Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods, born in Hämeenlinna and educated in Helsinki, Berlin, and Vienna before settling at his home Ainola, near Järvenpää, from 1904 until his death. His output centers on seven symphonies and thirteen symphonic poems, including Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, and The Swan of Tuonela, alongside a violin concerto, the choral symphony Kullervo, incidental music, chamber works, and more than one hundred songs. He died at Ainola in 1957, at age 91, from a brain hemorrhage.

Sibelius’s patriotic orchestral works, above all Finlandia, played a significant role in fostering Finnish national identity during a period of Russian imperial pressure, and he became a national hero in his homeland. Celebrated internationally during his lifetime, notably topping a 1935 New York Philharmonic audience poll of favorite composers, he is regarded today as one of the most important symphonists of the early twentieth century and a major influence on later composers of orchestral music.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Sibelius