EIGHT DAYS OF SIBELIUS – DAY 5

Did you ever wonder why Finland’s foremost composer had a first name that would seem more at home in Paris than Helsinki?

Jean Sibelius was born into a Swedish-speaking family in a provincial town in Finland, then a duchy of the Russian Empire. He was christened Johan and his parents called him Janne. It was when he was a student that he adopted Jean, a name he lifted from the calling card of a late, seafaring uncle (also named Johan, but for whatever reason assumed the French form in doing business). This is pronounced in the French fashion, or close to it, with the “J” said like “zh,” as opposed to the “y” sound of the “J” in “Janne.”

If you’re curious to know how to pronounce the composer’s surname, well, here’s an interesting post. Just be sure to scan the comments, because there are some helpful responses and sensible modifications that go some way to tempering the writer’s caste-heavy thesis.

If you’re uneducated you say it right

PHOTOS: Sibelius: the child is the father of the man