On 13 November 1893, the full version of "Karelia" was premiered at a student association gala at the Seurahuone in Viipuri with the collaboration of the artist Axel Gallén and the sculptor Emil Wikström who had been brought in to design the stage sets. While the first performance was difficult to appreciate over the background noise of the talkative audience, a second performance on 18 November was more successful. Furthermore, on the 19th and 23rd Sibelius presented an extended suite of the work in Helsinki, conducting the orchestra of the Philharmonic Society. Sibelius's music was increasingly presented in Helsinki's concert halls. In the 1894–95 season, works such as "En saga", "Karelia" and "Vårsång" (composed in 1894) were included in at least 16 concerts in the capital, not to mention those in Turku. When performed in a revised version on 17 April 1895, the composer Oskar Merikanto welcomed "Vårsång" (Spring Song) as "the fairest flower among Sibelius's orchestral pieces".