FINLAND:

If you had to choose the greatest Nordic composer Finland’s Jean Sibelius would probably be a sure bet.

In a country like Germany with some 150 professional symphony orchestras and near-ly 80 opera houses, it is Sibelius’ Violin Concerto that gets most play after the other local favourites Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Max Bruch. There have been more than seventy recordings made of the Violin Concerto since the first one done by Jascha Heifetz in 1935. And which other Nordic composer has a street named after him in Jamaica, not to mention another fifty places spread around the world?

Popularity apart, Sibelius’ greatness is seen in his enormous production, large variation and the music’s originality. While you hear the folk music seep through the compositions of Alfvén and Grieg, Sibelius conjures up his own language. His music was inspired by nature.

"Others provide cocktails," he said. "I serve only plain water".

Jean Sibelius (1865-1907) was born in a Swedish-speaking home in Tavastehus where his father was a doctor. He was baptized Johan, but his name was changed to Jean when his parents realized that the uncle whom he was named after used the French form. However Sibelius was mostly called Janne. The alcoholic father died in a typhus epidemic when Jean was only three, so he was brought up primarily in his maternal grandmother’s home. He spent the summers in his paternal grandmother’s home in Loviisa and it was here his love for Finland’s nature was born.

His love for music came relatively late and only after he was forced to take piano lessons at the age of nine. Sibelius quickly formed a liking for chamber music and wrote his first composition Water Drops for violin and cellopizzato when he was ten. By fourteen he started playing the violin and his relatives soon understood that they could forget about all hopes of any law studies. Jean had on his own initiative enrolled himself at the Helsinki Conservatory. His teacher in composition Martin Wegelius quickly spotted Jean Sibelius’ talent and recommended his student for a scholarship to further his studies in Berlin and Vienna. Later the same teacher made sure that Jean received a stipend from the Finnish state at age 28, so that he could whole-heartedly concentrate on composing.

Jean Sibelius got his breakthrough when his very nationalistic Kullervos Symphony was performed for the first time in 1892. His extensive production included seven symphonies, symphonic poems and orchestral suites inspired by ancient Finnish themes, an opera and a number of elegant minor work. The most popular is of course Finlandia, the Karelian Music and the triumphant Symphony No 5 in ess-dur.

In 1903 Sibelius wrote Valse Triste for a play by his brother-in-law Arvid Järnefelt, that became almost as popular as "Tango Jalousie" and was played in the cafés all around Europe and the United States before the Second World War. Royalties would have made Sibelius a wealthy man, but he had sold his composition for next to nothing before it became a hit. Economically Jean Sibelius did well however, although he always spent more than he earned. As a famous composer he toured all of Europe and the United States. Interestingly he always dreamt of becoming a violin virtuoso and he held onto this dream as noted in his diary as late as when he was 40.

In 1915 the by then famous composer moved to Aniola, the much-loved house he had constructed in a small town called Järvenpäa, 35 kilometers from Helsinki. In 1929 he published his last work and began what came to be know as "The Silence from Järvenpää". By then Jean Sibelius was 64 years old, alcoholic and, above all, much more self-critical despite all the praise and fame he was receiving. His correspondence alone took so much time that it hampered his composition. He and his wife Aino were still seen a lot socially, but Jean Sibelius had become shy and gruff and remained so until his death at age 92 after 30 years of musical silence. His Seventh Symphony was finished in 1924, so everybody still hoped and expected that the Eight Symphony that Sibelius had promised would emerge after his death. But they were to be disappointed.

Suggested listening: Sibelius - Violin Concerto, Finlandia, Valse Triste etc SONY SMK 64578. O. Merikanto - Song Album, Finlandia FAC 204. Rautavara - Canticus Articus & Symphony No. 5, Catalyst (BMG) 09026-62671-2

For more information: Finnish Music Information Centre, 1 Lauttasaarentie, FIN-00200 Helsinki. Phone: +358 0 68101 316, Fax: +358 0 682 0770.