Chamber Music of Sibelius Presented by Liszt Academy

Jean Sibelius, Finland’s greatest composer, was born on 8 December 1865. For the past thirteen years, this day has been celebrated as Finnish Music Day in his homeland. His compositional career focused on creating a Finnish national musical identity. While he was aware of contemporary European folk music movements—including the works of Bartók and Kodály—he chose not to collect and process folk music. Instead, he focused on the musical expression of Finnish national literature. He himself stated: “I love the music of Bartók and Kodály. We are kindred spirits. However, there is one difference: I have never collected folk songs, nor have I processed them in my works. What captured my soul were not these, but the ancient lines of our national epic.” In 1929, Sibelius stopped composing, and until his death in 1957, he did not write any new music. Despite this, he was one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century, with over 100 opus numbers listed among his works. For this concert, the artists have selected various chamber pieces with different instrumental arrangements from his rich oeuvre.