20th Century Composers: Jean Sibelius

Part of the 20th Century Composers series.

The Finn Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), together with Edvard Grieg, is the most prominent and popular composer to have emerged from Northern Europe. Although he is known primarily as a symphonist, his Violin Concerto and some smaller works such as the symphonic poem "Finlandia" have also become staples of the orchestral repertoire. His music is quintessentially the product of the natural landscapes (physical, ethnic, historical and political) of his native country, his inspiration frequently coming from literature, such as the Finnish epic "Kalevala".

Throughout his life Sibelius oscillated between a vision of himself as a cosmopolitan figure in European music, and the nationalist tone-poet closely tied to Finland's move towards independence. His creative output reflected this dualism, between the abstract and the programmatic, the classical and the romantic, with himself as both high priest of the symphony and perpetrator of light music pot-boilers.

In his homeland he attained monumental status, becoming his country's primary cultural export. For so public a figure, however, much of his life has been shrouded in mystery. Sibelius himself became increasingly selective about details of his life, not least his creative output in the last three decades when he released very few new works. As this new study shows, Sibelius was plagued by self-doubt throughout his life and frequently sought refuge in alcohol. The long silence of his final thirty years was in reality bound up with the composition of his Eighth Symphony which he ultimately destroyed.

This is the first single-volume biography on Sibelius in English to be published in nearly a decade, and it includes new material not previously available.

Includes black-and-white illustrations.