Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and
early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often credited with having helped
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
develop a
national identity during its
struggle for independence from Russia.
The core of his oeuvre is his
set of seven symphonies, which, like his other major works, are regularly performed and recorded in Finland and countries around the world. His other best-known compositions are ''
Finlandia'', the ''
Karelia Suite
''Karelia Suite'', Op. 11 is a subset of pieces from the longer ''Karelia Music'' (named after the region of Karelia) written by Jean Sibelius in 1893 for the Viipuri Students' Association and premiered, with Sibelius conducting, at the Imper ...
'', ''
Valse triste
''Valse triste'' (''Sad Waltz''), Op. 44, No. 1, is a short orchestral work by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was originally part of the incidental music he composed for his brother-in-law Arvid Järnefelt's 1903 play '' Kuolema'' (''Dea ...
'', the
Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
, the choral symphony ''
Kullervo'', and ''
The Swan of Tuonela'' (from the ''
Lemminkäinen Suite''). His other works include pieces inspired by nature, Nordic mythology, and the Finnish
national epic
A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation—not necessarily a nation state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with as ...
, the ''
Kalevala
The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and r ...
;'' over a hundred songs for voice and piano;
incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...
for numerous plays; the one-act opera ''
The Maiden in the Tower
''The Maiden in the Tower'' (in Swedish: ; in Finnish: ; occasionally translated to English as ''The Maid in the Tower''), JS 101, is an opera ("dramatized Finnish ballad") in one act—comprising an overture and eight scenes—written in ...
'';
chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...
, piano music,
Masonic ritual music, and 21 publications of
choral music.
Sibelius composed prolifically until the mid-1920s, but after completing his
Seventh Symphony (1924), the
incidental music for ''The Tempest'' (1926), and the
tone poem ''
Tapiola
Tapiola (; sv, ) is a district of the municipality of Espoo on the south coast of Finland, and is one of the major urban centres of Espoo. It is located in the western part of Greater Helsinki. The name ''Tapiola'' is derived from '' Tapio'', w ...
'' (1926), he stopped producing major works in his last 30 years—a stunning and perplexing decline commonly referred to as the "silence of
Järvenpää
Järvenpää (; sv, Träskända) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located on the Helsinki–Riihimäki railway track in Uusimaa region, some north of Helsinki. Neighbouring municipalities are Tuusula, Sipoo and Mäntsälä. People ...
", (the location of his home). Although he is reputed to have stopped composing, he attempted to continue writing, including abortive efforts on an
eighth symphony. In later life, he wrote
Masonic music Masonic music has been defined as "music used in connection with the ritual and social functions of freemasonry". Two major types of music used in masonic lodges are lodge songs, played to keyboard accompaniment before or after meetings, or during m ...
and reedited some earlier works, while retaining an active but not always favourable interest in new developments in music.
The Finnish 100
mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Fi ...
note featured his image until 2002, when the
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
was adopted.
Since 2011, Finland has celebrated a
flag flying day A flag flying day is a day, when it is decreed, either officially or by tradition, that the national flag should be hoisted by every official agency in the country and private citizens and corporations are also recommended to fly the national flag, ...
on 8 December, the composer's birthday, also known as the Day of Finnish Music.
In 2015, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Sibelius's birth, a number of special concerts and events were held, especially in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, the Finnish capital.
Life
Early years
![Hameenlinna Sibelius House 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Hameenlinna_Sibelius_House_1.jpg)
Sibelius was born on 8 December 1865 in
Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...
( sv, Tavastehus) in the
Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. He was the son of the
Swedish-speaking medical doctor Christian Gustaf Sibelius and Maria Charlotta Sibelius (née Borg). The family name stems from the Sibbe estate in
Eastern Uusimaa, which his paternal great-grandfather owned. Sibelius's father died of
typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
in July 1868, leaving substantial debts. As a result, his mother—who was again pregnant—had to sell their property and move the family into the home of Katarina Borg, her widowed mother, who also lived in Hämeenlinna. Sibelius was therefore brought up in a decidedly female environment, the only male influence coming from his uncle, Pehr Ferdinand Sibelius, who was interested in music, especially the violin. It was he who gave the boy a violin when he was ten years old and later encouraged him to maintain his interest in composition. For Sibelius, Uncle Pehr not only took the place of a father but acted as a musical adviser.
![Sibélius as a schoolboy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Sib%C3%A9lius_as_a_schoolboy.jpg)
From an early age, Sibelius showed a strong interest in nature, frequently walking around the countryside when the family moved to
Loviisa
Loviisa (; sv, Lovisa ; formerly Degerby) is a municipality and town of inhabitants () on the southern coast of Finland. It is located from Helsinki and from Porvoo. About 43 per cent of the population is Swedish-speaking.
The municipality co ...
on the coast for the summer months. In his own words: "For me, Loviisa represented sun and happiness. Hämeenlinna was where I went to school; Loviisa was freedom." It was in Hämeenlinna, when he was seven, that his aunt Julia was brought in to give him piano lessons on the family's upright instrument, rapping him on the knuckles whenever he played a wrong note. He progressed by improvising on his own, but still learned to read music. He later turned to the violin, which he preferred. He participated in trios with his elder sister Linda on piano, and his younger brother Christian on the cello. (
Christian Sibelius
Christian Sibelius (28 March 1869 in Hämeenlinna – 2 July 1922 in Helsinki) was a Finnish doctor and professor of psychiatry.
Sibelius became a bachelor of arts in 1889 and a doctor of medicine in 1897, and in the same year became an associat ...
was to become an eminent
psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
, still remembered for his contributions to modern psychiatry in Finland.) Furthermore, Sibelius often played in quartets with neighboring families, adding to his experience in chamber music. Fragments survive of his early compositions of the period, a trio, a piano quartet and a ''Suite in D Minor'' for violin and piano. Around 1881, he recorded on paper his short
pizzicato piece ''Vattendroppar'' (Water Drops) for violin and cello, although it might just have been a musical exercise. The first reference he made to himself composing is in a letter from August 1883 in which he writes that he composed a trio and was working on another: "They are rather poor, but it is nice to have something to do on rainy days."
In 1881, he started to take violin lessons from the local bandmaster, Gustaf Levander, immediately developing a particularly strong interest in the instrument. Setting his heart on a career as a great violin virtuoso, he soon succeeded in becoming quite an accomplished player, performing
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
's Concerto in E minor in 1886 and, the following year, the last two movements of
Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto
Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, is his last concerto. Well received at its premiere, it has remained among the most prominent and highly-regarded violin concertos. It holds a central place in the violin repertoire and ha ...
in Helsinki. Despite such success as an instrumentalist, he ultimately chose to become a composer.
Although his mother tongue was Swedish, in 1874 Sibelius attended Lucina Hagman's Finnish-speaking preparatory school. In 1876, he was then able to continue his education at the Finnish-language
Hämeenlinna Normal Lyceum where he was a rather absent-minded pupil, although he did quite well in mathematics and botany.
Despite having to repeat a year, he passed the school's final examination in 1885, which allowed him to enter a university. As a boy he was known as
Janne, a colloquial form of Johan. However, during his student years, he adopted the French form
Jean, inspired by the business card of his deceased seafaring uncle. Thereafter he became known as Jean Sibelius.
Studies and early career
After graduating from high school in 1885, Sibelius began to study law at the
Imperial Alexander University in Finland but, showing far more interest in music, soon moved to the Helsinki Music Institute (now the
Sibelius Academy
The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It als ...
) where he studied from 1885 to 1889.
![Martin Wegelius](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Martin_Wegelius.gif)
One of his teachers was its founder, Martin Wegelius, who did much to support the development of education in Finland. It was he who gave the self-taught Sibelius his first formal lessons in composition. Another important influence was his teacher
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...
, a pianist-composer with whom he enjoyed a lifelong friendship. His close circle of friends included the pianist and writer
Adolf Paul
Adolf Georg Wiedersheim-Paul (6 January 1863 – 30 September 1943) was a Swedish writer of novels and plays. He lived most of his adult life in Berlin, Germany, where he was a friend of Swedish writer August Strindberg, Finnish composer Jean Sib ...
and the conductor-to-be
Armas Järnefelt (who introduced him to his influential family including his sister
Aino who would become Sibelius's wife). The most remarkable of his works during this period was the Violin Sonata in F, rather reminiscent of
Grieg.
Sibelius continued his studies in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
(from 1889 to 1890) with
Albert Becker, and in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
(from 1890 to 1891) with
Robert Fuchs
Robert Fuchs (15 February 1847 – 19 February 1927) was an Austrian composer and music teacher. As Professor of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, Fuchs taught many notable composers, while he was himself a highly regarded composer in hi ...
and the Hungarian-Jewish
Karl Goldmark. In Berlin, he had the opportunity to widen his musical experience by going to a variety of concerts and operas, including the premiere of
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
's ''
Don Juan''. He also heard the Finnish composer
Robert Kajanus conducting the
Berlin Philharmonic in a program that included his symphonic poem ''
Aino'', a patriotic piece that may have triggered Sibelius's later interest in using the epic poem ''
Kalevala
The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and r ...
'' as a basis for his own compositions. While in Vienna, he became particularly interested in the music of
Anton Bruckner
Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...
whom, for a time, he regarded as "the greatest living composer", although he continued to show interest in the established works of
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
and
Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
. He enjoyed his year in Vienna, frequently partying and gambling with his new friends. It was also in Vienna that he turned to orchestral composition, working on an Overture in E major and a ''Scène de Ballet''. While embarking on ''
Kullervo'', an orchestral work with chorus and soloists inspired by the ''Kalevala'', he fell ill but was restored to good health after gallstone-excision surgery. Shortly after returning to Helsinki, Sibelius thoroughly enjoyed conducting his Overture and the ''Scène de Ballet'' at a popular concert. He was also able to continue working on ''Kullervo'', now that he was increasingly developing an interest in all things Finnish. Premiered in Helsinki on 28 April 1892, the work was an enormous success.
![Sibelius 1891](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Sibelius_1891.jpg)
It was around this time that Sibelius finally abandoned his cherished aspirations as a violinist:
My tragedy was that I wanted to be a celebrated violinist at any price. Since the age of 15 I played my violin practically from morning to night. I hated pen and ink—unfortunately I preferred an elegant violin bow. My love for the violin lasted quite long and it was a very painful awakening when I had to admit that I had begun my training for the exacting career of a virtuoso too late.
In addition to the long periods he spent studying in Vienna and Berlin, in 1900 he travelled to Italy, where he spent a year with his family. He composed, conducted and socialized actively in the Scandinavian countries, Britain, France and Germany and later travelled to the United States.
Marriage and rise to fame
While Sibelius was studying music in Helsinki in the autumn of 1888, Armas Järnefelt, a friend from the Music Institute, invited him to the family home. There he met and immediately fell in love with
Aino, the 17-year-old daughter of General
Alexander Järnefelt
August Alexander Järnefelt (2 April 1833 – 15 April 1896) was a Finland, Finnish general, topographist, governor and senator.
Early life
Aleksander Järnefelt was born in Tohmajärvi, the son of crown overseer Gustav Adolf Järnefelt and Auro ...
, the governor of
Vaasa
Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas), , and
Elisabeth Clodt von Jürgensburg, a Baltic aristocrat.
The wedding was held on 10 June 1892 at
Maxmo
Maxmo ( fi, Maksamaa) is a former municipality of Finland. It was located in the province of Western Finland and was part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality was consolidated with Vörå to form the new municipality of Vörå-Maxmo in ...
. They spent their honeymoon in
Karelia
Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...
, the home of the ''Kalevala''. It served as an inspiration for Sibelius's tone poem ''En saga'', the Lemminkäinen legends and the ''Karelia Suite''.
Their home,
Ainola, was completed on
Lake Tuusula
Lake Tuusula or Lake Tuusulanjärvi ( fi, Tuusulanjärvi, italics=no; sv, Tusby träsk, italics=no) is a lake on the border of the municipalities of Tuusula and Järvenpää in Southern Finland. The lake has an area of 6.0 square kilometres. Sinc ...
, Järvenpää, in 1903. During the years at Ainola, they had six daughters: Eva, Ruth, Kirsti (who died aged one from
typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
), Katarina, Margareta and Heidi. Eva married an industrial heir, Arvi Paloheimo, and later became the CEO of the Paloheimo Corporation.
Ruth Snellman
Ruth (or its variants) may refer to:
Places
France
* Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France
Switzerland
* Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny
United States
* Ruth, Alabama
* Ruth, Ar ...
was a prominent actress, Katarina Ilves married a banker and
Heidi Blomstedt
Heidi Kristina Blomstedt (''née'' Sibelius; Järvenpää, 20 June 1911 – Helsinki, 3 January 1982) was a Finnish designer.
She began her education in Helsinki, and later continued her studies at the Ateneum School of Art.
She graduated in c ...
was a designer, wife of architect
Aulis Blomstedt. Margareta married conductor
Jussi Jalas
Jussi Jalas (23 June 1908 – 11 October 1985) was a Finnish conductor and composer.
Biography
Jalas was born as Armas Jussi Veikko Blomstedt in Jyväskylä in 1908.Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954, Vol. IV, p. 576 His fath ...
, Aulis Blomstedt's brother.
In 1892, ''Kullervo'' inaugurated Sibelius's focus on orchestral music. It was described by the composer as "a volcanic eruption" while Juho Ranta who sang in the choir stated, "It was ''Finnish'' music." At the end of that year the composer's grandmother, Katarina Borg died. Sibelius went to her funeral, visiting his Hämeenlinna home one last time before the house was sold. On 16 February 1893, the first (extended) version of ''En saga'' was presented in Helsinki although it was not too well received, the critics suggesting that superfluous sections should be eliminated (as they were in Sibelius's 1902 version). Even less successful were three more performances of ''Kullervo'' in March, which one critic found incomprehensible and lacking in vitality. Following the birth of Sibelius's first child Eva, in April the premiere of his choral work ''Väinämöinen's Boat Ride'' was a considerable success, receiving the support of the press.
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
''Spring Song'' (in Swedish: ), Op. 16, is a single-movement tone poem for orchestra written in 1894 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
The piece was initially composed as ''Improvisation for Orchestra'', in the key of D major. Sibeliu ...
'' (composed in 1894) were included in at least 16 concerts in the capital, not to mention those in
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
. When performed in a revised version on 17 April 1895, the composer
Oskar Merikanto
Oskar Merikanto (; born Frans Oskar Ala-Kanto; 5 August 1868, Helsinki17 February 1924, Hausjärvi-Oitti) was a Finnish composer, music critic, pianist, and organist.
As a composer, Merikanto was primarily a miniaturist, and includes songs an ...
welcomed ''Vårsång'' (Spring Song) as "the fairest flower among Sibelius's orchestral pieces".
![Gallen-Kallela Symposium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Gallen-Kallela_Symposium.jpg)
For a considerable period, Sibelius worked on an opera, ''
Veneen luominen
''The Building of the Boat'' (in Finnish: ) was a projected Wagnerian opera for soloists, chorus, and orchestra that occupied the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius from 8 July 1893 to late-August 1894, at which point he abandoned the project ...
'' (The Building of the Boat), again based on the ''Kalevala''. To some extent, he had come under the influence of Wagner, but subsequently turned to
Liszt's tone poems as a source of compositional inspiration. Adapted from material for the opera, which he never completed, his ''Lemminkäinen Suite'' consisted of four legends in the form of tone poems. They were premiered in Helsinki on 13 April 1896 to a full house. In contrast to Merikanto's enthusiasm for the Finnish quality of the work, the critic Karl Flodin found the cor anglais solo in ''The Swan of Tuonela'' "stupendously long and boring",
although he considered the first legend, ''Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island'', as representing the peak of Sibelius's achievement to date.
To pay his way, from 1892 Sibelius had taken on teaching assignments at the Music Institute and at Kajanus's conducting school but this left him insufficient time for composing. The situation improved considerably when in 1898 he was awarded a substantial annual grant, initially for ten years and later extended for life. He was able to complete
the music for Adolf Paul's play ''King Christian II''. Performed on 24 February 1898, its catchy tunes appealed to the public. The scores of four popular pieces from the play were published in Germany and sold well in Finland. When the orchestral suite was successfully performed in Helsinki in November 1898, Sibelius commented: "The music sounded excellent and the tempi seem to be right. I think this is the first time that I have managed to make something complete." The work was also performed in Stockholm and Leipzig.
In January 1899, Sibelius embarked on his
First Symphony at a time when his patriotic feelings were being enhanced by the Russian emperor
Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
's attempt to
restrict the powers of the Grand Duchy of Finland.
[ The symphony was well received when it was premiered in Helsinki on 26 April 1899. But the program also premiered the even more compelling, blatantly patriotic ''Song of the Athenians'' for boys' and men's choirs. The song immediately brought Sibelius the status of a national hero.] Another patriotic work followed on 4 November in the form of eight tableaux depicting episodes from Finnish history known as the ''Press Celebration Music''. It had been written in support of the staff of the ''Päivälehti'' newspaper, which had been suspended for a period after editorially criticizing Russian rule. The last tableau, ''Finland Awakens'', was particularly popular; after minor revisions, it became the well-known ''Finlandia''.
In February 1900, the Sibeliuses' youngest daughter died. Nevertheless, in the spring Sibelius went on an international tour with Kajanus and his orchestra, presenting his recent works (including a revised version of his First Symphony) in thirteen cities including Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Berlin and Paris. The critics were highly favorable, bringing the composer international recognition with their enthusiastic reports in the ''Berliner Börsen-Courier
The ''Berliner Börsen-Courier'' (Berlin stock exchange courier, BBC) was a German left-liberal daily newspaper published from 1868 to 1933. It focused primarily on prices of securities traded on the stock exchanges and securities information abou ...
'', the ''Berliner Fremdenblatt'' and the ''Berliner Lokal Anzeiger''.
During a trip with his family to Rapallo, Italy in 1901, Sibelius began to write his Second Symphony, partly inspired by the fate of Don Juan in Mozart's ''Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
''. It was completed in early 1902 with its premiere in Helsinki on 8 March. The work was received with tremendous enthusiasm by the Finns. Merikanto felt it exceeded "even the boldest expectations," while Evert Katila qualified it as "an absolute masterpiece". Flodin, too, wrote of a symphonic composition "the likes of which we have never had occasion to listen to before".
Sibelius spent the summer in Tvärminne near Hanko Hanko may refer to
People
*August Hanko (military personnel), August Hanko, German First World War flying ace
Places
*Hanko, Finland, town and municipality
*Hanko Peninsula, Finland
*Hankø, an island in the Oslo Fjord in Norway
*The asteroid ...
, where he worked on the song ''Var det en dröm'' (Was it a Dream) as well as on a new version of ''En saga''. When it was performed in Berlin with the Berlin Philharmonic in November 1902, it served to firmly establish the composer's reputation in Germany, leading shortly afterwards to the publication of his First Symphony.
In 1903, Sibelius spent much of his time in Helsinki where he indulged excessively in wining and dining, running up considerable bills in the restaurants. But he continued to compose, one of his major successes being ''Valse triste'', one of six pieces of incidental music he composed for his brother-in-law Arvid Järnefelt's play ''Kuolema
''Kuolema'' (''Death'') is a drama by the Finnish writer Arvid Järnefelt, first performed on 2 December 1903. He revised the work in 1911.
The play is notable for its incidental music: a group of six compositions created by the author's broth ...
'' (Death). Short of money, he sold the piece at a low price but it quickly gained considerable popularity not only in Finland but internationally. During his long stays in Helsinki, Sibelius's wife Aino frequently wrote to him, imploring him to return home but to no avail. Even after their fourth daughter, Katarina, was born, he continued to work away from home. Early in 1904, he finished his Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
but its first public performance on 8 February was not a success. It led to a revised, condensed version that was performed in Berlin the following year.
Move to Ainola
In November 1903, Sibelius began to build his new home Ainola (Aino's Place) near Lake Tuusula
Lake Tuusula or Lake Tuusulanjärvi ( fi, Tuusulanjärvi, italics=no; sv, Tusby träsk, italics=no) is a lake on the border of the municipalities of Tuusula and Järvenpää in Southern Finland. The lake has an area of 6.0 square kilometres. Sinc ...
some 45 km (30 miles) north of Helsinki. To cover the construction costs, he gave concerts in Helsinki, Turku and Vaasa in early 1904 as well as in Tallinn, Estonia, and in Latvia during the summer. The family were finally able to move into the new property on 24 September 1904, making friends with the local artistic community, including the painters Eero Järnefelt
Erik "Eero" Nikolai Järnefelt (8 November 1863 – 15 November 1937) was a Finnish painter and art professor. He is best known for his portraits and landscapes of the area around Koli National Park. He was a medal winner at the Paris ''Expositi ...
and Pekka Halonen
Pekka Halonen (23 September 1865 – 1 December 1933) was a painter of Finnish landscapes and people in the national romantic style. His favorite subjects were the Finnish landscape and its people which he depicted in his Realist style.Aimo Reita ...
and the novelist Juhani Aho
Juhani Aho, originally Johannes Brofeldt (11 September 1861 – 8 August 1921), was a Finnish author and journalist. He was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature twelve times.
Early life
Juhani Aho was born at Lapinlahti in 1861. His pa ...
.[
In January 1905, Sibelius returned to Berlin where he conducted his Second Symphony. While the concert itself was successful, it received mixed reviews, some very positive while those in the ''Allgemeine Zeitung'' and the ''Berliner Tageblatt'' were less enthusiastic. Back in Finland, he rewrote the increasingly popular '' Pelléas and Mélisande'' as an orchestral suite. In November, visiting Britain for the first time, he went to ]Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
where he met Henry Wood. On 2 December, he conducted the First Symphony and ''Finlandia'', writing to Aino that the concert had been a great success and widely acclaimed.
In 1906, after a short, rather uneventful stay in Paris at the beginning of the year, Sibelius spent several months composing in Ainola, his major work of the period being ''Pohjola's Daughter
The tone poem ''Pohjola's Daughter'' (in Finnish: ), Op. 49, was composed by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in 1906. Originally, Sibelius intended to title the work ', after the character in the ' (the Finnish national epic). The publ ...
'', yet another piece based on the ''Kalevala''. Later in the year he composed incidental music for '' Belshazzar's Feast'', also adapting it as an orchestral suite. He ended the year conducting a series of concerts, the most successful being the first public performance of ''Pohjola's Daughter'' at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg.[
]
Ups and downs
From the beginning of 1907, Sibelius again indulged in excessive wining and dining in Helsinki, spending exorbitant amounts on champagne and lobster. His lifestyle had a disastrous effect on the health of Aino who was driven to retire to a sanatorium, suffering from exhaustion. While she was away, Sibelius resolved to give up drinking
Drinking is the act of ingesting water or other liquids into the body through the mouth, proboscis, or elsewhere. Humans drink by swallowing, completed by peristalsis in the esophagus. The physiological processes of drinking vary widely among o ...
, concentrating instead on composing his Third Symphony. He completed the work for a performance in Helsinki on 25 September. Although its more classical approach surprised the audience, Flodin commented that it was "internally new and revolutionary".[
Shortly afterwards Sibelius met ]Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
who was in Helsinki. The two agreed that with each new symphony, they lost those who had been attracted to their earlier works. This was demonstrated above all in St Petersburg where the Third Symphony was performed in November 1907 to dismissive reviews. Its reception in Moscow was rather more positive.[
]
In 1907, Sibelius underwent a serious operation for suspected throat cancer. Early in 1908, he had to spend a spell in hospital. His smoking and drinking had now become life-threatening. Although he cancelled concerts in Rome, Warsaw and Berlin, he maintained an engagement in London but there too his Third Symphony failed to attract the critics. In May 1908, Sibelius's health deteriorated further. He travelled with his wife to Berlin to have a tumour removed from his throat. After the operation, he vowed to give up smoking and drinking once and for all.[ The impact of this brush with death has been said to have inspired works that he composed in the following years, including '']Luonnotar
In the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic, Ilmatar () was a virgin spirit and goddess of the air.
Origins
The name Ilmatar is derived from the Finnish word ''ilma'', meaning "air," and the female suffix ''-tar'', corresponding to English " ...
'' and the Fourth Symphony.
More pleasant times
In 1909, the successful throat operation resulted in renewed happiness between Sibelius and Aino in the family home. In Britain too, his condition was well received as he conducted ''En saga'', ''Finlandia'', ''Valse Triste'' and ''Spring Song'' to enthusiastic audiences. A meeting with Claude Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
produced further support. After another uneventful trip to Paris, he went to Berlin where he was relieved to learn that his throat operation had been entirely successful.
Sibelius started work on his Fourth Symphony in early 1910 but his dwindling funds also required him to write a number of smaller pieces and songs. In October, he conducted concerts in Kristiania
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
(now Oslo) where '' The Dryad'' and '' In Memoriam'' were first performed. His ''Valse triste'' and Second Symphony were particularly well received. He then travelled to Berlin to continue work on his Fourth Symphony, writing the finale after returning to Järvenpää.[
Sibelius conducted his first concerts in Sweden in early 1911 when even his Third Symphony was welcomed by the critics. He completed the Fourth Symphony in April but, as he expected, with its introspective style it was not very warmly received when first performed in Helsinki with mixed reviews. Apart from a trip to Paris where he enjoyed a performance of Richard Strauss's '']Salome
Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...
'', the rest of the year was fairly uneventful. In 1912, he completed his short orchestral work ''Scènes historiques II''. It was first performed in March together with the Fourth Symphony. The concert was repeated twice to enthusiastic audiences and critics including Robert Kajanus. The Fourth Symphony was also well received in Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
in September. In March 1913, it was performed in New York but a large section of the audience left the hall between the movements while in October, after a concert conducted by Carl Muck
Karl Muck (October 22, 1859 – March 3, 1940) was a German-born conductor of Classical music. He based his activities principally in Europe and mostly in opera. His American career comprised two stints at the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). M ...
, the ''Boston American'' labelled it "a sad failure".[
Sibelius's first significant composition of 1913 was the tone poem '']The Bard
A bard is a minstrel in medieval Scottish, Irish, and Welsh societies; and later re-used by romantic writers.
Bard, BARD, The Bard or Bård may also refer to:
People
* Bard (surname)
* Bård, Norwegian given name and surname
*William Shakespea ...
'', which he conducted in March to a respectful audience in Helsinki. He went on to compose ''Luonnotar'' (Daughter of Nature) for soprano and orchestra. With a text from the ''Kalevala'', it was first performed in Finnish in September 1913 by Aino Ackté (to whom it had been dedicated) at the music festival
A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...
in Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, England.[ In early 1914, Sibelius spent a month in Berlin where he was particularly drawn to ]Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
. Back in Finland, he began work on ''The Oceanides'', which the American millionaire Carl Stoeckel had commissioned for the Norfolk Music Festival. After first composing the work in D-flat major, Sibelius undertook substantive revisions, presenting a D major version in Norfolk, which was well received, as were ''Finlandia'' and the ''Valse triste''. Henry Krehbiel
Henry Edward Krehbiel (10 March 1854 – 20 March 1923) was an American music critic and musicologist who was the chief music critic of ''The New York Tribune'' for more than forty years. Along with his contemporaries Richard Aldrich, Henry The ...
considered ''The Oceanides'' one of the most beautiful pieces of sea music ever composed, while ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' commented that Sibelius's music was the most notable contribution to the music festival. While in America, Sibelius received an honorary doctorate from Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
and, almost simultaneously, one from the University of Helsinki where he was represented by Aino.[
]
First World War years
While travelling back from the United States, Sibelius heard about the events in Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
that led to the beginning of the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Although he was far away from the fighting, his royalties from abroad were interrupted. To make ends meet, he composed smaller works for publication in Finland. In March 1915, he was able to travel to Gothenburg in Sweden, where his work ''The Oceanides'' was widely appreciated. While working on his Fifth Symphony in April, he saw 16 swans flying by, inspiring him to write the finale. "One of the great experiences of my life!" he commented. Although there was little progress on the symphony during the summer, he was able to complete it by his 50th birthday on 8 December.
On the evening of his birthday, Sibelius conducted the premiere of the Fifth Symphony in the hall of the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Despite high praise from Kajanus, the composer was not satisfied with his work and soon began to revise it. Around this time, Sibelius was running ever deeper into debt. The grand piano he had received as a present was about to be confiscated by the bailiffs when the singer Ida Ekman
Ida Paulina Ekman (22 April 187514 April 1942) was a Finnish soprano singer. She was also referred to as Ida Morduch-Ekman. Her career was mainly in oratorio and lieder, and she was a renowned interpreter of the songs of Jean Sibelius, many of whi ...
paid off a large proportion of his debt after a successful fund-raising campaign.[
A year later, on 8 December 1916, Sibelius presented the revised version of his Fifth Symphony in Turku, combining the first two movements and simplifying the finale. When it was performed a week later in Helsinki, Katila was very favourable but Wasenius frowned on the changes, leading the composer to rewrite it once again.][
From the beginning of 1917, Sibelius started drinking again, triggering arguments with Aino. Their relationship improved with the excitement resulting from the start of the ]Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
. By the end of the year, Sibelius had composed his ''Jäger March
The "Jäger March" ( fi, "Jääkärimarssi", italic=no, originally "Jääkärien marssi"), , is a military march by Jean Sibelius. He set in 1917 words written by the Finnish Jäger, ''Hilfsgruppenführer'' Heikki Nurmio who served in Libau, in ...
''. The piece proved particularly popular after the Finnish parliament accepted the Senate's declaration of independence from Russia in December 1917. The ''Jäger March'', first played on 19 January 1918, delighted the Helsinki elite for a short time until the start of the Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...
on 27 January.[ Sibelius naturally supported the ]Whites
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as " ...
, but as a Tolstoyan, Aino Sibelius had some sympathies for the Reds
Reds may refer to:
General
* Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism
* Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863
* USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...
too.
In February, his house (Ainola) was searched twice by the local Red Guard looking for weapons. During the first weeks of the war, some of his acquaintances were killed in the violence, and his brother, the psychiatrist Christian Sibelius, was arrested because he refused to reserve beds for the Red soldiers who had suffered shell shock at the front. Sibelius's friends in Helsinki were now worried about his safety. The composer Robert Kajanus negotiated with the Red Guard commander-in-chief Eero Haapalainen
Eero Haapalainen (Russian Эро Эрович Хаапалайнен, ''Ero Erovich Khaapalaynen''; 27 October 1880 – 27 November 1937) was a Finnish politician, trade unionist and journalist, who was one of the most prominent figures of the Finn ...
, who guaranteed Sibelius a safe journey from Ainola to the capital. On 20 February, a group of Red Guard fighters escorted the family to Helsinki. Finally, from 12 to 13 April, the German troops occupied
' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
the city and the Red period was over. A week later, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra gave a concert in homage to the German commander Rüdiger von der Goltz. Sibelius finished off the event by conducting the ''Jäger March''.
Revived fortunes but growing hand tremor
In early 1919, Sibelius enthusiastically decided to change his image, shaving off what remained of his thinning hair. In June, together with Aino, he visited Copenhagen on his first trip outside Finland since 1915, successfully presenting his Second Symphony. In November he conducted the final version of his Fifth Symphony, receiving repeated ovations from the audience. By the end of the year, he was already working on the Sixth.[
In 1920, despite a growing tremor in his hands, Sibelius composed the ''Hymn of the Earth'' to a text by the poet Eino Leino for the Suomen Laulu Choir and orchestrated his ''Valse lyrique'', helped along by drinking wine. On his birthday in December 1920, Sibelius received a donation of 63,000 marks, a substantial sum the tenor had raised from Finnish businesses. Although he used some of the money to reduce his debts, he also spent a week celebrating to excess in Helsinki.]
At this time, Sibelius held detailed negotiations with George Eastman, inventor of the Kodak camera and founder of the Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman.
It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...
in Rochester, New York. Eastman offered $20,000 salary to teach for a single year, and before Sibelius declined, negotiations were so firm that the ''New York Times'' published Sibelius's arrival as fact.
Sibelius enjoyed a highly successful trip to England in early 1921—conducting several concerts around the country, including the Fourth and Fifth symphonies, ''The Oceanides'', the ever-popular ''Finlandia'', and ''Valse triste''. Immediately afterwards, he conducted the Second Symphony and ''Valse triste'' in Norway. He was beginning to suffer from exhaustion, but the critics remained positive. On his return to Finland in April, he presented ''Lemminkäinen's Return'' and the Fifth Symphony at the Nordic Music Days.[
Early in 1922, after suffering from headaches Sibelius decided to acquire spectacles although he never wore them for photographs. In July, he was saddened by the death of his brother Christian. In August, he joined the Finnish Freemasons and composed ritual music for them. In February 1923, he premiered his Sixth Symphony. Evert Katila highly praised it as "pure idyll." Before the year ended he had also conducted concerts in Stockholm and Rome, the first to considerable acclaim, the second to mixed reviews. He then proceeded to Gothenburg where he enjoyed an ecstatic reception despite arriving at the concert hall suffering from over-indulgence in food and drink. Despite continuing to drink, to Aino's dismay, Sibelius managed to complete his Seventh Symphony in early 1924. In March, under the title of ''Fantasia sinfonica'' it received its first public performance in Stockholm where it was a success. It was even more highly appreciated at a series of concerts in Copenhagen in late September. Sibelius was honoured with the Knight Commander's Cross of the ]Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...
.[
He spent most of the rest of the year resting as his recent spate of activity was straining his heart and nerves. Composing a few small pieces, he relied increasingly on alcohol. In May 1925, his Danish publisher Wilhelm Hansen and the Royal Danish Theatre invited him to compose incidental music for a production of ]Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's '' The Tempest''. He completed the work well in advance of its premiere in March 1926.[ It was well received in Copenhagen although Sibelius was not there himself.
The music journalist Vesa Sirén has found evidence that Sibelius perhaps suffered from essential tremor since a young age and that he reduced the symptoms by drinking alcohol. This self medication is common and effective but discouraged by doctors due to the risks outweighing the benefits. Sirén's research is supported by several medical experts. The tremor presumably prevented writing and impaired his social life.
]
Last major contributions
The year 1926 saw a sharp and lasting decline in Sibelius's output: after his Seventh Symphony, he produced only a few major works during the rest of his life. Arguably the two most significant of these were the incidental music for ''The Tempest'' and the tone poem ''Tapiola''. For most of the last thirty years of his life, Sibelius even avoided talking publicly about his music.
There is substantial evidence that Sibelius worked on an eighth symphony. He promised the premiere of this symphony to Serge Koussevitzky
Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevit ...
in 1931 and 1932, and a London performance in 1933 under Basil Cameron
Basil Cameron, CBE (18 August 1884 – 26 June 1975) was an English conductor.
Early career
He was born Basil George Cameron HindenbergW.L. Jacob, "Hindenburg v. Cameron" (Letter to the Editor) (1991). ''The Musical Times'', 132 (1782), p. ...
was even advertised to the public. The only concrete evidence of the symphony's existence on paper is a 1933 bill for a fair copy of the first movement and short draft fragments first published and played in 2011. Sibelius had always been quite self-critical; he remarked to his close friends, "If I cannot write a better symphony than my Seventh, then it shall be my last." Since no manuscript survives, sources consider it likely that Sibelius destroyed most traces of the score, probably in 1945, during which year he certainly consigned a great many papers to the flames. His wife Aino recalled,
In the 1940s there was a great auto da fé
Auto may refer to:
* An automaton
* An automobile
* An autonomous car
* An automatic transmission
* An auto rickshaw
* Short for automatic
* Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play
* ''Auto'' (film), 2007 Tamil comedy film
* Auto (play), ...
at Ainola. My husband collected a number of the manuscripts in a laundry basket and burned them on the open fire in the dining room. Parts of the ''Karelia Suite'' were destroyed – I later saw remains of the pages which had been torn out – and many other things. I did not have the strength to be present and left the room. I therefore do not know what he threw on to the fire. But after this my husband became calmer and gradually lighter in mood.
Second World War years
On Sibelius's 70th birthday (8 December 1935), the German Nazi regime awarded him the Goethe-Medal with a certificate signed by Adolf Hitler. After the attempted Soviet invasion of Finland in late 1939–40 (the Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
) which, though initially repelled, forced Finland to cede territory to the Soviet Union after the later defeat of the Finnish military, the Sibelius family returned for good to Ainola in the summer of 1941, after a long absence. Anxious about Bolshevism, Sibelius advocated that Finnish soldiers march alongside German forces after Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. Sibelius did not make any utterances about the genocide of the Jews although, in a diary entry in 1943, he wondered why he had signed the Aryan certificate.
On 1 January 1939, Sibelius had participated in an international radio broadcast during which he conducted his ''Andante Festivo
''Andante Festivo'' () is a single-movement composition by Jean Sibelius, originally scored for string quartet in 1922. In 1938, the composer rescored the piece for string orchestra and timpani. On 1 January 1939 Sibelius conducted his compositio ...
''. The performance was preserved on transcription discs and later issued on CD. This is probably the only surviving example of Sibelius interpreting his own music.
Final years and death
From 1903 and for many years thereafter Sibelius lived in the countryside. From 1939 he and Aino again had a home in Helsinki, but they moved back to Ainola in 1941, only occasionally visiting the city. After the war he returned to Helsinki only a couple of times. The so-called "silence of Järvenpää" became something of a myth, as in addition to countless official visitors and colleagues, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren also spent their holidays there.
Sibelius avoided public statements about other composers, but Erik W. Tawaststjerna
Erik Werner Tawaststjerna (10 October 1916 – 22 January 1993) was a Finnish musicologist who also worked as a pianist, pedagogue, and critic. He is remembered as a significant biographer of Jean Sibelius.
Biography
Erik Werner Tawaststjerna ...
and Sibelius's secretary Santeri Levas have documented private conversations in which he admired Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
and considered Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...
and Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
the most talented composers of the younger generation. In the 1950s he promoted the young Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara
Einojuhani Rautavaara (; 9 October 1928 – 27 July 2016) was a Finnish composer of classical music. Among the most notable Finnish composers since Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), Rautavaara wrote a List of compositions by Einojuhani Rautavaara, gre ...
.
His 90th birthday, in 1955, was widely celebrated, and both the Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...
under Eugene Ormandy and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...
under Sir Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...
gave special performances of his music.
Tawaststjerna also relates an anecdote in connection with Sibelius's death:
ewas returning from his customary morning walk. Exhilarated, he told his wife Aino that he had seen a flock of cranes approaching. "There they come, the birds of my youth," he exclaimed. Suddenly, one of the birds broke away from the formation and circled once above Ainola. It then rejoined the flock to continue its journey.
Two days later in Ainola, on the evening of 20 September 1957, Sibelius died of a brain haemorrhage at the age of 91. At the time of his death, his Fifth Symphony, conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent, was being broadcast by radio from Helsinki. At the same time, the United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
was in session, and the then President of the Assembly, Sir Leslie Munro
Sir Leslie Knox Munro (26 February 190113 February 1974) was a New Zealand lawyer, journalist, diplomat and politician.
Law and media
Munro studied at Auckland Grammar School and the University of Auckland, where he graduated with a Master of ...
of New Zealand, called for a moment of silence and delivered a eulogy: "Sibelius belonged to the whole world. He enriched the life of the entire human race with his music". Another well-known Finnish composer, Heino Kaski, died on the same day, but his death was overshadowed by that of Sibelius. Sibelius was honoured with a state funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...
and is buried in the garden at Ainola.
Aino Sibelius continued to live in Ainola for the next 12 years until her death on 8 June 1969 at the age of 97. She is buried next to her husband.
Music
Sibelius is widely known for his symphonies and his tone poems, especially ''Finlandia'' and the ''Karelia suite''. His reputation in Finland grew in the 1890s with the choral symphony ''Kullervo'', which like many subsequent pieces drew on the epic poem ''Kalevala''. His First Symphony was first performed to an enthusiastic audience in 1899 at a time when Finnish nationalism was evolving. In addition to six more symphonies, he gained popularity at home and abroad with incidental music and more tone poems, especially ''En saga'', ''The Swan of Tuonela'' and ''Valse triste''. Sibelius also composed a series of works for violin and orchestra including a Violin Concerto, the opera ''Jungfrun i tornet'', many shorter orchestral pieces, chamber music, works for piano and violin, choral works and numerous songs.
In the mid-1920s, after his Sixth and Seventh Symphonies, he composed the symphonic poem ''Tapiola'' and incidental music for ''The Tempest''. Thereafter, although he lived until 1957, he did not publish any further works of note. For several years, he worked on an Eighth Symphony, which he later burned.
As for his musical style, hints of Tchaikovsky's music are particularly evident in early works such as his First Symphony and his Violin Concerto. For a period, he was nevertheless overwhelmed by Wagner, particularly while composing his opera. More lasting influences included Ferruccio Busoni and Anton Bruckner. But for his tone poems, he was above all inspired by Liszt. The similarities to Bruckner can be seen in the brass contributions to his orchestral works and the generally slow tempo of his music.
Sibelius progressively stripped away formal markers of sonata form in his work and, instead of contrasting multiple themes, focused on the idea of continuously evolving cells and fragments culminating in a grand statement. His later works are remarkable for their sense of unbroken development, progressing by means of thematic permutations and derivations. The completeness and organic feel of this synthesis has prompted some to suggest that Sibelius began his works with a finished statement and worked backwards, although analyses showing these predominantly three- and four-note cells and melodic fragments as they are developed and expanded into the larger "themes" effectively prove the opposite.
This self-contained structure stood in stark contrast to the symphonic style of Gustav Mahler, Sibelius's primary rival in symphonic composition. While thematic variation played a major role in the works of both composers, Mahler's style made use of disjunct, abruptly changing and contrasting themes, while Sibelius sought to slowly transform thematic elements. In November 1907 Mahler undertook a conducting tour of Finland, and the two composers were able to take a lengthy walk together, leading Sibelius to comment:
I said that I admired he symphony's
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
severity of style and the profound logic that created an inner connection between all the motifs ... Mahler's opinion was just the reverse. "No, a symphony must be like the world. It must embrace everything."
Symphonies
Sibelius started work on his Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39, in 1898 and completed it in early 1899, when he was 33. The work was first performed on 26 April 1899 by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the composer, in an original, well received version that has not survived. After the premiere, Sibelius made some revisions, resulting in the version performed today. The revision was completed in the spring and summer of 1900, and was first performed in Berlin by the Helsinki Philharmonic, conducted by Robert Kajanus on 18 July 1900. The symphony begins with a highly original, rather forlorn clarinet solo backed by subdued timpani.
His Second Symphony, the most popular and most frequently recorded of his symphonies, was first performed by the Helsinki Philharmonic Society on 8 March 1902, with the composer conducting. The opening chords with their rising progression provide a motif for the whole work. The heroic theme of the finale with the three-tone motif is interpreted by the trumpets rather than the original woodwinds. During a period of Russian oppression, it consolidated Sibelius's reputation as a national hero. After the first performance, Sibelius made some changes, leading to a revised version first performed by Armas Järnefelt on 10 November 1903 in Stockholm.
The Third Symphony is a good-natured, triumphal, and deceptively simple-sounding piece. The symphony's first performance was given by the Helsinki Philharmonic Society, conducted by the composer, on 25 September 1907. There are themes from Finnish folk music in the work's early chords. Composed just after his move to Ainola, it contrasts sharply with the first two symphonies, with its clear mode of expression developing into the marching tones of the finale.[ His Fourth Symphony was premiered in Helsinki on 3 April 1911 by the Philharmonia Society, with Sibelius conducting. It was written while Sibelius was undergoing a series of operations to remove a tumour from his throat. Its grimness can perhaps be explained as a reaction from his (temporary) decision to give up drinking. The opening bars, with cellos, basses and bassoons, convey a new approach to timing. It then develops into melancholic sketches based on the composer's setting of Poe's ''The Raven''. The waning finale is perhaps a premonition of the silence Sibelius would experience twenty years later. In contrast to the usual assertive finales of the times, the work ends simply with a "leaden thud".][
Symphony No. 5 was premiered in Helsinki to great acclaim by Sibelius himself on 8 December 1915, his 50th birthday. The version most commonly performed today is the final revision, consisting of three movements, presented in 1919. The Fifth is Sibelius's only symphony in a major key throughout. From its soft opening played by the horns, the work develops into rotational repetitions of its various themes with considerable transformations, building up to the trumpeted swan hymn in the final movement.][ While the Fifth had already started to veer away from the sonata form, the Sixth, conducted by the composer at its premiere in February 1923, is even further removed from the traditional norms. Tawaststjerna comments that "the inale'sstructure follows no familiar pattern". Composed in the Dorian mode, it draws on some of the themes developed while Sibelius was working on the Fifth as well as from material intended for a lyrical violin concerto. Now taking a purified approach, Sibelius sought to offer "spring water" rather than cocktails, making use of lighter flutes and strings rather than the heavy brass of the Fifth.
Symphony No. 7 in C major was his last published symphony. Completed in 1924, it is notable for having only one movement. It has been described as "completely original in form, subtle in its handling of tempi, individual in its treatment of ]key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
and wholly organic in growth". It has also been called "Sibelius's most remarkable compositional achievement". Initially titled ''Fantasia sinfonica'', it was first performed in Stockholm in March 1924, conducted by Sibelius. It was based on an adagio movement he had sketched almost ten years earlier. While the strings dominate, there is also a distinctive trombone theme.
Tone poems
After the seven symphonies and the violin concerto, Sibelius's thirteen symphonic poems are his most important works for orchestra and, along with the tone poems of Richard Strauss, represent some of the most important contributions to the genre since Franz Liszt. As a group, the symphonic poems span the entirety of Sibelius's artistic career (the first was composed in 1892, while the last appeared in 1925), display the composer's fascination with nature and Finnish mythology (particularly the ''Kalevala''), and provide a comprehensive portrait of his stylistic maturation over time.
'' En saga'' (meaning "A Fairy Tale" in Swedish) was first presented in February 1893 with Sibelius conducting. The single-movement tone poem was possibly inspired by the Icelandic mythological work ''Edda
"Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been attributed by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poem ...
'' although Sibelius simply described it as "an expression of isstate of mind". Beginning with a dreamy theme from the strings, it evolves into the tones of the woodwinds, then the horns and the violas, demonstrating Sibelius's ability to handle an orchestra. The composer's first significant orchestral piece, it was revised in 1902 when Ferruccio Busoni invited Sibelius to conduct his work in Berlin. Its successful reception encouraged him to write to Aino: "I have been acknowledged as an accomplished 'artist.
''The Wood Nymph
''The Wood Nymph'' (in Swedish: '; subtitled '), Op. 15, is a programmatic tone poem for orchestra composed in 1894 and 1895 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The ballade, which premiered on 17 April 1895 in Helsinki, Finland, with S ...
'', a single-movement tone poem for orchestra, was written in 1894. Premiered in April 1895 in Helsinki with Sibelius conducting, it is inspired by the Swedish poet Viktor Rydberg's work of the same name. Organizationally, it consists of four informal sections, each corresponding to one of the poem's four stanzas and evoking the mood of a particular episode: first, heroic vigour; second, frenetic activity; third, sensual love; and fourth, inconsolable grief. Despite the music's beauty, many critics have faulted Sibelius for his "over-reliance" on the source material's narrative structure.
The '' Lemminkäinen Suite'' was composed in the early 1890s. Originally conceived as a mythological opera, ''Veneen luominen'' (''The Building of the Boat''), on a scale matching those by Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
, Sibelius later changed his musical goals and the work became an orchestral piece in four movements. The suite is based on the character Lemminkäinen from the Finnish national epic, the ''Kalevala''. It can also be considered a collection of symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...
s. The second/third section, ''The Swan of Tuonela'', is often heard separately.
'' Finlandia'', probably the best known of all Sibelius's works, is a highly patriotic piece first performed in November 1899 as one of the tableaux for the Finnish Press Celebrations. It had its public premiere in revised form in July 1900.[ The current title only emerged later, first for the piano version, then in 1901 when Kajanus conducted the orchestral version under the name ''Finlandia''. Although Sibelius insisted it was primarily an orchestral piece, it became a world favourite for choirs too, especially for the hymn episode. Finally the composer consented and in 1937 and 1940 agreed to words for the hymn, first for the Freemasons and later for more general use.
'']The Oceanides
''The Oceanides'' (in Finnish: '; literal English translation: ''Nymphs of the Waves'' or ''Spirits of the Waves''; original working title: '' ''; in English: ''Rondo of the Waves''), Op. 73, is a single- movement tone poem for orchestra ...
'' is a single-movement tone poem for orchestra written in 1913–14. The piece, which refers to the nymphs in Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
who inhabited the Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
, premiered on 4 June 1914 at the Norfolk Music Festival in Connecticut with Sibelius himself conducting. The work (in D major), praised upon its premiere as "the finest evocation of the sea ever produced in music", consists of two subjects Sibelius gradually develops in three informal stages: first, a placid ocean; second, a gathering storm; and third, a thunderous wave-crash climax. As the tempest subsides, a final chord sounds, symbolizing the mighty power and limitless expanse of the sea.
''Tapiola'', Sibelius's last major orchestral work, was commissioned by Walter Damrosch
Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a German-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Ge ...
for the New York Philharmonic Society where it was premiered on 26 December 1926. It is inspired by Tapio, a forest spirit from the ''Kalevala''. To quote the American critic Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...
, it "turned out to be Sibelius's most severe and concentrated musical statement."[ Even more emphatically, the composer and biographer Cecil Gray asserts: "Even if Sibelius had written nothing else, this one work would entitle him to a place among the greatest masters of all time."
]
Other important works
The ''Karelia Music'', one of the composer's earlier works, written for the Vyborg Students' Association, was first performed on 13 November 1893 to a noisy audience. The "Suite" emerged from a concert on 23 November consisting of the overture and the three movements, which were published as Op. 11, the ''Karelia Suite''. It remains one of Sibelius's most popular pieces.
''Valse triste'' is a short orchestral work that was originally part of the incidental music Sibelius composed for his brother-in-law Arvid Järnefelt's 1903 play ''Kuolema'' (''Death''). It is now far better known as a separate concert piece. Sibelius wrote six pieces for the 2 December 1903 production of ''Kuolema''. The waltz accompanied a sequence in which a woman rises from her deathbed to dance with ghosts. In 1904, Sibelius revised the piece for a performance in Helsinki on 25 April where it was presented as ''Valse triste''. An instant success, it took on a life of its own, and remains one of Sibelius's signature pieces.[
The Violin Concerto in D minor was first performed on 8 February 1904 with Victor Nováček as soloist. As Sibelius had barely completed the piece in time for the premiere, Nováček had insufficient time to prepare, with the result that the performance was a disaster. After substantial revisions, a new version was premiered on 19 October 1905 with Richard Strauss conducting the Berlin Court Orchestra. With ]Karel Halíř
Karel Halíř (1 February 1859 – 21 December 1909) was a Czech violinist who lived mainly in Germany. "Karel" is also given as Karol, Karl or Carl; "Halíř" is also given as Halir or Haliř.
Life
Karel Halíř was born in Hohenelbe, Bohem ...
, the orchestra's leader, as soloist it was a tremendous success. The piece has become increasingly popular and is now the most frequently recorded of all the violin concertos composed in the 20th century.
''Kullervo'', one of Sibelius's early works, is sometimes referred to as a choral symphony but is better described as a suite of five symphonic movements resembling tone poems. Based on the character Kullervo from the ''Kalevala'', it was premiered on 28 April 1892 with Emmy Achté
Emmy Charlotta Achté née Strömer (1850–1924) was an operatic mezzo-soprano, the first prima donna of the Finnish Opera. She performed in Helsinki from 1873 to 1879, excelling in dramatic roles. She was also a voice teacher for over 40 years ...
and Abraham Ojanperä
Abraham (Aappo, Aapo, Aapi) Ojanperä (16 September 1856 in Liminka – 26 February 1916 in Liminka) was a Finnish singer, vocal pedagogist, and cantor. He usually sang bass and baritone roles in oratorios and Finnish operas at a time when the cou ...
as soloists and Sibelius conducting the chorus and orchestra of the recently founded Helsinki Orchestra Society. Although the work was only performed five times during the composer's lifetime, since the 1990s it has become increasingly popular both for live performances and recordings.
Activities and interests
Freemasonry
When Freemasonry in Finland was revived, having been forbidden under the Russian reign, Sibelius was one of the founding members of Suomi Lodge No. 1 in 1922 and later became the Grand Organist of the Grand Lodge of Finland. He composed the ritual music used in Finland (Op. 113) in 1927 and added two new pieces composed in 1946. The new revision of the ritual music of 1948 is one of his last works.
Nature
Sibelius loved nature, and the Finnish landscape often served as material for his music. He once said of his Sixth Symphony, " talways reminds me of the scent of the first snow." The forests surrounding Ainola are often said to have inspired his composition of Tapiola. On the subject of Sibelius's ties to nature, his biographer, Tawaststjerna, wrote:
Even by Nordic standards, Sibelius responded with exceptional intensity to the moods of nature and the changes in the seasons: he scanned the skies with his binoculars for the geese flying over the lake ice, listened to the screech of the cranes, and heard the cries of the curlew echo over the marshy grounds just below Ainola. He savoured the spring blossoms every bit as much as he did autumnal scents and colours.
Reception
Sibelius exerted considerable influence on symphonic composers and musical life, at least in English-speaking and Nordic countries. The Finnish symphonist Leevi Madetoja
Leevi Antti Madetoja (; 17 February 1887 – 6 October 1947) was a Finnish composer, music critic, conductor, and teacher of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely recognized as one of the most significant Finnish ...
was a pupil of Sibelius (for more on their relationship, see Relationship with Sibelius). In Britain, Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
and Arnold Bax both dedicated their fifth symphonies to Sibelius. Furthermore, ''Tapiola'' is prominently echoed in both Bax's Sixth Symphony and Ernest John Moeran
}
Ernest John Smeed Moeran (31 December 1894 – 1 December 1950) was an English composer of part-Irish extraction, whose work was strongly influenced by English and Irish folk music of which he was an assiduous collector. His output includes or ...
's Symphony in G minor. The influence of Sibelius's compositional procedures is also strongly felt in the First Symphony of William Walton. When these and several other major British symphonic essays were being written in and around the 1930s, Sibelius's music was very much in vogue, with conductors like Thomas Beecham and John Barbirolli championing its cause both in the concert hall and on record. Walton's composer friend Constant Lambert even asserted that Sibelius was "the first great composer since Beethoven whose mind thinks naturally in terms of symphonic form". Earlier, Granville Bantock had championed Sibelius (the esteem was mutual: Sibelius dedicated his Third Symphony to the English composer, and in 1946 he became the first President of the Bantock Society). More recently, Sibelius was also one of the composers championed by Robert Simpson. Malcolm Arnold
Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold (21 October 1921 – 23 September 2006) was an English composer. His works feature music in many genres, including a cycle of nine symphonies, numerous concertos, concert works, chamber music, choral music and music ...
acknowledged his influence, and Arthur Butterworth
Arthur Eckersley Butterworth, (4 August 1923 – 20 November 2014) was an English composer, conductor, trumpeter and teacher.
Biography Early life and education
Butterworth was born in New Moston, near Manchester. His father was secretary of ...
also saw Sibelius's music as a source of inspiration in his work.
New Zealand's most accomplished 20th century composer, Douglas Lilburn
Douglas Gordon Lilburn (2 November 19156 June 2001) was a New Zealand composer.
Early life
Lilburn was born in Whanganui and spent his early years on the family sheep farm in the upper Turakina River valley at Drysdale. He attended Waitaki Bo ...
, wrote of the inspiration he derived from Sibelius's work, particularly for his earlier compositions.
Eugene Ormandy and, to a lesser extent, his predecessor with the Philadelphia Orchestra Leopold Stokowski, were instrumental in bringing Sibelius's music to American audiences by frequently programming his works; the former developed a friendly relationship with Sibelius throughout his life. Later in life, Sibelius was championed by the American critic Olin Downes, who wrote a biography of the composer.
In 1938 Theodor Adorno wrote a critical essay, notoriously charging that "If Sibelius is good, this invalidates the standards of musical quality that have persisted from Bach to Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
: the richness of inter-connectedness, articulation, unity in diversity, the 'multi-faceted' in 'the one'." Adorno sent his essay to Virgil Thomson, then music critic of the ''New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'', who was also critical of Sibelius; Thomson, while agreeing with the essay's sentiment, declared to Adorno that "the tone of it asmore apt to create antagonism toward dornothan toward Sibelius". Later, the composer, theorist and conductor René Leibowitz
René Leibowitz (; 17 February 1913 – 29 August 1972) was a Polish, later naturalised French, composer, conductor, music theorist and teacher. He was historically significant in promoting the music of the Second Viennese School in Paris after ...
went so far as to describe Sibelius as "the worst composer in the world" in the title of a 1955 pamphlet.
Perhaps one reason Sibelius has attracted both the praise and the ire of critics is that in each of his seven symphonies he approached the basic problems of form, tonality, and architecture in unique, individual ways. On the one hand, his symphonic (and tonal) creativity was novel, while others thought that music should be taking a different route. Sibelius's response to criticism was dismissive: "Pay no attention to what critics say. No statue has ever been put up to a critic."[
]
In the latter decades of the twentieth century, Sibelius became seen more favourably: Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera (, ; born 1 April 1929) is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera's Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, then conferred again in 2019. He "sees himself ...
said the composer's approach was that of "antimodern modernism," standing outside the perpetual progression of the status quo. In a similar vein, the philosopher Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New Y ...
contrasts Sibelius to the "modernist" approach of Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
and the "post-modernist" one of Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
; for Žižek, Sibelius represents the alternative of "persistent traditionalism", of continuing in the inherited tradition but with artistic integrity, not as a "phony conservative". In 1990, the composer Thea Musgrave was commissioned by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra to write a piece in honour of the 125th anniversary of Sibelius's birth: ''Song of the Enchanter'' premiered on 14 February 1991. In 1984, the American avant-garde composer Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...
gave a lecture in Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
, Germany, wherein he stated that "the people you think are radicals might really be conservatives – the people you think are conservatives might really be radical," whereupon he began to hum Sibelius's Fifth Symphony.
Writing in 1996, the Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning music critic Tim Page stated, "There are two things to be said straightaway about Sibelius. First, he is terribly uneven (much of his chamber music, a lot of his songs and most of his piano music might have been churned out by a second-rate salon composer from the 19th century on an off afternoon). Second, at his very best, he is often weird." Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes offers a counterweight to Page's assessment of Sibelius's piano music. Acknowledging that this body of work is uneven in quality, Andsnes believes that the common critical dismissal is unwarranted. In performing selected piano works, Andsnes finds that audiences were "astonished that there could be a major composer out there with such beautiful, accessible music that people don't know."
For the 150th anniversary of Sibelius's birth, the Helsinki Music Centre planned an illustrated and narrated "Sibelius Finland Experience Show" every day during the summer of 2015. The production was also planned to extend over 2016 and 2017. On 8 December itself, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by John Storgårds
John Gunnar Rafael Storgårds (born 20 October 1963 in Helsinki) is a Finnish violinist and conductor.
Biography
Storgårds studied violin with Esther Raitio and Jouko Ignatius at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and continued his violin studies ...
planned a commemorative concert featuring ''En Saga'', ''Luonnotar'' and the Seventh Symphony.
Legacy
In 1972, Sibelius's surviving daughters sold Ainola to the Finnish state. The Ministry of Education and the Sibelius Society of Finland opened it as a museum in 1974. Sibelius has been memorialized by art, stamps, and currency; the Finnish 100 mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Fi ...
bill featured his image until 2002 when the euro was adopted. Since 2011, Finland has celebrated a flag flying day on 8 December, the composer's birthday, also known as the "Day of Finnish Music". The year 2015, the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth, featured a number of special concerts and events, especially in the city of Helsinki.
The quinquennial International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition
The International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, named after Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, is a competition for violinists up to age 30. It is held every five years in Helsinki. The first competition took place in year 1965, eight years after ...
, instituted in 1965, the Sibelius Monument
The Sibelius Monument ( fi, Sibelius-monumentti; sv, Sibeliusmonumentet) by Eila Hiltunen is dedicated to the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957). The monument is located at the Sibelius Park ( fi, Sibeliuspuisto; sv, Sibeliusparken) in ...
, unveiled in 1967 in Helsinki's Sibelius Park, the Sibelius Museum
The Sibelius Museum ( Finnish: ', Swedish: ') is a museum of music, named after the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The museum is located close to Turku Cathedral in the historical city centre of Turku on the southwest coast of Finland. I ...
, opened in Turku in 1968, and the Sibelius Hall
The Sibelius Hall ( fi, Sibeliustalo) is a concert hall in Lahti, Finland, named after the composer Jean Sibelius. The concert hall was completed in 2000. Architects Kimmo Lintula and Hannu Tikka designed the hall, which is made out of glulam. The ...
concert hall in Lahti, opened in 2000, were all named in his honour, as was the asteroid 1405 Sibelius
1405 Sibelius, provisional designation , is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 12 September 1936, by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Obser ...
.
The complete edition of Sibelius's œuvre has been in preparation in Finland since 1996. It is a joint venture between the National Library of Finland, the Sibelius Society of Finland, and Breitkopf & Härtel publishers. When finished, this critical edition will comprise 60 volumes.
Sibelius kept a diary from 1909 to 1944, and his family allowed it to be published, unabridged, in 2005. The diary was edited by and published in the Swedish language in 2005. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the composer, the entire diary was also published in the Finnish language in 2015. Several volumes of Sibelius's correspondence have also been edited and published in Swedish, Finnish and English.
The popular scorewriter program, Sibelius, is named after him.
Manuscripts
Parts of the literary estate of Sibelius—correspondence and manuscripts—are preserved at the National Archives of Finland
The National Archives of Finland (Finnish: ''Kansallisarkisto'', Swedish: ''Riksarkivet'') is a Finnish government agency under the Ministry of Education and Culture. It is responsible for archiving official documents of the Finnish state and mu ...
and National Library of Finland, but several items are in foreign private collections, even as investments, only partially accessible for scholars.
In 1970, a lot of 50 music manuscript items was acquired by the National Library with aid from the government of Finland, banks and foundations. Sibelius's personal music archive was donated to the National Library in 1982 by the heirs of the composer.
Another lot of 50 items was procured in 1997, with aid from the Ministry of Education. In 2018, the Italian-Finnish collector and benefactor Rolando Pieraccini donated a collection of Sibelius's letters and other materials to the National Museum of Finland. On the other hand, in 2016 the manuscript of ''Pohjola's Daughter'' was sold to an anonymous buyer for 290,000 euros, and it is no longer available to scholars.
In early 2020, the current owner of the Robert Lienau Robert Emil Lienau (28 December 1838 – 22 July 1920) was a prolific Germany , German music publisher.
Lienau was born in Neustadt in Holstein and entered the publishing firm of Adolf Martin Schlesinger in Berlin in 1863.
In the following year he ...
collection offered for sale 1,200 pages of manuscripts, including the scores of ''Voces intimae'', ''Joutsikki'', and ''Pelléas and Mélisande'', and the material was not available to scholars during negotiations. The original price tag was said to be over one million euros for the lot as a whole. At the end of the year, the National Library was able to acquire this collection with aid from foundations and donators. The final price was "considerably below one million euros."
Nowadays, it is not legally possible to export Sibelius's manuscripts from Finland without permission, and, according to ''Hufvudstadsbladet
''Hufvudstadsbladet'' (abbr. ''Hbl'') is the highest-circulation Swedish-language newspaper in Finland. Its headquarters is located in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The name of the newspaper translates approximately into "Journal of the Capi ...
'', such permission would probably not be given.
In 2021, the music manuscripts of Sibelius were included in the Memory of the World Programme by the UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
.
References
General sources
* Later reprinted as "Glosse über Sibelius". Cited and translated in
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Further reading
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External links
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Jean Sibelius – the website
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The Sibelius Society of Finland
Films on Jean Sibelius by director Christopher Nupen
Jean Sibelius Museum
Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, thisisFINLAND
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List of compositions
at AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
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The musical heritage of Sibelius on in the landscapes and in the concerts
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibelius, Jean
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Finnish classical composers
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Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society
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