Scene With Cranes, Op. 44 No. 2

The piece begins quietly, with the strings shimmering softly like air moving across an open landscape. Then two clarinets enter, playing in close parallel, and their calls rise and fall like the cries of cranes passing overhead. The strings answer with warm, rocking music underneath. As the piece moves on, the music grows a little fuller before settling back. There is no big tune and no loud climax, so listen for the calls of the clarinets and the stillness around them. The ending fades away, like the birds flying out of sight.

Sibelius wrote music for Kuolema (Death), a play by his brother-in-law Arvid Jarnefelt, which was first staged in Helsinki in 1903. The famous Valse triste began there. He revised the play's music several times, and in 1906 he published Valse triste and Scene with Cranes together as his Op. 44. Scene with Cranes has stayed a favorite for its unusual bird-call writing for clarinets.