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 national identity during its struggle for independence from Russia.
The "Jäger March", Op. 91a, is a military march by Jean Sibelius. He set in 1917 words written by the Finnish Jäger, Hilfsgruppenführer Heikki Nurmio who served in Libau, in the Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion of the Imperial German Army. This unit was fighting against the Russian Empire, of which the Grand Duchy of Finland still was a part. The words were smuggled into Finland to Sibelius, who composed the song in Järvenpää.
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.
Finlandia, Op. 26, is a tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was written in 1899 and revised in 1900. The piece was composed for the Press Celebrations of 1899, a covert protest against increasing censorship from the Russian Empire, and was the last of seven pieces performed as an accompaniment to a tableau depicting episodes from Finnish history. The premiere was on 2 July 1900 in Helsinki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Robert Kajanus. A typical performance takes between 7½ and 9 minutes depending on how it is performed.
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.
Karelia Suite, Op. 11 is a subset of pieces from the longer Karelia Music written by Jean Sibelius in 1893 for the Viipuri Students' Association and premiered, with Sibelius conducting, at the Imperial Alexander University in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, on 23 November of that year. Sibelius first conducted the shorter Suite ten days later; it remains one of his most popular works.
Soile Marja Isokoski is a Finnish lyric soprano, active in opera, concert works and lieder.
Helsinki Academic Male Choir KYL, founded in 1949, is an academic male choir from Helsinki, Finland. The choir is associated closely with Aalto University School of Business, consisting mainly of students and alumni of the university.
YL Male Voice Choir was founded by P. J. Hannikainen in 1883 to become the choir of the Helsinki University. It is also the oldest Finnish-language choir. Nowadays the choir is not completely tied to the university, but all applicants are expected to have passed the matriculation exam or study at any university level. Up to June 2010, YL was conducted by Matti Hyökki. In July 2010, Pasi Hyökki began his tenure as conductor of the choir.
Vyborg is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, 130 km to the northwest of St. Petersburg, 245 km east of the Finnish capital Helsinki, and 38 km south of Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland. The most recent census population of Vyborg is as follows: 72,530 (2021 Census).
The Academic Male Voice Choir of Helsinki, abbreviated AS, colloquially also known as Akademen, is a Finland-Swedish academic male-voice choir in Helsinki, Finland. The choir was founded in 1838 by Fredrik Pacius and is the oldest extant choir in Finland. It is one of two male-voice choirs affiliated with the University of Helsinki, the other being the oldest extant Finnish-language choir, the YL Male Voice Choir. Furthermore, it is one of two Swedish-language choirs affiliated with the University of Helsinki, the other being the Academic Female Voice Choir Lyran.
The Maiden of the North is an opera in three acts written in 1898 by the Finnish composer Oskar Merikanto. The piece was a collaboration with the Finnish author Antti Rytkönen, the Finnish-language libretto of whom was based on a script by the Finnish opera singer Lorenz Nikolai Achté. The opera tells a story from The Kalevala, Finland's national epic, in which the old wizard Väinämöinen and the blacksmith Ilmarinen, as rival suitors, vie for the hand of the beautiful Maiden of Pohjola; she is the daughter of Louhi, the villainous Queen of the Northland. Although rarely performed, The Maiden of the North retains a degree of historical significance as the first Finnish-language opera.
The Helsinki Music Centre is a concert hall and a music center in Töölönlahti, Helsinki. The building is home to Sibelius Academy and two symphony orchestras, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
Kanteletar is a collection of Finnish folk poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot. It is considered to be a sister collection to the Finnish national epic Kalevala. The poems of Kanteletar are based on the trochaic tetrameter, generally referred to as "Kalevala metre".
Cantores Minores is a choir of the Helsinki Cathedral, and Finland's oldest and most successful boys' choir. The patron of the choir is the President of Finland. The choir consists of around three hundred 4- to 25-year-old boys and young men.
My Own Land, Op. 92, is a single-movement cantata for mixed choir and orchestra written in 1918 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece, which is a setting of Kallio's Finnish language poem of the same name, is the first in a series of four "little known but beautiful", patriotic cantatas from the composer's mature period—including Song of the Earth ; Hymn of the Earth ; and Väinämöinen’s Song. My Own Land premiered on 25 October 1918 in Helsinki with Armas Maasalo conducting the Helsinki Youth League —the commissioning ensemble and dedicatee—and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
Snöfrid, Op. 29, is a melodrama or "improvisation for narrator, mixed choir and orchestra" by Jean Sibelius. He completed it in 1900 on a text by Viktor Rydberg. It was first performed in Helsinki on 20 October 1900, with the Orchestra of the Helsinki Philharmonic Society, conducted by Robert Kajanus.
Kari Antero Turunen, is a Finnish artistic director, choral conductor, ensemble tenor, and music scholar and lecturer.
The Polytech Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Otaniemi, Espoo.
