Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often credited with having helped Finland develop a stronger national identity when the country was struggling from several attempts at Russification in the late 19th century.
Erik "Eero" Nikolai Järnefelt was a Finnish painter and art professor. He is best known for his portraits and landscapes of the area around Koli National Park, in the North Karelia region of Finland. He was a medal winner at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889 and 1900, taught art at the University of Helsinki and was chairman of the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts.
Juhani Aho, originally Johannes Brofeldt, was a Finnish author and journalist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature twelve times.
Ainola is a museum in Järvenpää, Finland, which was the home of a Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, his wife Aino, and their six daughters. Situated near Lake Tuusula, 38 kilometres north of Helsinki, the two-story wooden home was designed by a Finnish architect Lars Sonck. The foundation was laid in the autumn of 1903, and the Sibelius family began occupying the residence in September 1904. The second floor of Ainola was later finished in 1911.
Leevi Antti Madetoja was a Finnish composer, music critic, conductor, and teacher of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely recognized as one of the most significant Finnish contemporaries of Jean Sibelius, under whom he studied privately from 1908 to 1910.
The Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43, is a four-movement work for orchestra written from 1901 to 1902 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
Kullervo, Op. 7, is a five-movement symphonic work for soprano, baritone, male choir, and orchestra written from 1891–1892 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Movements I, II, and IV are instrumental, whereas III and V feature sung text from Runos XXXV–VI of the Kalevala, Finland's national epic. The piece tells the story of the tragic hero Kullervo, with each movement depicting an episode from his ill-fated life: first, an introduction that establishes the psychology of the titular character; second, a haunting "lullaby with variations" that portrays his unhappy childhood; third, a dramatic dialogue between soloists and chorus in which the hero unknowingly seduces his long-lost sister; fourth, a lively scherzo in which Kullervo seeks redemption on the battlefield; and fifth, a funereal choral finale in which he returns to the spot of his incestuous crime and, guilt-ridden, takes his life by falling on his sword.
En saga, Op. 9, is a single-movement tone poem for orchestra written from 1891 to 1892 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece, which likely began as a septet or octet for flute, clarinet, and string ensemble before evolving into an orchestral tone poem, premiered on 16 February 1893 in Helsinki with Sibelius conducting the Helsinki Orchestral Association. A decade later in 1902, Sibelius substantially revised En saga in response to an invitation from Ferruccio Busoni to conduct the piece in Berlin. It thus stands alongside The Lemminkäinen Suite (Op. 22), the Violin Concerto (Op. 47), The Oceanides (Op. 73), and the Fifth Symphony (Op. 82) as one of the most overhauled works in his œuvre. The Berlin concert, which occurred a fortnight after Robert Kajanus had premiered the revised version in Helsinki on 2 November, finally brought Sibelius the German breakthrough he had long desired.
Edvard Armas Järnefelt, was a Finnish conductor and composer, who achieved some minor success with his orchestral works Berceuse (1904) and Praeludium (1900). He spent much of his conducting career at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, Sweden.
August Alexander Järnefelt was a Finnish general, topographist, governor and senator.
Elisabeth Järnefelt was a Finnish salonist, known as "the mother of Finnish art and culture".
Robert Kajanus was a Finnish conductor, composer, and teacher. In 1882, he founded the Helsinki Orchestral Society, Finland's first professional orchestra. As a conductor, he was also a notable champion and interpreter of the music of Jean Sibelius.
Aino Sibelius was the wife of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. They lived most of their 65 years of marriage at their home Ainola near Lake Tuusula, Järvenpää, Finland. They had six daughters: Eva (1893–1978), Ruth (1894–1976), Kirsti (1898–1900), Katarina (1903–1984), Margareta (1908–1988) and Heidi (1911–1982).
The Piano Concerto in C major, Op. 39 (BV 247), by Ferruccio Busoni, is one of the largest works ever written in this genre. Completed and premiered in 1904, it is about 70 minutes long and laid out in five movements played without a break; in the final movement an invisible men's chorus sings words from the verse-drama Aladdin by Adam Oehlenschläger.
Ida Paulina Ekman was a Finnish soprano singer. She was also referred to as Ida Morduch-Ekman. Her career was mainly in oratorio and lieder, and she was a renowned interpreter of the songs of Jean Sibelius, many of which were dedicated to her and her husband Karl Ekman, with whose career her own was closely connected. Sibelius regarded her as his favourite singer.
Wendla Irene Soldan-Brofeldt, known as Venny was a Finnish painter, illustrator, graphic artist, wood sculptor and jewelry designer. She belonged to the Swedish speaking population of Finland.
Aino is a single-movement symphonic poem for male choir and orchestra written in 1885 by the Finnish conductor and composer Robert Kajanus. The piece tells the tragic story of the eponymous heroine from the Kalevala, although the Finnish-language text—Ring, Kantele, Ring! —sung by the male choir at the end of the symphonic poem is not from the literary epic but rather is by an anonymous author. Aino premiered on 28 February 1885 at a concert celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Kalevala.
Malinconia, Op. 20, is a single-movement duo for cello and piano written in 1900 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
Early in his career from 1889 to 1899, the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius wrote six pieces for brass septet, chronologically as follows: the Overture in F minor, JS 146 (1889); the Allegro in G minor, JS 25 (1889); the Andantino and Menuetto, JS 45 (1890); the Preludium, JS 83 (1891); and Tiera, JS 200 (1899). Although Sibelius's pieces for brass septet have been recorded several times, they are relatively unknown.
