Monthly Archives: July 2023

Swanwhite – original incidental music

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Sketch for Swanwhite made in 1901 by Arthur Sjögren
Sketch for Swanwhite made in 1901 by Arthur Sjögren (1874–1951)
Nordiska museets arkiv. CC BY-NC-ND-4.0. Image straightened.

Eija Kurki’s article ‘Sibelius’s Swanwhite – the original incidental music’ is now available to read or download on this website. The article discusses the context of the music, its location and function within Strindberg’s play and the orchestral suite.

Eija Kurki published her dissertation Satua, kuolemaa ja eksotiikkaa. Jean Sibeliuksen vuosisadan alun näyttämömusiikkiteokset (Fairy-tale, Death and Exoticism. Jean Sibelius’s Theatre Music from the Beginning of the 20th Century) in 1997. She has written numerous articles in various specialist publications both in Finland and internationally. This article is based on her Master’s degree in musicology and theatre research at Helsinki University in 1994, ‘August Strindbergin ja Jean Sibeliuksen Joutsikki’ (‘Swanwhite by August Strindberg and Jean Sibelius’).

Click here to read or download the article.

Sibelius’s ‘Finlandia’ barn for sale

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Sibelius’s barn for sale

The barn attached to the Mattila house in Kerava, where Sibelius lived between June 1899 and the summer of 1902, is for sale.

This is a unique opportunity to own a building that is closely linked to an iconic piece of music and a vital period of Finnish cultural history.

The barn is sold with a building plot (2,300 square metres) and comes with outline building permission for a 220 square metre house. The barn is in the Kytömaa area of Kerava, an area that is currently undergoing considerable new development. It is approximately 2 km north-east of the town centre.

Sibelius’s ‘Finlandia’ barn

According to the advertising board, the agent responsible is Raija Nyström/UpHouse, tel.: 00358 500 403022 / email raija.nystrom@uphouse.fi

At the Mattila house Sibelius worked on a number of significant works, most notable Finlandia and the First and Second Symphonies. The famous songs Svarta rosor, Säv, säv, susa and Demanten på marssnön were all written there. It has been claimed that Sibelius found inspiration for Demanten på marssnön as he was admiring the glistering snow-covered fields outside the Mattila house in the spring sunshine.

For more information about Sibelius and Kerava, see the Janaury 2021 issue of our Magazine. Members can download a pdf version free – click here.