EIGHT DAYS OF SIBELIUS – DAY 1
In the book “Sibelius: A Close-Up” (1937), Bengt de Törne, also a composer, recollects a conversation he had with the master:
“Then his voice changed in tone as he told me that he wanted to give me some good advice. ‘Never pay any attention to what critics say,’ he proceeded, and expatiated on this theme. When I ventured to put in the remark that their articles might sometimes be of great importance, he cut me short. ‘Remember,’ he said, ‘a statue has never been set up in honour of a critic!’”
This has often been simplified to the pithier “Pay no attention to the critics. No one has ever erected a statue to a critic.”
Sibelius, on the other hand, has had his share of statues and monuments erected to him.
BOTTOM, LEFT TO RIGHT:
Bust (1958), creator unknown, Cleveland Finnish Cultural Garden
https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/110
“Passio Musicae” (1967), Eila Hiltunen, Helsinki, Finland
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1727971414036808&set=a.279006378933326
Bust (1939), Wäinö Aaltonen, The Concert Hall, Götaplatsen, Gothenburg, Sweden
More Sibelius in art here:
https://research.fng.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fngr_2017-1_ojanpera_riitta_article1.pdf
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