Jean Sibelius

This article is about the Finnish composer. For other and 21 separate publications of choral music.
uses, see Sibelius (disambiguation).
Sibelius composed prolically until the mid-1920s.
Jean Sibelius (/sbelis, -beljs/;[1] Swedish proHowever, after completing his Seventh Symphony
(1924), the incidental music to The Tempest (1926), and
the tone poem Tapiola (1926), he produced no large scale
works for the remaining thirty years of his life. Although
he is reputed to have stopped composing, he in fact attempted to continue writing, including abortive eorts to
compose an eighth symphony. He wrote some Masonic
music and re-edited some earlier works during this last
period of his life, and retained an active interest in new
developments in music, although he did not always view
modern music favorably.
The Finnish 100 mark bill featured his image until it
was taken out of circulation in 2002 when the euro was
adopted as a cash currency.[3] Since 2011, Finland has
celebrated a Flag Day on 8 December, the composers
birthday, also known as the 'Day of Finnish Music'.[4]

1 Early life
Sibelius was born in Hmeenlinna in Grand Duchy of
Finland in the Russian Empire, the son of Swedishspeaking doctor Christian Gustaf Sibelius and Maria
Charlotta Sibelius ne Borg. As a boy he was nicknamed
Janne, as is common in Finland. However, during his
student years, he began preferring the French form Jean,
inspired by the business card of his seafaring uncle.[5] He
therefore became known as Jean Sibelius.

Sibelius in 1913

nunciation ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8

December 1865 20 September 1957) was a Finnish Sibelius younger brother Christian Sibelius (1869
composer of the late Romantic period. His music played
1922), MD, university professor and head of Lapinlahti
an important role in the formation of the Finnish national Asylum, was a psychiatrist and founder of modern psyidentity.
chiatry in Finland.
The core of Sibelius oeuvre is his set of seven The rapid rise of Romantic Nationalism in Europe was
symphonies. Like Beethoven, Sibelius used each succes- inspired by the philosophy of Hegel and had a profound
sive work to further develop his own personal compo- eect on educational systems in Europe. The gradual
sitional style. His works continue to be performed fre- demise of Latin was accompanied by opportunities to
quently in the concert hall and are often recorded.
study more native languages. In Finland this meant eiIn addition to the symphonies, Sibelius best-known compositions include Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse triste,
the Violin Concerto in D minor, Kullervo, and The
Swan of Tuonela (one of the four movements of the
Lemminkinen Suite). Other works include pieces inspired by the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala; over 100
songs for voice and piano; incidental music for 13 plays;
the opera Jungfrun i tornet (The Maiden in the Tower);
chamber music; piano music; Masonic ritual music;[2]

ther Finnish or Swedish, which became part of the syllabus, from elementary school up to university. Young
Janne Sibelius went to the Finnish-speaking Hmeenlinna
Normal-Lycee secondary school which he attended from
1876 to 1885, but his rst language was Swedish. Romantic Nationalism was to become a crucial element in
Sibelius artistic output and his political leanings. From
around the age of 15, he set his heart on becoming a great
violin virtuoso, and he did become quite an accomplished
1

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

Sibelius in 1889

ing when I had to admit that I had begun my training for

the exacting career of a virtuoso too late.
According to Sibelius biographer Erik Tawaststjerna, he
was an enthusiastic Wagnerian at the beginning of the
1890s but then began to feel disgust for his music, calling
it pompous and vulgar.

11-year-old Sibelius in 1876

3 Marriage and family

player of the instrument, even publicly performing the last

two movements of the Mendelssohns Violin Concerto in
Helsinki.
On 10 June 1892, Jean Sibelius married Aino Jrnefelt
(18711969) at Maxmo. Their home, called Ainola, was
completed at Lake Tuusula, Jrvenp, in 1903. They
had six daughters: Eva, Ruth, Kirsti (who died at a
2 Studies
very young age from typhoid),[6] Katarina, Margareta and
After Sibelius graduated from high school in 1885, he be- Heidi. Eva married an industrial heir Arvi Paloheimo and
gan to study law at the Imperial Alexander University in later herself became the CEO of the Paloheimo CorpoFinland (from 1919 the University of Helsinki). How- ration. Ruth Snellman was a prominent actress, Katarina
ever, he was more interested in music than in law, and Ilves the wife of a banker, and Heidi Blomstedt a dehe soon quit his studies. From 1885 to 1889 Sibelius signer, her husband Aulis Blomstedt being an architect.
studied music in the Helsinki Music Institute (now the Margareta married the conductor Jussi Jalas, previously
Sibelius Academy). One of his teachers there was the Blomstedt, Aulis Blomstedts brother.
founder Martin Wegelius. Sibelius continued studying in
Berlin (from 1889 to 1890 with Albert Becker) and in
Vienna (from 1890 to 1891 with Karl Goldmark). It was
around this time that he nally abandoned his cherished
violin playing aspirations: It was a very painful awaken-

In 1907, Sibelius underwent a serious operation for suspected throat cancer. The impact of this brush with death
has been said to have inspired works that he composed in
the following years, including Luonnotar and the Fourth
Symphony.[7]

3
phonic poem The Oceanides commissioned by the millionaire Carl Stoeckel.[8]

5 Activity in Freemasonry

Sibelius in 1891

Life abroad and travels

Sibelius in 1923

When freemasonry was revived in Finland, having been

forbidden during the Russian sovereignty, Sibelius was
one of the founding members of Suomi Lodge Nr 1 in
1922 and later 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
1946. The new revision of the ritual music of 1948 is
one of his last works.[9]

6 Nature
Sibelius loved nature, and the Finnish landscape often
served as material for his music. He once said of his
Sixth Symphony, "[It] always reminds me of the scent of
the rst snow. The forests surrounding Ainola are often
Blue plaque, 15 Gloucester Walk, Kensington, London, his home
said to have inspired his composition of Tapiola. On the
in 1909
subject of Sibelius ties to nature, one biographer of the
Sibelius spent long periods abroad studying in Vienna and composer, Erik W. Tawaststjerna, wrote the following:
Berlin 18891891 and 19001901 with family in Italy.
"Even by Nordic standards, Sibelius reHe composed, conducted and socialized actively in Scansponded with exceptional intensity to the moods
dinavian countries, the UK, France and Germany. In
of nature and the changes in the seasons: he
1914 he was the composer of the year at the Norfolk
scanned the skies with his binoculars for the
Music Festival in Connecticut, USA, premiering his sym-

8 LAST YEARS
geese ying 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".[10]

Later works

The year 1926 saw a sharp and lasting decline in Sibelius

output: after his Seventh Symphony he only produced a
few major works in the rest of his life. Arguably the two
most signicant were incidental music for Shakespeares
The Tempest and the tone poem Tapiola.[11] For most of
the last thirty years of his life, Sibelius even avoided talking about his music publicly.
There is substantial evidence that Sibelius worked on an
eighth symphony. He promised the premiere of this symphony to Serge Koussevitzky in 1931 and 1932, and a
London performance in 1933 under Basil Cameron was
even advertised to the public. However, the only concrete evidence for the symphonys existence on paper
are a 1933 bill for a fair copy of the rst movement
and short draft fragments rst published and played in
2011.[12][13][14][15] Sibelius had always been quite selfcritical; 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 ames.[16] His wife
Aino recalled,

In the 1940s there was a great auto da f

at Ainola. My husband collected a number of
the manuscripts in a laundry basket and burned
them on the open re 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
re. But after this my husband became calmer
and gradually lighter in mood.[17]

Sibelius in 1939

8 Last years
Since 1903 Sibelius had lived in the countryside, but
from 19391944 Jean and Aino again held a residence
in Helsinki. After the war he came to the city only a couple of times. The so-called Silence of Ainola appears
a myth, knowing that in addition to countless ocial visitors and visiting colleagues also his grandchildren and
great grandchildren spent their holidays in Ainola.
Sibelius avoided public statements about other composers, but Erik W. Tawaststjerna and Sibelius secretary
Santeri Levas have documented his private conversations
in which he considered Bartk and Shostakovich the most
talented composers of the younger generations. In the
1950s he actively promoted the young Finnish composer
Einojuhani Rautavaara.
His 90th birthday, in 1955, was widely celebrated and
both the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy
and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Thomas
Beecham gave special performances of his music in Finland. The orchestras and their conductors also met
the composer at his home; a series of memorable photographs were taken to commemorate the occasions.
Both Columbia Records and EMI released some of the
pictures with albums of Sibelius music. Beecham was
honored by the Finnish government for his eorts to promote Sibelius both in the United Kingdom and in the
United States.

Erik W. Tawaststjerna also related an endearing anecdote

On 1 January 1939, Sibelius participated in an interna- regarding Sibelius death:
tional radio broadcast which included the composer con[He] was returning from his customary
ducting his Andante Festivo. The performance was preserved on transcription discs and later issued on CD. This
morning walk. Exhilarated, he told his wife
is probably the only surviving example of Sibelius interAino that he had seen a ock of cranes appreting his own music.[18]
proaching. There they come, the birds of my

5
youth, he exclaimed. Suddenly, one of the
birds broke away from the formation and circled once above Ainola. It then rejoined the
ock to continue its journey.
Two days afterwards Sibelius died of a
brain hemorrhage, at age 91 (on 20 September
1957), in Ainola, where he is buried in the garden. Another well-known Finnish composer,
Heino Kaski, died that same day. Aino lived
there for the next twelve years until she died on
8 June 1969; she is buried with her husband.

mutations and derivations. The completeness and organic

feel of this synthesis has prompted some to suggest that
Sibelius began his works with a nished 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 eectively prove the opposite.[20]

Heritage

In 1972, Sibelius surviving daughters sold Ainola to the

State of Finland. The Ministry of Education and the
Sibelius Society of Finland opened it as a museum in
1974.

10

Musical style

Like many of his contemporaries, Sibelius was initially

enamored of the music of Wagner. A performance of
Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival had a strong eect on
him, inspiring him to write to his wife shortly thereafter,
Nothing in the world has made such an impression on
me, it moves the very strings of my heart. He studied the
scores of Wagners operas Tannhuser, Lohengrin, and
Die Walkre intently. With this music in mind, Sibelius
began work on an opera of his own, entitled Veneen luominen (The Building of the Boat). However, his appreciation for Wagner waned and Sibelius ultimately rejected Wagners Leitmotif compositional technique, considering it to be too deliberate and calculated. Departing
from opera, he later used the musical material from the
incomplete Veneen luominen in his Lemminkinen Suite
(1893). He did, however, compose a considerable number of songs for voice and piano, whose early interpreters
included Aino Ackt and particularly Ida Ekman.

Portrait of Sibelius from 1894 by his brother-in-law Eero Jrnefelt

This self-contained structure stood in stark contrast to

the symphonic style of Gustav Mahler, Sibelius primary
rival[11] in symphonic composition. While thematic variation played a major role in the works of both composers,
Mahlers 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 had occasion to go have a lengthy bath together.
Sibelius later reported that during the bath:

I said that I admired [the symphonys]

severity of style and the profound logic that creMore lasting inuences included Ferruccio Buated an inner connection between all the mosoni, Anton Bruckner and Tchaikovsky. Hints of
tifs... Mahlers opinion was just the reverse.
Tchaikovskys music are particularly evident in works
'No, a symphony must be like the world. It
such as Sibelius First Symphony (1899) and his Violin
must embrace everything.'[21]
Concerto (1905).[19] Similarities to Bruckner are most
strongly felt in the 'unmixed' timbral palette and sombre
brass chorales of Sibelius orchestration, a fondness for However, the two rivals did nd common ground in their
pedal points, and in the underlying slow pace of the music. Like Mahler, Sibelius made frequent use both
music.
of folk music and of literature in the composition of
Sibelius progressively stripped away formal markers of his works. The Second Symphony's slow movement was
sonata form in his work and, instead of contrasting multi- sketched from the motif of Il Commendatore in Don Giople themes, he focused on the idea of continuously evolv- vanni, while the stark Fourth Symphony combined work
ing cells and fragments culminating in a grand statement. for a planned Mountain symphony with a tone poem
His later works are remarkable for their sense of unbro- based on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven". Sibelius also
ken development, progressing by means of thematic per- wrote several tone poems based on Finnish poetry, be-

11 RECEPTION

ginning with the early En Saga and culminating in the late cated his Third Symphony to the English composer, and
Tapiola (1926), his last major composition.
in 1946 he became the rst President of the Bantock
Over time, he sought to use new chord patterns, includ- Society). More recently, Sibelius was also one of the
ing naked tritones (for example in the Fourth Symphony), composers championed by Robert Simpson. Malcolm
and bare melodic structures to build long movements of Arnold acknowledged his inuence, and Arthur ButterSibelius music as a source of inspiration
music, in a manner similar to Joseph Haydn's use of built- worth also saw
[25]
in
his
work.
in dissonances. Sibelius would often alternate melodic
sections with noble brass chords that would swell and fade Eugene Ormandy and to a lesser extent, his predecesaway, or he would underpin his music with repeating g- sor Leopold Stokowski, were instrumental in bringing
ures which push against the melody and counter-melody. Sibelius music to American audiences by programming
Sibelius melodies often feature powerful modal impli- his works often; the former developed a friendly relationcations: for example much of the Sixth Symphony is in ship with Sibelius throughout his life. Later in life he was
Olin Downes, who wrote a biograthe (modern) Dorian mode. Sibelius studied Renaissance championed by critic [26]
phy
of
the
composer.
polyphony, as did his contemporary, the Danish composer Carl Nielsen, and Sibelius music often reects the
inuence of this early music. He often varied his movements in a piece by changing the note values of melodies,
rather than the conventional change of tempi. He would
often draw out one melody over a number of notes, while
playing a dierent melody in shorter rhythm. For example, his Seventh Symphony comprises four originally
sketched movements fused into telescopical and partly
parallel functions without pause, where every important
theme is in C major or C minor; the variation comes
from the time and rhythm. His harmonic language was
often restrained, even iconoclastic, compared to many of
his contemporaries who were already experimenting with
musical Modernism. As reported by Neville Cardus in
the Manchester Guardian newspaper in 1958:
Sibelius justied the austerity of his old
age by saying that while other composers were
engaged in manufacturing cocktails he oered
the public pure cold water.[22]

11

Reception

Sibelius exerted considerable inuence on symphonic

composers and musical life, at least in English-speaking
and Nordic countries. The Finnish symphonist Leevi
Madetoja was a pupil of Sibelius. In Britain, Vaughan
Williams and Arnold Bax both dedicated their fth symphonies to Sibelius. Furthermore, Tapiola is prominently
echoed in both Baxs Sixth Symphony and Moerans
Symphony in G Minor. The inuence of Sibelius compositional procedures is also strongly felt in the First Symphony of William Walton.[23] When these and several
other major British symphonic essays were being written
in and around the 1930s, Sibelius music was very much
in vogue, with conductors like Beecham and Barbirolli
championing its cause both in the concert hall and on
record. Waltons composer friend Constant Lambert even
claimed that Sibelius was the rst great composer since
Beethoven whose mind thinks naturally in terms of symphonic form.[24] Earlier, Granville Bantock had championed Sibelius (the esteem was mutual: Sibelius dedi-

In 1938 Theodor Adorno wrote a critical essay about the

composer, notoriously charging that If Sibelius is good,
this invalidates the standards of musical quality that have
persisted from Bach to Schoenberg: the richness of interconnectedness, articulation, unity in diversity, the 'multifaceted' in 'the one'.[27] Adorno sent his essay to Virgil
Thomson, then music critic of the New York Herald Tribune, who was also critical of Sibelius; Thomson, while
agreeing with the essays sentiment, declared to Adorno
that the tone of it [was] more apt to create antagonism toward [Adorno] than toward Sibelius.[17] Later, the composer, theorist and conductor Ren Leibowitz went so
far as to describe Sibelius as the worst composer in the
world in the title of a 1955 pamphlet.[28]
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,
but others thought that music should be taking a dierent route. Sibelius response to criticism was dismissive:
Pay no attention to what critics say. No statue has ever
been put up to a critic.

Sibelius birthplace in Hmeenlinna

In the latter decades of the twentieth century, Sibelius

began to be re-assessed more favourably: Milan Kundera
dubbed the composers approach to be that of antimod-

12.1

Orchestral works

ern modernism, standing outside the perpetual progression of the status quo.[17] 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 birth: Song of the Enchanter was
premiered on 14 February 1991.[29] In 1984, American
avant-garde composer Morton Feldman gave a lecture in
Darmstadt, 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 Fifth
Symphony.[17]
Sibelius has fallen in and out of fashion, but remains one
of the most popular 20th century symphonists, both in the
concert hall and on record. Sibelius had spent much time
producing protable chamber music for home use, salon
music, occasional works for the stage and other incidental
music, all of which has now been systematically recorded
on BIS Records' complete Sibelius Edition. This major
editorial project to record every note Sibelius left us also
encompasses surviving sketches and early versions of the
major works.
Jean Sibelius celebrates 150th Anniversary in 2015. The
Helsinki Music Centre produces an illustrated and narrated Sibelius Finland Experience show every day during summer 2015. The production runs also in 2016 and
2017 at least.

12

Vrsng (The Spring Song) for orchestra, Op. 16

(1894)
Kung Kristian II (King Christian II), Suite from the
incidental music for orchestra, Op. 27 (1898)
Sandels, Improvisation for chorus and orchestra, Op.
28 (1898)
Finlandia for orchestra and optional chorus, Op. 26
(1899)
Snfrid (The Beloved Beauty) for reciter, chorus and
orchestra, Op. 29 (1899)
Tulen Synty (The Origin of Fire), Op. 32 (1902)
Symphony No. 1 in E minor for orchestra, Op. 39
(1899/1900)
Symphony No. 2 in D major for orchestra, Op. 43
(1902)
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 (1903/1905)
Kuolema (The Death) (Valse triste and Scene with
Cranes) for orchestra, Op. 44 (1904/06)
Dance Intermezzo for orchestra, Op. 45/2 (1904/07)
Pellas et Mlisande, Incidental music/Suite for orchestra, Op. 46 (1905)
Pohjolan tytr (Pohjolas Daughter), Tone Poem for
orchestra, Op. 49 (1906)

Selected works

Main article: List of compositions by Jean Sibelius

Symphony No. 3 in C major for orchestra, Op. 52

(1907)

These are ordered chronologically; the date is the date of

composition rather than publication or rst performance.

Svanevit (Swan-white), Suite from the incidental

music for orchestra, Op. 54 (1908)

12.1

Nightride and Sunrise, Tone Poem for orchestra, Op.

55 (1909)

Orchestral works

Kullervo, Symphonic Poem for soprano, baritone,

chorus and orchestra, Op. 7 (1892)
En Saga, Tone Poem for orchestra, Op.
(1892/1902)

Karelia Overture for orchestra, Op. 10 (1893)

Karelia Suite for orchestra, Op. 11 (1893)
Rakastava (The Lover) for male voices and strings
or strings and percussion, Op. 14 (1893/1911)
Lemminkinen Suite (Four Legends from the
Kalevala) for orchestra, Op. 22 (1893) these
legends, which include The Swan of Tuonela, are
often performed separately
Skogsret (The Wood Nymph), Tone Poem for orchestra, Op. 15 (1894)

Dryadi (The Dryad) for orchestra, Op. 45/1 (1910)

Two Pieces from Kuolema for orchestra, Op. 62
(1911)
Symphony No. 4 in A minor for orchestra, Op. 63
(1911)
Scnes Historiques, Suite No. 2, Op. 66 (1912)
Two Serenades for violin and orchestra, Op. 69
(1912)
Barden (The Bard), Tone Poem for orchestra and
harp, Op. 64 (1913/14)
Luonnotar (Spirit of Nature, Mother Earth), Tone
Poem for soprano and orchestra, Op. 70 (1913)
Aallottaret (The Oceanides), Tone Poem for orchestra, Op. 73 (1914)

14
Impromptu, Op. 78 (1915)

REFERENCES

14 References

Symphony No. 5 in E-at major for orchestra, Op.

82 (1915, revised 1916 and 1919)

[1] Sibelius. Random House Websters Unabridged Dictionary.

Oma Maa (My Own Land) for chorus and orchestra,

Op. 92 (1918)

[2] Brother Sibelius. Retrieved 16 October 2011.

Jordens sng (Song of the Earth) for chorus and orchestra, Op. 93 (1919)

[4] Ministry of Interior-Days the Finnish ag is own.

Valse Lyrique, Op. 96 (1920)

[6] Classical Destinations: An Armchair Guide to Classical

Music. Amadeus Press. 2006. p. 87. ISBN 1-57467158-8.

Symphony No. 6 in D minor for orchestra, Op. 104

(1923)
Symphony No. 7 in C major for orchestra, Op. 105
(1924)
The Tempest, Incidental music for soloists, chorus
and orchestra, Op. 109 (1925)
Vinn virsi (Vin's Hymn) for chorus and orchestra, Op. 110 (1926)

[3] Setelit.com. Setelit.com. Retrieved 30 January 2012.

[5] Ekman 1972, p. 11.

[7] All Music Guide to Classical Music: The Denitive

Guide to Classical Music. Backbeat Books. 2005. pp.
12791282. ISBN 0-87930-865-6.
[8] Jean Sibelius and His World. Princeton University Press.
2011. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-691-15280-6.
[9] Music for Freemasonry
[10] Tawaststjerna, volume II, p. 21.

Tapiola, Tone Poem for orchestra, Op. 112 (1926)

[11] Leon Botstein (14 August 2011). The Transformative

Paradoxes of Jean Sibelius. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 21 January 2014.

Andante Festivo (for string quartet 1922; string orchestra and timpani 1938)

[12] Kari Kilpelinen. Sibelius Eight. What happened to it?".

Finnish Music Quarterly 4/1995.

Suite for violin and strings, Op 117

[13] Vesa Sirn, Is this the sound of Sibelius lost Eighth Symphony?" Helsingin Sanomat, October 2011.

12.2

Other works

Viisi joululaulua, (Five Christmas Songs) Op. 1, solo

songs (18971913)

[14] Vesa Sirn (2011-10-30).

Soiko HS.:n videolla
Sibeliuksen kadonnut sinfonia?". Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 2015-01-11.
[15] David Patrick Stearns (2012-01-03). One last Sibelius
symphony after all?". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved
2015-01-11.

Seven Songs, Op. 17, with lyrics by J. L. Runeberg,

K. A. Tavaststjerna, Oscar Levertin, A.V. Forsman [16] The war and the destruction of the eighth symphony
19391945. Sibelius..
(Koskimies, Finnish surname), and Ilmari Calamnius (Kianto, Finnish surname). Composed between [17] Ross, Alex (2009) [2007]. 5. The Rest Is Noise: Listen1891 and 1904.
ing to the Twentieth Century (3rd ed.). Harper Perennial.
ISBN 978-1-84115-476-3.

Incidental music to Hjalmar Procop's play

[18] INKPOT CLASSICAL MUSIC REVIEWS: SIBELIUS
Belshazzars Feast, Op. 51 (1906)
Voces intimae, Op. 56, string quartet (1909)
Jger March (Jkrimarssi), for male chorus and
symphony orchestra, Op. 91a (1915)

Karelia Suite. Luonnotar. Andante Festivo. The

Oceanides. King Christian II Suite. Finlandia. Gothenburg SO/Jrvi (DG)". Inkpot.com. Retrieved 30 January
2012.

[19] Tawaststjerna, volume I, p. 209.

[20] Pike

13

See also

[21] Burnett-James, p. 41.

[22] Burnett-James, p. 94.

International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition

Sibelius Monument

[23] Freed, William (1995). William Walton, Symphony No.

1 in B-at minor [1968 version], Program note. Retrieved
29 June 2011.

[24] In: Lambert, Constant (1934). Music Ho!. Retrieved 26

June 2011.
[25] Walker, Lynne (2008). King Arthur. Classical Music/MusicWeb International. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
[26] Glenda Dawn Goss. Jean Sibelius and Olin Downes: Music, friendship, criticism.
[27] Adorno, Theodor (1938). Trne, B. de, Sibelius; A
Close Up. Zeitschrift fr Sozialforschung 7: 460463.
Later reprinted as Glosse ber Sibelius. Cited and translated in Jackson, Timothy L. (2001). Preface. In Jackson, Timothy L.; Murtomki, Veijo. Sibelius Studies.
Cambridge University Press. xviii. ISBN 0-521-62416-9.
[28] Leibowitz, Ren (1955). Sibelius, le plus mauvais compositeur du monde. Lige, Belgium: ditions Dynamo.
OCLC 28594116.
[29] Song of the Enchanter, Thea Musgrave.

15

Sources

Burnett-James, David (1989). Sibelius. Omnibus

Press. ISBN 0-7119-1683-7.
Ekman, Karl (1972). Jean Sibelius, his Life and Personality. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-8371-6027-8.
Pike, Lionel (1978). Beethoven, Sibelius and 'the
Profound Logic': Studies in Symphonic Analysis.
Athlone Press. ISBN 0-485-11178-0.
Tawaststjerna, Erik (1976). Sibelius. Volume
I. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520030145. Volume II. University of California
Press. ISBN 978-0520058699.

Goss, Glenda Dawn Sibelius: A Composers Life and

the Awakening of Finland. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-226-30477-9
Tomi Mkel: Poesie in der Luft. Jean Sibelius,
Studien zu Leben und Werk. Wiesbaden, Breitkopf
& Hrtel, 2007. 978-3-7651-0363-6
Barnett, Andrew. Sibelius. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-30011159-0
Tomi Mkel: Jean Sibelius. Woodbridge and
Rochester, Boydell, 2011* Minnesota Orchestras
showcase concert magazine, 6 May, page 44
Morgan, Robert P. (1991) [1990]. Other European
Currents. The Norton Introduction to Music History: Twentieth-Century Music (1st ed.). New York:
W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 121123. ISBN
0-393-95272-X.
Goss, Glenda Sibelius: A Composers Life and the
Awakening of Finland. Chicago and London: The
University of Chicago Press, 2009. ISBN 0-22630477-9
Antonin Servire, Jean Sibelius Le style dans
l'oeuvre symphonique, Editions Delatour France,
2011, 324 p., ISBN 978-2752100924

17 External links
Jean Sibelius the website (English)
The Sibelius Society of Finland
Fennica Gehrmans Sibelius page (publisher)

16

Further reading

Ekman, Karl. Jean Sibelius, His Life and Personality. New York, Tudor Publishing Co., 1945.
Levas, Santeri. Sibelius: a personal portrait. London, Dent, 1972. ISBN 0-460-03978-4.
de Gorog, Lisa (with the collaboration of Ralph de
Gorog) From Sibelius to Sallinen: Finnish Nationalism and the Music of Finland. New York, Greenwood Press, 1989.
Layton, Robert. Sibelius. New York: Schirmer
Books, 1993. Master Musicians Series. ISBN 002-871322-2.
Rickards, Guy. Jean Sibelius. London and New
York, Phaidon Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0-71484776-4.
Goss, Glenda Jean Sibelius: Guide to Research. New
York: Garland Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8153-1171-0

Films on Jean Sibelius by director Christopher Nupen

Jean Sibelius Museum
Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, thisisFINLAND
Ainola The home of Aino and Jean Sibelius
Sibelius material in the BBC Radio 3 archives
Jean Sibelius link collection
Free scores by Jean Sibelius at the International Music Score Library Project
Works by or about Jean Sibelius in libraries
(WorldCat catalog)
Jean Sibelius discography at MusicBrainz
Eugene Ormandy Jean Sibelius: A Reminiscence
Musical Finland in Brussels

10
Free scores by Jean Sibelius in the Choral Public
Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
Veijo Murtomki, Sibelius, Jean (18651957). National Biography of Finland, online collection.
16.9.1997. Finnish Literature Society.
List of compositions at AllMusic
Jean Sibelius at the Notable Names Database
Jean Sibelius at Find a Grave

17

EXTERNAL LINKS

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18.1

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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