Sibelius Symphony No. 5 - thoughts?

So I sit here listening to Sibelius's 5th Symphony and am baffled over whether I like it or not. The theme in the last movement is fantastic, the end of the 1st movement is nice, however overall I can't come to terms with it, not in the least to say that I love it.

One thing that bugs me about it are the development of his themes throughout the piece, especially the last movement, which I find rather anti-climatical.

Any thoughts?

I love the themes to Sibelius's 5th. He develops them in a completely logical way, everything seems to be flowing really well from start to just before the end. And that's where he blows it all away.

He is building up this titnanicly beautiful chord progression which will reach an exultant hymn like end, and what does he do? He has these short staccato chords that just destroy the work. The first time I heard it I jumped out of my seat and said, "What the heck? How could he do that to the music?"

A terrible way to end an otherwise gorgeous work.

I did question the ending, but I loved it no matter. To have it held would just be another cliche.

(plus isn't the piece suppose to be representing a swan?) I'm pretty sure swans don't hold out there swuanks!

This work is original in many ways. The famous hugely spaced chords at the end are anything but questionable. They are *supposed* to be unusual. The preceding music is intentionally dense, and the silence becomes deafening when it finally appears. It's actually quite a thrill for many.