Jean Sibelius (born Hämeenlinna (Tavastehus) 8 December 1865;
died Järvenpää, 20 September 1957) was a Finnish composer. He is
one of the most famous people from Finland and one of the
greatest composers of symphonies of all times. He was born at a
time when Russia had a lot of power in Finland and the Finnish
people were trying hard to keep their own culture and their
independence. This nationalism can be heard in a lot of his
music, especially some of the choral music. After 1928 he
composed very little. He lived in retirement in his home in the
Finnish countryside. His life [change] Early life [change] Jean
(pronounced the French way) was born 100 km north of the Finnish
capital Helsinki. His grandfather had changed the family name
from a Finnish name to the Latin-sounding “Sibelius”. His father
died during a cholera epidemic when Jean was very young. His
family spoke Swedish at home, but when he was eleven he went to
a Finnish-speaking school. He learned to play the violin and
wanted to be a soloist. He l