Jean Sibelius, the composer, seriously considered a career as a violinist in his youth, having studied the instrument extensively.
Cultural Impact
Finlandia, originally music for a patriotic scene, became a national emblem for Finland's struggle for independence from Russia.
Performer Biography
Jennifer Pike, the violinist on this album, was the youngest-ever winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2002 at age twelve.
Composer Biography
Sibelius himself conducted the orchestral version of Andante festivo in a 1939 short-wave broadcast, which is the only surviving recording of the composer conducting.
Composition History
The Violin Concerto was originally intended for German virtuoso Willy Burmester, but he was unavailable for both the premiere and the revised version's first performance.
Composition History
Valse triste, a worldwide success, was sold outright by Sibelius to a Helsinki publisher, meaning he gained little financial benefit from it.
Composition History
After an unsuccessful premiere, Sibelius revised his Violin Concerto in 1905, making extensive cuts and reducing its technical difficulties.
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