All hail Finland’s great composer! Happy birthday, Jean Sibelius!

Sibelius wrote a ton of music inspired by the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. Join me for one of the lesser known of these, tomorrow night on “The Lost Chord,” at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org. The program will also include works by Robert Kajanus and Uuno Klami.

Cigars and vodka all around!

Here’s Kajanus conducting Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kaz56nbwns

I was playing this recording when Sibelius’ grandson fortuitously wandered into my bookshop in, I believe, 1998. A formula for instant friendship!

IMAGE: “Kajustaflan,” painted by Akseli Gallén-Kallela. Pictured (from left to right): the artist, composer Oskar Merikanto (blacked out), Robert Kajanus and Jean Sibelius.

More about “The Symposium,” with the original version of Gallén’s painting, here:

http://www.sibelius.fi/english/elamankaari/sib_symbosion.htm

Party on, gentlemen!