Sibelius 5 sounds not changing professional#

From left to right are the artist, Oskar Merikanto (a composer – his face is planted on the table), Robert Kajanus (a conductor) and Jean Sibelius. Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s infamous 1894 painting Symposion depicts a typical scene from one of Sibelius’ binges. Combined with the way money seemed to slip through his fingers, his addiction put enormous strain on his family life sometimes he would disappear for days at a time. Possessed of a dreamy, melancholy disposition, Sibelius had developed a troubling alcohol dependency during his student years.

Sibelius 5 sounds not changing professional#

Despite his professional success, Sibelius’ personal life was often in turmoil during this period. Many years later, however, his love of the instrument would find an outlet in one of his greatest masterpieces: the Violin Concerto in D minor.īy the time Sibelius began work on the concerto in 1902, he was in his late thirties, and with two symphonies, Finlandia and numerous other works, he had established himself as the leading composer of the emerging Finnish nation (politically, Finland was still part of the Russian empire at this time). Unfortunately, his late start combined with stage fright to prevent his dream from coming true. It was only as a teenager that he discovered the violin, writing “When I play, I am filled with a strange feeling it is as though the insides of the music opened up to me.” He dreamed of becoming a virtuoso violinist and seriously pursued a performing career through his early twenties. Sibelius was a troublesome student, however his habit of improvising instead of practicing his etudes would often earn him “raps across the knuckles.” He never really took to the piano. Jean Sibelius’ first musical instruction came in the form of piano lessons from his aunt Julia.