helsinki in November 1919. He later described watching sixteen swans fly over his home during the symphony's gestation, an experience he connected to the broad theme that dominates the finale. The revisions mainly tightened the structure, most notably fusing the original four movements into three by merging the first two. Since its final version, the symphony has become one of the most frequently performed of Sibelius's works, valued for its long-range buildup and unusual, punctuated ending.