THE SIBELIUS SOCIETY OF FINLAND
The Sibelius Society of Finland was founded in December 1957. A number of renowned representatives of Finnish cultural life and especially the Finnish Cultural Foundation wanted to create a forum to support efforts to keep the musical heritage of Sibelius alive, to make his music more easily available to all who wanted to perform it, and to promote research about Sibelius and his music. The goal of the new Society was to concentrate on a limited number of big projects.
The first such project was the Sibelius Monument in Helsinki (1967), created by the sculptress Eila Hiltunen with the aid of a wide fund-raising project organised by the Society. The monument is now one of Helsinki’s most popular tourist sights.
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On the initiative of the Society Ainola, the Sibelius’s home in Järvenpää, was purchased by the Finnish State and opened to the public as a museum.
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The Society nowadays has three major international projects.
- The International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition. Held every five years (the next in 2015), this is one of the world’s most renowned musical events. More >>
- Publication of the critical edition of the collected works of Sibelius. The biggest research project in the field of music ever launched in Finland, it is creating an exhaustively researched and easily accessible basis for Sibelius performance both now and in the future. More>>
- The Sibelius anniversary. The Society is taking an active part in the preparations for and implementation of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jean Sibelius in 2015. More>>
The Society maintains contact with Sibelius societies both local and international.
The Sibelius Society of Finland is a private association. Its activities are based on the voluntary work of its members and officers.