112, is a tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, written in 1926 on a commission from Walter Damrosch for the New York Symphony Society.
When asked by the publisher to clarify the work's program, Sibelius responded with a prose explanation converted by his publisher (Breitkopf & Härtel) into a quatrain prefixed to English language editions of the score: Wide-spread they stand, the Northland's dusky forests, Ancient, mysterious, brooding savage dreams; Within them dwells the Forest's mighty God, And wood-sprites in the gloom weave magic secrets.
[3][4] The program opened with Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which was followed after the interval by Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F, played by the composer.
The opening gesture from which the whole piece develops is: Karl Ekman wrote in the Hufvudstadsbladet: "Indeed, Tapiola is a monothematic whole – although there has been disagreement as to whether the core motif can actually be considered a theme.
These, in their turn, produce 'around thirty highly characteristic, original and inimitably Sibelian musical motifs'.