Jean Sibelius

The work of Jean Sibelius (1865 – 1957), the Finnish national composer par excellence, is closely linked to the awakening of the Finnish national movement in the 19th century. Sibelius often drew inspiration for his musical works from the legends, fairy tales and sagas of Finnish tradition, without the influence of folk culture extending into the structure of the pieces themselves. Only very occasionally do his pieces contain native folk melodies, and in general no essential elements of his compositions can be traced back to the characteristics of Finnish folk music. The core of his oeuvre consists of orchestral works, including eleven symphonic poems and seven symphonies. As a composer, Sibelius works with essentially unchanged thematic figures, as it were firmly moulded building blocks, from which he constructs completely new, often generously dimensioned sound surfaces that combine to form individual, non-schematic forms. Despite this originality, while the music around him was increasingly characterised by revolutionary upheavals, Sibelius held on to the musical means of the 19th century in order to create something new with them.

Sibelius grew up in a family where music was played with enthusiasm, but where the idea of practising music professionally was far from his mind. After self-taught beginnings, he did not receive serious violin lessons until he was around 15 years old. He developed quickly and studied violin and composition with renowned teachers in Helsinki, Berlin and Vienna. For a long time, Sibelius was unsure of his creative talent and wavered between a career as a violinist and a composer. In 1891, an unsuccessful audition with the concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic brought about the decisive turning point. Sibelius finally abandoned the idea of becoming a professional violinist and at the same time discovered the orchestra as a sounding body for himself as a composer. The very next year, he composed his first major work, the symphonic poem ‘Kullervo’, based on a subject taken from the Finnish national epic ‘Kalevala’, the premiere of which in April 1892 made the young composer instantly famous in his homeland. With the 2nd Symphony (1901/02), he also found international recognition. His works were now frequently performed, particularly in Germany and the USA, and Sibelius soon received invitations to conduct from all over the world.

The 3rd Symphony (1904 – 1907) marked a certain stylistic turning point in his oeuvre. His works, which had previously tended towards the decorative, now became increasingly ascetic and austere, as well as formally more independent. His last work, the symphonic poem ‘Tapiola’ (1925), was the high point of his oeuvre. After this, Sibelius, who suffered from self-doubt throughout his life and was stylistically cut off from the development of music, fell silent. Although he no longer created anything new, the royalties from his works, which continued to be performed all over the world, helped him to prosper. Jean Sibelius died in 1957, more than thirty years after his last major composition.