The movements in the
suite are all borrowed from the
Karelia Music, which consisted of an overture and eight tableaux. Sibelius was commissioned to write it in 1893 by
Wiipurilainen Osakunta (the Viipuri Students' Association) for a lottery to aid the education of the people of the
Viipuri Province. Sibelius conducted the
Karelian Music at its premiere on 13 November 1893 at the
Imperial Alexander University in
Helsinki,
Grand Duchy of Finland. The behaviour of the audience was, however, far from ideal. , photographed 1870. The score was at some point left in the possession of
Robert Kajanus and, in 1936, Kajanus's wife Ella returned it back to Sibelius. It is thought that Sibelius burned his
eighth symphony along with most of the
Karelia Music in August 1945, with only the 1st and 7th tableaux spared from the fire. The
viola,
cello and
double bass parts are also missing from the 1st and 7th tableaux, and the flute parts are completely missing from the 7th tableau. The Intermezzo from the
Karelia Suite was used on British TV from 1956 to 1978 as the theme music for the
ITV weekly current affairs programme
This Week. ==Composition==