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Sibelius Academy Alumni
Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often credited with having helped Finland develop a stronger national identity when the country was struggling from several Russification of Finland, attempts at Russification in the late 19th century. The core of his oeuvre is his Discography of Sibelius symphony cycles, 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'', ''Valse triste (Sibelius), Valse triste'', the Violin Concerto (Sibelius), Violin Concerto, the choral symphony ''Kullervo (Sibelius), Kullervo'', and ''The Swan of Tuonela'' (from the ''Lemminkäinen Suite''). His othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna (; ; ; or ''Croneburgum'') is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme. It is located in the southern interior of the country and on the shores of Vanajavesi, Lake Vanajavesi. The population of Hämeenlinna is approximately , while the Hämeenlinna sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland, and the 14th most populous List of urban areas in Finland by population, urban area in the country. Hämeenlinna is the oldest inland city in Finland and was one of the most important Finnish cities until the 19th century. Hämeenlinna was located in the heart of the historic province of Tavastia (historical province), Tavastia. Since then, Hämeenlinna has remained an important regional centre. The medieval Häme Castle (also known as ''Tavastia Castle'') is located in the town. Hämeenlinna is known as the birthplace of the Finnish national composer Jean Sibelius. It i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Epic
A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks to 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 aspirations to independence or autonomy. National epics frequently recount the origin of a nation, a part of its history, or a crucial event in the development of national identity such as other national symbols. History In medieval times Homer's ''Iliad'' was taken to be based on historical facts, and the Trojan War came to be considered as seminal in the genealogies of European monarchies. Virgil's ''Aeneid'' was taken to be the Roman equivalent of the ''Iliad'', starting from the Fall of Troy and leading up to the birth of the young Roman nation. According to the then-prevailing conception of history, empires were born and died in organic succession and correspondences existed between the past and the present. Geoffrey of Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euro
The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone. The euro is divided into 100 1 euro cent coin, euro cents. The currency is also used officially by the institutions of the European Union, by International status and usage of the euro, four European microstates that are not EU members, the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, as well as unilaterally by Montenegro and Kosovo. Outside Europe, a number of special territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency. The euro is used by 350 million people in Europe and additionally, over 200 million people worldwide use currencies pegged to the euro. It is the second-largest reserve currency as well as the second-most traded currency in the world after the United Sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finnish Mark
The markka (; ; currency symbol, sign: mk; ISO 4217, ISO code: FIM), also known as the Finnish mark, was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The markka was divided into 100 penny, pennies (; ), abbreviated as "p". At the point of conversion, the rate was fixed at €1 = 5.94573 mk. The markka was replaced by the euro (€), which had been introduced, in cash form, on 1 January 2002. This was after a transitional period of three years, when the euro was the official currency but only existed as "book money" outside of the monetary base. The dual circulation period, when both the markka and the euro had legal tender status, ended on 28 February 2002. Etymology The name "markka" was based on a medieval unit of weight. Both "markka" and "penni" are similar to words used in Germany for that country's former currency, based on the same etymological roots as the Deutsche Mark and pfennig. Although the word "markka" pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 meals; and music written to accompany specific masonic ceremonies and events. Because the number 3 and the letter 'B' are of particular significance to freemasonry, music written in the key (music), keys of C minor or E flat major, which both involve 3 flat (music), flats, (whose symbol '♭' resembles the lowercase letter 'b'), in their key signatures has been considered especially appropriate for masonic ceremonial music. Although there had been earlier examples, like Jean-Philippe Rameau's opera ''Zoroastre'' (1749), whose librettist Louis de Cahusac was a Freemason, the masonic music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is among the best-known of its kind. Mozart's opera ''The Magic Flute'' and his incidental music to ''Thamos, King of Egypt'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tapiola (Sibelius)
(literal English translation: "The Realm of Tapio"), Op. 112, is a tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, written in 1926 on a commission from Walter Damrosch for the New York Symphony Society. ''Tapiola'' portrays Tapio, the animating forest spirit mentioned throughout the Kalevala. It was premiered by Damrosch on 26 December 1926. History When asked by the publisher to clarify the work's program, Sibelius responded with a prose explanation converted by his publisher (Breitkopf & Härtel) into a quatrain prefixed to English language editions of the score: Wide-spread they stand, the Northland's dusky forests, Ancient, mysterious, brooding savage dreams; Within them dwells the Forest's mighty God, And wood-sprites in the gloom weave magic secrets. ''Tapiola'' was premiered by Walter Damrosch and the New York Symphonic Society on 26 December 1926. The program opened with Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which was followed after the interval by Gershwin's P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tone Poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement (music), movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term (tone poem) appears to have been first used by the composer Carl Loewe in 1828. The Hungarian composer Franz Liszt first applied the term to Symphonic poems (Liszt), his 13 works in this vein, which commenced in 1848. Background While many symphonic poems may compare in size and scale to symphony, symphonic movement (music), movements (or even reach the length of an entire symphony), they are unlike traditional classical symphonic movements, in that their music is intended to inspire listeners to imagine or consider scenes, images, specific ideas or moods, and not (necessarily) to focus on following traditional patterns of musical form such as sonata form. This intention to inspire listeners was a direct consequence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tempest (Sibelius)
''The Tempest'' (''Stormen''), Op. 109, is incidental music to Shakespeare's ''The Tempest'', by Jean Sibelius. He composed it mainly in the late summer 1925, his last major work before his tone poem ''Tapiola''. Sibelius derived two suites from the score. The music is said to display an astounding richness of imagination and inventive capacity, and is considered by some as one of Sibelius's greatest achievements. He represented individual characters through instrumentation choices: particularly admired was his use of harps and percussion to represent Prospero, said to capture the "resonant ambiguity of the character". History Sibelius had completed his 7th Symphony, which was to be his last, in 1924. ''The Tempest'' and ''Tapiola'' were to be his last great works, and he wrote little else for the remaining 32 years of his life, which came to be known as "The Silence of Järvenpää". The idea for music for ''The Tempest'' was first suggested to Sibelius in 1901, by his fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symphony No
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning common today: a work usually consisting of multiple distinct sections or movements, often four, with the first movement in sonata form. Symphonies are almost always scored for an orchestra consisting of a string section (violin, viola, cello, and double bass), brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments which altogether number about 30 to 100 musicians. Symphonies are notated in a musical score, which contains all the instrument parts. Orchestral musicians play from parts which contain just the notated music for their own instrument. Some symphonies also contain vocal parts (e.g., Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, or Mahler's Second Symphony). Etymology and origins The word ''symphony'' is derived from the Greek word (), meaning ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Choral Music
A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words is the music performed by the ensemble. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, hand, and facial gestures. The term ''choir'' is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church (whether or not they actually occupy the quire), whereas a ''chorus'' performs in theatres or concert halls, but this distinction is not rigid. Choirs may sing without instruments, or accompanied by a piano, accordion, pipe organ, a small ensemble, or an orchestra. A choir can be a subset of an ensemble; thus one speaks of the "woodwind choir" of an orchestra, or different "choirs" o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freemasonry
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizations in history. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of three main traditions: *Anglo-American Freemasonry, Anglo-American style Freemasonry, which insists that a "volume of sacred law", such as the Bible, Quran, or other religious text be open in a working Masonic lodge, lodge, that every member professes belief in a God, supreme being, that only men be admitted, and discussion of religion or politics does not take place within the lodge. *Continental Freemasonry or Liberal Freemasonry which has continued to evolve beyond these restrictions, particularly regarding religious belief and political discussion. *Co-Freemasonry, Women Freemasonry or Co-Freemasonry, which includes organizations that either admit women exclusively (such as the Ord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chamber Music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers, with one performer to a part (in contrast to orchestral music, in which each string part is played by a number of performers). However, by convention, it usually does not include solo instrument performances. Because of its intimate nature, chamber music has been described as "the music of friends". For more than 100 years, chamber music was played primarily by amateur musicians in their homes, and even today, when chamber music performance has migrated from the home to the concert hall, many musicians, amateur and professional, still play chamber music for their own pleasure. Playing chamber music requires special skills, both musical and social, that differ from the skills required for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
