Jean Sibelius and Finland's awakening
By: Glenda Dawn Goss.
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press; University of Chicago Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Chicago; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 549
ISBN-13: 9780226304779
Subjects: Sibelius, Jean, -- 1865-1957 -- Appreciation -- Finland; Nationalism -- Finland -- 20th century
Description: Glenda Dawn Goss begins her sweeping narrative in the Finland of Sibelius's youth, which remained under Russian control for the first five decades of his life. Focusing on previously unexamined events, Goss explores the composer's formative experiences as a Russian subject and a member of the Swedish-speaking Finnish minority. She goes on to trace Sibelius's relationships with his creative contemporaries, with whom he worked to usher in a golden age of music and art that would endow Finns with a sense of pride in their heritage and encourage their hopes for the possibilities of nationhood. Skillfully evoking this artistic climate--in which Sibelius emerged as a leader--Goss creates a dazzling portrait of the painting, sculpture, literature, and music it inspired. To solve the deepest riddles of Sibelius's life, work, and enigmatic silence, Goss contends, we must understand the awakening in which he played so great a role. Situating this national creative tide in the context of Nordic and European cultural current, this book dramatically deepens our knowledge of a misunderstood musical giant and narrates an important chapter in the intellectual history of Europe.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.