Jean Sibelius began work on his Fifth Symphony in the summer of 1914, just as the First World War broke out. The process proved lengthy, not least because he was searching for a form that could reconcile symphonic tradition with a freer musical flow. The first version was premiered on his 50th birthday in 1915, but the final, three-movement version was not completed until 1919.

In the first movement, two originally separate movements are brought together into a continuous musical journey. The music grows out of small motifs and undergoes a fascinating transformation: what begins as reflective and at times sombre gradually develops into an increasingly fast and energetic scherzo. The more tranquil second movement serves as a transition to the tremendous surge of energy in the finale.

The finale introduces the famous swan theme, a broad, majestic melody in the horns that interacts with the more animated motifs of the woodwinds. Sibelius himself described the act of composing as an attempt to piece together fragments of a mosaic thrown down from heaven. Here, the pieces fall into place to form a magnificent musical whole, ending with six powerful orchestral chords separated by silence.