On a recent trip to Helsinki, Finland I was lucky enough to visit the monument to Jean Sibelius, composer in the late romantic period. He was born in 1865 and died in 1957. He had a real influence in shaping Finland’s identity. One of his most famous compositions is Finlandia.
Whilst his early symphonic compositions became well known he failed to produce very much in the last 30 years of his life. he did, however, compose smaller pieces and re edit some of his early work. He continued to take an interest in new developments in music although he didn’t always view them favorably!
The 8th of December, Sibelius’ birthday is now known as, ‘The Day of Finnish Music’.
I found the monument fascinating and a lasting tribute to his great talent.
Cats and allsorts 