Jean Sibelius

late Romanticism

His compressed symphonies also point far into the 20th century.

💡 Did you know? Sibelius became Finland's national composer and a symbol of the Finnish drive for independence from the Tsarist empire.

Finland

Born in 1865 in Hämeenlinna: Finland was then a grand duchy under Russian rule.

💡 Did you know? Sibelius grew up in a Swedish-speaking family and only properly learned Finnish so as to immerse himself in the folk poetry.

Finlandia

Written in protest against Russian censorship, for a while it had to be billed under cover names like 'Impromptu'.

💡 Did you know? „Finlandia“ was such a charged protest against Russian censorship that it had to be performed under disguised titles: today it is Finland's unofficial anthem.

Kalevala

'Kullervo' and the 'Lemminkäinen Suite' with the 'Swan of Tuonela': all Kalevala material.

💡 Did you know? Sibelius drew again and again on the Finnish national epic „Kalevala“: his music made the old myths world-famous.

seven

The single-movement Seventh is the summit of his art of compression; the Eighth he probably burned himself.

💡 Did you know? Sibelius condensed the symphony ever more: his 7th consists of just a single, unbroken movement.

D minor

The thwarted violin virtuoso poured all his love for the instrument into it: today one of the most performed violin concertos.

💡 Did you know? Sibelius had wanted to be a violinist himself: his only violin concerto is, in a way, the fulfilled longing of the failed virtuoso.

the silence of Järvenpää

After 'Tapiola' (1926) he published no further major work.

💡 Did you know? The long-announced Eighth Symphony he probably burned in his house's stove.

Ainola

Named after his wife Aino; he lived there for over 50 years and died there in 1957.

💡 Did you know? Sibelius named his forest home „Ainola“ after his wife Aino: he lived there for over 50 years.

a lifelong state salary

It let him devote himself entirely to composing: an early example of state support for artists.

💡 Did you know? From 1897 Finland paid Sibelius a lifelong state salary so he could devote himself entirely to composing: a rare honour.

The Swan of Tuonela

The cor anglais sings the swan's melody: from the 'Lemminkäinen Suite' after the Kalevala.

💡 Did you know? „The Swan of Tuonela“ depicts the black swan gliding on the river of the underworld, with a plaintive cor anglais melody.

Day of Finnish Music

Flags are flown nationwide that day: an honour otherwise reserved for statesmen.

💡 Did you know? Sibelius's birthday, 8 December, is celebrated in Finland as the „Day of Finnish Music“: the flag flies nationwide.

91

He died at Ainola in 1957: having published no major work for over 30 years.

💡 Did you know? Sibelius lived to 91: yet for the last 30 years he fell almost silent; the legendary „eighth symphony“ he probably burned himself.

Jean Sibelius

Jean Sibelius was a Finnish late-Romantic composer and Finland's national composer: famous for „Finlandia“.

💡 Did you know? For the last 30 years or so of his long life he composed almost nothing and probably burned his mysterious 8th Symphony.

Finlandia

Sibelius's defiant tone poem became a symbol of Finland's yearning for freedom from Russian rule.

💡 Did you know? Russian censors banned it; it had to be performed under disguised titles like ‘Patriotic Overture’.