Jean (zhan) Sibelius (si-BAY-lee-us) was Finland's own voice in music. He composed symphonies and symphonic poems for his people. He was involved in the movement to free Finland from Russian rule. He did not use folk songs in his works. His music became their folk music. His Finlandia was so closely associated with Finnish independence that Russia decreed that it not be performed during times of political unrest. Jean Sibelius' music reflected the spirit of Finland; their dark forests and many lakes, the long winter nights and their national heritage. He was so much a national hero that the government gave him an annual allowance so he could devote all his time to composition.

Sibelius was the son of a doctor. He became interested in music when very young. He studied piano and then violin. He was a sensitive child who loved beauty in all forms: books, music, nature and art. He preferred improvising (making up music as he played) rather than playing exercises. He wrote his first composition when he was ten years old. It was a duet for violin and cello which he called Drops of Water. The strings of the instruments were plucked to imitate the sound of dripping water.

When Sibelius was thirty-six years old, he suffered from a disease of the ear which doctors feared would make him deaf. He became very depressed. It was during this time that he wrote Valse Triste (sad waltz). Fortunately, Sibelius did not lose his hearing.

Sibelius lived through two World Wars. He died in 1957 at the age of ninety-two. He lived to see his country gain its freedom, although the government was not completely free of communist control until 1987.

The music of Sibelius belongs more to the Romantic than the Modern Period. He wrote with great emotion, sometimes tragic and brooding, but often sunny and bright. He never concerned himself with new concepts of tonality, melody and harmony. He is simply Finland-in-music.