Bernhard Henrik Crusell

Composer Datebook: October 15

Finnish Clarinetist, Composer and Translator

The most significant and internationally best-known Finnish Classical composer and indeed, – the outstanding Finnish composer before Sibelius – was Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775-1838), who rose to a prominent position in the Swedish music world.

Bernhard Henrik Crusell was born this day October 15, 1775, in Uusikaupunki, Nystad, Finland and died July 28, 1838, in Stockholm, Sweden. He was a Finnish composer, virtuoso clarinetist, composer, conductor and translator. He is a contemporary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born three months before the latter. They probably never met.

Crusell lived in Stockholm from 1791 onwards and performed his life’s work in Sweden. He made his last visit to his home country in summer 1801, when he performed in Turku and Helsinki. In those days, Finland was undeniably a musical backwater. The centre of musical activities was Turku, where the Turku Society of Music (Turun Soitannollinen Seura), founded in 1790, had done invaluable work in promoting music and had set up an orchestra of its own. 

Jean Sibelius

Classical Music: Composer's Datebook: December 8

Finland's greatest 19th century nationalist composer, whose musical inspirations were derived from native legends. Famous for symphonic poem 'Finlandia' and orchestral works.

”Nature is coming to life: that life which I so love, now and forever, whose essence shall infuse everything that I compose."  ~  Jean Sibelius

Johan Julius Christian "Jean" Sibelius (Dec 8, 1865 – Sept 20, 1957) was a classical music Finnish composer, one of the most notable composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. Considered the most distinguished Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius was comfortably brought up in a musical environment by his mother and grandmother.

A son of an army doctor, he was born into a Swedish-speaking family in Haemeenlinna in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland. Although known as "Janne" to his family, during his student years he began using the French form of his name, "Jean", from a stack of visiting cards used by his seafaring uncle.

His family sent him to a Finnish language school, and he attended The Haemeelinna normal-lycee from 1876 to 1885. Romantic Nationalism was to become a crucial element in Sibelius's artistic output and his politics. The heart of Sibelius's ouvre is his seven symphonies. He used each one to develop a single musical idea and to further develop his own personal compositional style, very much like Beethoven. His works continue to be performed frequently in the concert hall and recorded.

Below, Sibelius: 2. Sinfonie ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Susanna Mälkki. Sibelius' Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43. Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Youtube, Accessed August 17, 2020.