SIBELIUS, Jean
b Hameenlinna, Finland, 8 December 1865
d Jarvenpaa, 20 September 1957, aged ninety-one
His father was a doctor who died of cholera when Jean was two. As a child he studied violin. Later he went to Helsinki to study law, and there met Busoni with whom he made a life-long friendship. He graduated in 1889, went to Berlin and Vienna for further musical studies, and finally returned to Finland in 1891. His acceptance as Finland's leading composer was immediate, and his music showed the powerful impact that Finnish mythology made upon him. His fame spread and he toured Germany and England, conducting his own music. He was seriously ill with suspected throat cancer in 1908 and had a series of operations. On his recovery he travelled as a conductor again. In 1912 he was offered the chair of composition at the Vienna Imperial Academy of Music; and in 1914 he was given an honorary doctorate at Yale as a climax of his visit to the USA. In the mid-1920s he retired from active composition, apart from writing his Eighth Symphony, which he completed in 1929 and subsequently destroyed. He died of a cerebral haemorrhage.
1881-2 (16-17)
Piano Trio in F minor
Piano Quartet in E minor
1885 (20)
String Quartet in Eb major
1888 (23)
Theme and Variations for quartet in C sharp minor
1889 (24)
Piano Quintet
Quartet in Bb major
Suite for violin, viola and cello
Violin Sonata in F major
1890-1 (25-6)
Overture in A minor
Overture in E major
1891 (26)
Scene de ballet
Piano Quartet in C major
1892 (27)
En Saga, symphonic poem (revised 1901)
Kullervo, symphonic poem
1893 (28)
Karelia, overture
Karelia, suite, for orchestra
The Swan of Tuonela, for orchestra (No 3 of the Four Legends from Kalevala)
1894 (29)
Spring Song, symphonic poem
1895 (30)
Cassazione, for orchestra (unpublished)
Lemminkainen and the Maidens (No 1 of the Four Legends from Kalevala)
Lemminkainen in Tuonela (No 2 of the Four Legends from Kalevala)
Lemminkainen's homecoming (No 4 of the Four Legends from Kalevala)
1896 (31)
The Girl in the Tower, opera (unpublished)
1898 (33)
King Christian II, incidental music
Symphony No 1 in E minor (1898-9)
1899 (34)
Scenes historiques, Suite No 1, three orchestral pieces
1900 (35)
Finlandia, symphonic poem
1901 (36)
Symphony No 2 in D major
Cortege, for orchestra (unpublished)
Portraits, for strings
1902 (37)
The Origin of Fire, for baritone, male voices and orchestra (revised 1910)
1903 (38)
Violin Concerto in D minor (revised 1905)
Romance, for strings
1904 (39)
Kuolema, incidental music, includes 'Valse Triste'
Symphony No 3 in C major (1904-07)
1905 (40)
Pelléas et Mélisande, incidental music
Not With Lamentations, for mixed voices
1906 (41)
Pohjola's Daughter, symphonic fantasy
The Liberated Queen, cantata for mixed voices and orchestra
1907 (42)
Belshazzar's Feast, suite for orchestra
Night-ride and Sunrise, tone poem
1908 (43)
String Quartet in five movements, Voces Intimae
1911 (46)
Symphony No 4 in A minor
Rakastava Suite, for orchestra
Valse romantique, for orchestra
Canzonetta, for strings
1912 (47)
Scènes historiques, Suite No 2, three orchestral pieces
Two Serenades for violin (1912-13)
1913 (48)
Scaramouche, pantomime
Il Bardo, symphonic poem
1914 (49)
Oceanides, symphonic poem
Symphony No 5 in Eb major (1914-15)
1916 (51)
Everyman, incidental music
1917 (52)
Humoresques, for violin and orchestra
1918 (53)
Our Native Land, cantata for mixed voices and orchestra
1919 (54)
Song of the Earth, cantata for mixed voices and orchestra
Scene pastorale, for orchestra
1920 (55)
Hymn of the Earth, cantata for mixed voices and orchestra
Valse lyrique, for orchestra
Valse chevaleresque, for orchestra
1921 (56)
Suite mignonne, for flute and strings
Suite champetre, for strings
1922 (57)
Suite caractéristique (Vivo, Lento, Commodo)
1923 (58)
Symphony No 6 in D minor
1924 (59)
Symphony No 7 in C major, in one movement
1925 (60)
Tapiola, symphonic poem
1926 (61)
The Tempest, incidental music
1929 (64)
Symphony No 8 (destroyed)
Sibelius also wrote other incidental music, songs, vocal works, chamber, instrumental and piano works.