Editing Jean Sibelius (section)

===Marriage and rise to fame===
While Sibelius was studying music in Helsinki in the autumn of 1888, Armas Järnefelt, a friend from the Music Institute, invited him to the family home. There he met and immediately fell in love with [[Aino Sibelius|Aino]], the 17-year-old daughter of General [[Alexander Järnefelt]], the governor of [[Vaasa]], and [[Elisabeth Järnefelt|Elisabeth Clodt von Jürgensburg]], a Baltic aristocrat.<ref name="sih">{{cite web |title=Studies in Helsinki 1885–1888 |work=Jean Sibelius |publisher=Finnish Club of Helsinki |url=http://www.sibelius.fi/english/elamankaari/sib_opinnot_helsinki.htm |access-date=7 June 2015 |archive-date=22 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222235526/http://www.sibelius.fi/english/elamankaari/sib_opinnot_helsinki.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The wedding was held on 10 June 1892 at [[Maxmo]]. They spent their honeymoon in [[Karelia]], the home of the ''Kalevala''. It served as an inspiration for Sibelius's tone poem ''En saga'', the Lemminkäinen legends and the ''Karelia Suite''.{{sfn|Murtomäki|2000}}
Their home, [[Ainola]], was completed near [[Tuusulanjärvi|Lake Tuusula]], Järvenpää, in 1904. During the years at Ainola, they had six daughters: Eva, Ruth, Kirsti (who died aged one from [[typhoid]]),<ref>{{cite book |title=Classical Destinations: An Armchair Guide to Classical Music |year=2006 |page=87 |publisher=Amadeus Press |isbn=978-1-57467-158-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gtwWttugsyAC&pg=PA87 }}</ref> Katarina, Margareta and Heidi.{{sfn|Lew|2010|p=134}} Eva married an industrial heir, Arvi Paloheimo, and later became the CEO of the Paloheimo Corporation. Ruth Snellman [[:fi:Ruth Snellman|(fi)]] was a prominent actress, Katarina Ilves married a banker and [[Heidi Blomstedt]] was a designer, wife of architect [[Aulis Blomstedt]]. Margareta married conductor [[Jussi Jalas]], Aulis Blomstedt's brother.<ref>{{cite web |title=The occupants of Ainola |work=Jean Sibelius |publisher=Finnish Club of Helsinki |url=http://www.sibelius.fi/english/ainola/ainolan_asukkaat_eva_paloheimo.html |access-date=19 June 2015 |archive-date=19 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619222632/http://www.sibelius.fi/english/ainola/ainolan_asukkaat_eva_paloheimo.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1892, ''Kullervo'' inaugurated Sibelius's focus on orchestral music. It was described by the composer {{Interlanguage link multi|Aksel Törnudd|fi}} as "a volcanic eruption" while Juho Ranta who sang in the choir stated, "It was ''Finnish'' music."{{sfn|Barnett|2007|p=74}} At the end of that year the composer's grandmother, Katarina Borg died. Sibelius went to her funeral, visiting his Hämeenlinna home one last time before the house was sold. On 16 February 1893, the first (extended) version of ''En saga'' was presented in Helsinki although it was not too well received, the critics suggesting that superfluous sections should be eliminated (as they were in Sibelius's 1902 version). Even less successful were three more performances of ''Kullervo'' in March, which one critic found incomprehensible and lacking in vitality. Following the birth of Sibelius's first child Eva, in April the premiere of his choral work ''Väinämöinen's Boat Ride'' was a considerable success, receiving the support of the press.<ref name="symposion">{{cite web |title=The Symposion years 1892–1897 |work=Jean Sibelius |publisher=Finnish Club of Helsinki |url=http://www.sibelius.fi/english/elamankaari/sib_symbosion.htm |access-date=21 June 2015 |archive-date=28 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628111656/http://www.sibelius.fi/english/elamankaari/sib_symbosion.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 13 November 1893, the full version of ''Karelia'' was premiered at a student association gala at the Seurahuone in [[Viipuri Province|Viipuri]] with the collaboration of the artist [[Akseli Gallen-Kallela|Axel Gallén]] and the sculptor [[Emil Wikström]] who had been brought in to design the stage sets. While the first performance was difficult to appreciate over the background noise of the talkative audience, a second performance on 18 November was more successful. Furthermore, on the 19th and 23rd Sibelius presented an extended suite of the work in Helsinki, conducting the orchestra of the Philharmonic Society.{{sfn|Barnett|2007|p=85}} Sibelius's music was increasingly presented in Helsinki's concert halls. In the 1894–95 season, works such as ''En saga'', ''Karelia'' and ''[[Spring Song (Sibelius)|Vårsång]]'' (composed in 1894) were included in at least 16 concerts in the capital, not to mention those in [[Turku]].{{sfn|Tawaststjerna|1976|p=162}} When performed in a revised version on 17 April 1895, the composer [[Oskar Merikanto]] welcomed ''Vårsång'' (Spring Song) as "the fairest flower among Sibelius's orchestral pieces".<ref>{{cite web |title=Sibelius: Spring Song (original 1894) |publisher=ClassicLive |url=http://www.classiclive.com/sibelius-spring-song-original-1984 |access-date=22 June 2015 |archive-date=22 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622132734/http://www.classiclive.com/sibelius-spring-song-original-1984 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Akseli Gallen-Kallela - Problem (Symposion) - Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation.jpg|thumb|Sibelius (right) socializing with [[Akseli Gallen-Kallela]] (the artist, left), [[Oskar Merikanto]], and [[Robert Kajanus]]]]
For a considerable period, Sibelius worked on an opera, ''[[Veneen luominen]]'' (The Building of the Boat), again based on the ''Kalevala''. To some extent, he had come under the influence of Wagner, but subsequently turned to [[Franz Liszt|Liszt]]'s tone poems as a source of compositional inspiration. Adapted from material for the opera, which he never completed, his ''Lemminkäinen Suite'' consisted of four legends in the form of tone poems.{{sfn|Murtomäki|2000}} They were premiered in Helsinki on 13 April 1896 to a full house. In contrast to Merikanto's enthusiasm for the Finnish quality of the work, the critic Karl Flodin found the cor anglais solo in ''The Swan of Tuonela'' "stupendously long and boring",{{sfn|Grimley|2004|p=101}}<ref name="symposion"/> although he considered the first legend, ''Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island'', as representing the peak of Sibelius's achievement to date.{{sfn|Tawaststjerna|1976|p=166}}

To pay his way, from 1892 Sibelius had taken on teaching assignments at the Music Institute and at Kajanus's conducting school but this left him insufficient time for composing.{{sfn|Lagrange|1994|p=988}} The situation improved considerably when in 1898 he was awarded a substantial annual grant, initially for ten years and later extended for life. He was able to complete [[King Christian II (Sibelius)|the music]] for Adolf Paul's play ''King Christian II''. Performed on 24 February 1898, its catchy tunes appealed to the public. The scores of four popular pieces from the play were published in Germany and sold well in Finland. When the orchestral suite was successfully performed in Helsinki in November 1898, Sibelius commented: "The music sounded excellent and the tempi seem to be right. I think this is the first time that I have managed to make something complete." The work was also performed in Stockholm and Leipzig.<ref name="tib">{{cite web |title=Towards an international breakthrough 1897–1899 |work=Jean Sibelius |publisher=Finnish Club of Helsinki |url=http://www.sibelius.fi/english/elamankaari/sib_kohti_lapimurtoa.htm |access-date=22 June 2015 |archive-date=7 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707062016/http://www.sibelius.fi/english/elamankaari/sib_kohti_lapimurtoa.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 1899, Sibelius embarked on his [[Symphony No. 1 (Sibelius)|First Symphony]] at a time when his patriotic feelings were being enhanced by the Russian emperor [[Nicholas II]]'s attempt to [[Russification of Finland|restrict the powers of the Grand Duchy of Finland]].<ref name=club/> The symphony was well received when it was premiered in Helsinki on 26 April 1899. But the program also premiered the even more compelling, blatantly patriotic ''Song of the Athenians'' for boys' and men's choirs. The song immediately brought Sibelius the status of a national hero.<ref name="tib"/><ref name=club>{{cite web |title=Works for choir and orchestra |work=Jean Sibelius |publisher=Finnish Club of Helsinki |url=http://www.sibelius.fi/english/musiikki/ork_kuoro_orkesteri.htm |access-date=22 June 2015 |archive-date=6 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706092219/http://www.sibelius.fi/english/musiikki/ork_kuoro_orkesteri.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Another patriotic work followed on 4 November in the form of eight tableaux depicting episodes from Finnish history known as the ''Press Celebration Music'' (sometimes ''"Days of the Press"''; subsequently reworked as ''Scènes historiques I'').<ref>{{cite web |title=Scènes historiques I and II |url=https://sibelius.fi/en/the-music/orchestral-works/other-orchestral-works/scenes-historiques-i-and-ii/ |website=sibelius.fi |access-date=21 March 2025}}</ref> It had been written in support of the staff of the ''Päivälehti'' newspaper, which had been suspended for a period after editorially criticizing Russian rule.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jean Sibelius Press celebration music (Sanomalehdistön päivien musikki), incidental music for orchestra |website=AllMusic |url=http://www.allmusic.com/composition/press-celebration-music-sanomalehdist%C3%B6n-p%C3%A4ivien-musikki-incidental-music-for-orchestra-mc0002453450 |access-date=22 June 2015 |archive-date=15 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715210848/https://www.allmusic.com/composition/press-celebration-music-sanomalehdist%C3%B6n-p%C3%A4ivien-musikki-incidental-music-for-orchestra-mc0002453450 |url-status=live }}</ref> The last tableau, ''Finland Awakens'', was particularly popular; after minor revisions, it became the well-known ''Finlandia''.<ref name=incidental>{{cite web |title=Incidental music |work=Jean Sibelius |publisher=Finnish Club of Helsinki |url=http://www.sibelius.fi/english/musiikki/nayttamo_sanoma.htm |access-date=22 June 2015 |archive-date=6 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706103718/http://www.sibelius.fi/english/musiikki/nayttamo_sanoma.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Jean Sibelius (AE, 1904).png|thumb|upright|left|Sibelius: sketch by [[Albert Engström]] (1904)]]
In February 1900, Sibelius's youngest daughter, Kirsti, died. Nevertheless, in the summer Sibelius went on an international tour with Kajanus and his orchestra, presenting his recent works (including a revised version of his First Symphony) in thirteen cities including Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Berlin and Paris. The critics were highly favorable, bringing the composer international recognition with their enthusiastic reports in the ''[[Berliner Börsen-Courier]]'', the ''Berliner Fremdenblatt'' and the ''Berliner Lokal Anzeiger''.<ref name="cdib">{{cite web |title=A child's death, and international breakthrough, 1900–1902 |work=Jean Sibelius |publisher=Finnish Club of Helsinki |url=http://www.sibelius.fi/english/elamankaari/sib_lapimurto.htm |access-date=24 June 2015 |archive-date=4 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704101333/http://www.sibelius.fi/english/elamankaari/sib_lapimurto.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=First symphony op. 39 (1899–1900) |work=Jean Sibelius |publisher=Finnish Club of Helsinki |url=http://sibelius.fi/english/musiikki/ork_sinf_01.htm |access-date=1 May 2023 |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023193309/http://www.sibelius.fi/english/musiikki/ork_sinf_01.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During a trip with his family to [[Rapallo]], Italy, in 1901, Sibelius began to write his [[Symphony No. 2 (Sibelius)|Second Symphony]], partly inspired by the fate of Don Juan in Mozart's ''[[Don Giovanni]]''. It was completed in early 1902 with its premiere in Helsinki on 8 March. The work was received with tremendous enthusiasm by the Finns. Merikanto felt it exceeded "even the boldest expectations," while Evert Katila qualified it as "an absolute masterpiece".<ref name="cdib"/> Flodin, too, wrote of a symphonic composition "the likes of which we have never had occasion to listen to before".{{sfn|Ringbom|1950|p=71}}

Sibelius spent the summer in Tvärminne near [[Hanko, Finland|Hanko]], where he worked on the song ''Var det en dröm'' (Was it a Dream) as well as on a new version of ''En saga''. When it was performed in Berlin with the Berlin Philharmonic in November 1902, it served to firmly establish the composer's reputation in Germany, leading shortly afterwards to the publication of his First Symphony.<ref name="cdib"/>

In 1903, Sibelius spent much of his time in Helsinki where he indulged excessively in wining and dining, running up considerable bills in the restaurants. But he continued to compose, one of his major successes being ''Valse triste'', one of six pieces of incidental music he composed for his brother-in-law [[Arvid Järnefelt]]'s play ''[[Kuolema]]'' (Death). Short of money, he sold the piece at a low price but it quickly gained considerable popularity not only in Finland but internationally. During his long stays in Helsinki, Sibelius's wife Aino frequently wrote to him, imploring him to return home but to no avail. Even after their fourth daughter, Katarina, was born, he continued to work away from home. Early in 1904, he finished his [[Violin Concerto (Sibelius)|Violin Concerto]] but its first public performance on 8 February was not a success. It led to a revised, condensed version that was performed in Berlin the following year.<ref name=wod>{{cite web |title=The Waltz of Death and the move to Ainola 1903–1904 |work=Jean Sibelius |publisher=Finnish Club of Helsinki |url=http://www.sibelius.fi/english/elamankaari/sib_kuolemanvalssi.htm |access-date=2 August 2015 |archive-date=4 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704115150/http://www.sibelius.fi/english/elamankaari/sib_kuolemanvalssi.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>