SIBELIUS FINLANDIA FULL
SIBELIUS FINLANDIA PROFESSIONAL

I am sitting at his writing desk-he is at the piano-there’s a nice fire. Of course I am happy to have been able to be so near Janne all this time-whether my presence is any help to him in his darker moments I cannot say-but it has been a rewarding and satisfying experience for me. But if I have been excited by all of this, I have also suffered too.

SIBELIUS FINLANDIA FULL

He’s awake night after night, plays wonderful things, and can’t tear himself away from the marvelous music he plays-there are so many ideas that one can’t believe it is true, all of them so rich in possibilities for development, so full of life. He has so many ideas forcing their way into his mind that he becomes quite literally dizzy.

Again it has been an embarrass de richesse.

Janne has been in the throes of it all the time (and so have I). “The first performance of the concerto is now definitely decided for 8 February but that however is uncomfortably soon. In a letter to Sibelius’ friend Axel Carpelan (who first suggested the idea of a violin concerto years before), Aino provided a glimpse into its genesis: Aino Sibelius (née Järnefelt) photographed around 1891. Genesisĭuring his good days, Sibelius managed to complete the concerto. Ainola’s tranquility and proximity to nature would have a profound influence on his music. Ainola, as Sibelius would call it, would remain their home for the rest of their lives. A renowned architect donated the plans for the new house, and a well-to-do uncle passed away leaving Sibelius a grimly convenient inheritance that helped finance construction. With the help of friends, she convinced Sibelius to relocate the family to an artists’ colony away from Helsinki and its temptations. With three young children to look after, this was particularly hard on his wife Aino, a daughter of Finnish high society who had fallen in love with the handsome composer and his music as a young woman. From left to right are the artist, Oskar Merikanto (a composer – his face is planted on the table), Robert Kajanus (a conductor) and Jean Sibelius. Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s infamous 1894 painting Symposion depicts a typical scene from one of Sibelius’ binges.

Combined with the way money seemed to slip through his fingers, his addiction put enormous strain on his family life sometimes he would disappear for days at a time. Possessed of a dreamy, melancholy disposition, Sibelius had developed a troubling alcohol dependency during his student years.

SIBELIUS FINLANDIA PROFESSIONAL

Despite his professional success, Sibelius’ personal life was often in turmoil during this period. Many years later, however, his love of the instrument would find an outlet in one of his greatest masterpieces: the Violin Concerto in D minor.īy the time Sibelius began work on the concerto in 1902, he was in his late thirties, and with two symphonies, Finlandia and numerous other works, he had established himself as the leading composer of the emerging Finnish nation (politically, Finland was still part of the Russian empire at this time). Unfortunately, his late start combined with stage fright to prevent his dream from coming true. It was only as a teenager that he discovered the violin, writing “When I play, I am filled with a strange feeling it is as though the insides of the music opened up to me.” He dreamed of becoming a virtuoso violinist and seriously pursued a performing career through his early twenties.

Sibelius was a troublesome student, however his habit of improvising instead of practicing his etudes would often earn him “raps across the knuckles.” He never really took to the piano. Jean Sibelius’ first musical instruction came in the form of piano lessons from his aunt Julia.

Sibelius finlandia