Three pieces op. 1116

The violin was Sibelius’s own instrument, and the virtuoso aspect is eminent in Drei Stücke Op. 116 as well as in his entire oeuvre for violin and piano. Apart of that, Op. 116 provides a glimpse into the last active phase of Sibelius’s career as a composer.

Sibelius completed Drei Stücke for violin and piano Op. 116 (Scène de Danse, Danse caractéristique, Rondeau romantique) in the spring of 1929. The impetus for composing them probably came from the New York publisher Carl Fischer. Fischer rejected the pieces, however, due to “the extremely unfortunate constellation in the music publishing field in the United States.”

Apparently, he didn’t believe in their success, because they were too demanding. Sibelius turned to Breitkopf & Härtel, who gladly accepted Drei Stücke. The musical sources indicate that Sibelius had second thoughts on some details, and he made emendations to the pieces before their publication in December 1930. At the end of the 1920s, Sibelius was working on his Eighth Symphony, which was left unfinished. Thus, Drei Stücke remained his last opus-numbered compositions.