Symphony No. 6 (Sibelius)

The Symphony No. 6 in D minor, Op. 104, is a four-movement work for orchestra written from 1914 to 1923 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

Although the score does not contain a key attribution, the symphony is usually described as being in D minor; much of it is in fact in the (modern) Dorian mode, a scale that corresponds to a scale on the white keys on a piano starting on the note D. A typical performance lasts about 27 minutes. The composer called the work "cold spring water" in opposition to many contemporary "cocktails"—a reference to the modernist gestures in post-war music. The symphony was premiered by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the composer, on 19 February 1923 and had other performances under his direction in the following months.