Analysis Of Sibelius And Finnish Nationalism

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Louise Sullivan
Susan O’Regan
Music History Perspectives MUSC6002
11 December 2015

Sibelius & Finnish Nationalism
My project is based on Jean Sibelius and Finnish Nationalism. This year marks the 150 anniversary of the Finnish composer. We will review how Sibelius kept with the traditions of folklore and mythology of the Finnish nation. Sibelius’s love for Finnish landscape and nature influenced a lot of his music. What were Sibelius’s feelings regarding his country's ruler-ship under the Russian empire? We will also take a look into who was Jean Sibelius, what were the motives behind his violin concerto as some people view this as not being based on nationalism, and why did the Finnish accept Sibelius as a national composer? In examining some of Sibelius’s compositions, each one highlights how Sibelius felt about his
Investigating how Poetry, Mythology, and the Russian empire influenced his Finnish Musical Identity.

Biography. Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) was a composer during the late romantic era into the early 20th century. He composed seven symphonies, a violin concerto, a range of chamber and choral music. Christened Johan Julius Christian Sibelius in Hämeenlinna Finland 1865, culturally dominated by Sweden, but ruled by the Russian empire until 1917. As a child he spoke Swedish, but as a young man he embraced the Finnish language changing his name to Jean. Along with his brother and sister he enjoyed playing piano, at fifteen years of age he started violin lessons, but most of all he enjoyed composing music. Having finished school he moved to Helsinki to study law, which he later abandoned to study composition with Martin Wegelius and

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