Jean Sibelius: Finlandia

Jean Sibelius: Finlandia
Lim Kek-tjiang conducts Evergreen Symphony Orchestra

西貝流士：芬蘭頌
林克昌指揮長榮交響樂團

From Wikipedia

Finlandia, Op. 26 is a symphonic poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was written in 1899 and revised in 1900. The piece was composed for the Press Celebrations of 1899, a covert protest against increasing censorship from the Russian Empire, and was the last of seven pieces performed as an accompaniment to a tableau depicting episodes from Finnish history. The premiere was on July 2, 1900 in Helsinki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Robert Kajanus.

In order to avoid Russian censorship, Finlandia had to be performed under alternate names at various musical concerts. Titles under which the piece masqueraded were numerous, a famous example being Happy Feelings at the awakening of Finnish Spring, and A Scandinavian Choral March.

Most of the piece is taken up with rousing and turbulent music, evoking the national struggle of the Finnish people. Towards the end, a calm comes over the orchestra, and the serenely melodic Finlandia Hymn is heard. Often incorrectly cited as a traditional folk melody, the Hymn section is of Sibelius's own creation.

Although initially composed for orchestra, in 1900 Sibelius arranged the entire work for solo piano.

Sibelius later reworked the Finlandia Hymn into a stand-alone piece. This hymn, with words written in 1941 by Veikko Antero Koskenniemi, is one of the most important national songs of Finland (though Maamme is the national anthem).