Sibelius, Jean 1865 - 1957
Author: Miyamoto, Yumi
Last updated：May 1, 2007
Author: Miyamoto, Yumi
A Finnish composer. His first name, Jean, is French in style and was adopted from his uncle. He became familiar with the violin and composition at an early age, writing his first work at the age of 10. From the age of 14, he took violin lessons, improved, and aimed to become a soloist. Furthermore, he began to play chamber music with his family, and Sibelius composed numerous chamber works.
In 1885, he enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki. However, the following year, he abandoned his legal studies to pursue composition and violin. During this period, he was influenced by figures such as Carl Reinecke and Hans Richter. In 1889, he went to Saint Petersburg to study abroad, but was unable to study under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov as planned, instead taking counterpoint lessons from Albert Becker in Berlin. In his second year abroad, he studied in Vienna.
In 1891, he returned to Finland and took up a teaching position. Around this time, he also began to show interest in folk music. In 1899, his Symphony No. 1 premiered and achieved great success. In the same year, Finlandia was also premiered, achieving even greater success than Symphony No. 1.
During the 1900s, he traveled widely across the European continent, gaining international renown. However, his life became turbulent due to debts and a drinking habit, and his Violin Concerto of 1903 was composed during this period. In 1907, with his Symphony No. 3, he transitioned from Romantic nationalism to Neoclassicism.
In addition to his seven symphonies, Sibelius composed tone poems, incidental music, violin works, piano pieces, songs, and chamber music, achieving international acclaim; however, he virtually ceased his compositional activity between 1920 and 1925. His popularity continued even after he ceased composing, and numerous concerts and celebrations were held on his 90th birthday. He passed away in 1957 at the age of 91.
Works(38)
Piano Solo (10)
pieces (15)
bagatelle (2)
character pieces (8)
Reduction/Arrangement (5)