Höstkväll

{{Short description|Song by Jean Sibelius (1903)}}

{{Infobox musical composition

| name = "{{lang|sv|Höstkväll|italics=no}}"

| type = Art song

| composer = {{nowrap|Jean Sibelius}}

| image = JSibelius 1900.jpg

| image_upright = .9

| caption = The composer ({{c.|1902}})

| border = Yes

| text = {{lang|sv|Höstkväll}} by Rydberg{{sfn|Dahlström|2003|p=175}}

| language = Swedish

| opus = 38/1

| composed = {{start date|1903}}, {{abbr|orch.|orchestrated}} 1904

| publisher = {{Unbulleted list|{{nowrap|{{ill|Fazer & Westerlund|fi|Fazerin musiikkikauppa}} (1903; {{abbr|pf.|piano version}}){{sfn|Dahlström|2003|p=175}}{{efn|On 20 July 1905, the Helsinki-based music publisher {{ill|Fazer & Westerlund|fi|Fazerin musiikkikauppa}} ({{lang|sv|Helsingfors Nya Musikhandel|italics=no}}) sold its Sibelius holdings (the publishing rights and printing plates) to the German firm of Breitkopf & Härtel.{{sfn|Dahlström|2003|p=xxiv}}}}}}|Breitkopf & Härtel (1907; {{abbr|orch.|orchestral version}}){{sfn|Dahlström|2003|p=176}}}}

| duration = 4.25 mins.{{sfn|Dahlström|2003|pp=175–176}}

| premiere_date = {{start date|1903|09|12|df=y}}{{sfn|Dahlström|2003|p=175}}

| premiere_location = Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland

| premiere_performers = {{Unbulleted list|Aino Ackté (soprano)|Oskar Merikanto (pianist)}}

}}

"{{lang|sv|Höstkväll|italics=no}}" (literal English translation: "Autumn Evening"),{{efn|Because Sibelius's Op. 38/1 song is sung in Swedish, this article gives preference to its native title, rather than the English translation.}} Op. 38/1,{{efn|"{{lang|sv|Höstkväll|italics=no}}" is the first of the Op. 38 Five Songs, which is a collection of independent songs rather than a song cycle. The other four songs are as follows: No. 2 {{lang|sv|På verandan vid havet}} ("On a Balcony by the Sea", 1903; text by Rydberg), No. 3 {{lang|sv|I natten}} ("In the Night", 1903; Rydberg), No. 4 {{lang|sv|Harpolekaren och hans son}} ("The Harper and His Son", 1904; Rydberg), and No. 5 {{lang|sv|Jag ville, jag core i Indialand}} ("I Wish I were in India", 1904; Gustaf Fröding).{{sfn|Layton|1993|pp=172–174, 219}}}} is an art song for vocal soloist (typically soprano) and piano written in 1903 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece, which is a setting of the eponymous poem by the Swedish poet Viktor Rydberg,{{efn|The Op. 38/1 "{{lang|sv|Höstkväll|italics=no}}" was Sibelius's second attempt at setting the Rydberg's poem. A fragmentary earlier attempt (HUL 1180, 1888–1889), which is extant, dates to the composer's youth and thematically is unrelated to its identically-named successor.{{sfn|Barnett|2007|pp=}}}} premiered on 12 September 1903 at the Finnish National Theatre in Helsinki, with the Finnish soprano Aino Ackté as soloist accompanied by the Finnish composer Oskar Merikanto on piano.{{sfn|Dahlström|2003|p=175}}

In 1904, Sibelius arranged "{{lang|sv|Höstkväll|italics=no}}" for voice and orchestra—along with its catalogue mates, "{{lang|sv|På verandan vid havet|italics=no}}" ("On a Balcony by the Sea", Op. 38/2) and "{{lang|sv|I natten|italics=no}}" ("In the Night", Op. 38/3). This version of the song received its first performance on 14 January 1905 in Paris, with Alfred Cortot conducting; the soloist was the American soprano Minnie Tracey.{{sfn|Dahlström|2003|p=176}}

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|image1=Aino Ackté Nyblin1900s.tif

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|image2=JSibelius Höstkväll 10Sep1903 Hufvudstadsbladet.png

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|footer=The Finnish soprano Aino Ackté (left) premiered Sibelius's "{{lang|sv|Höstkväll|italics=no}}" on 12 September 1903 in Helsinki (ad right).}}}}