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:''For the hymn, see Finlandia Hymn. For other uses, see Finlandia.''
'''Finlandia''' is a symphonic poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The first version was written in 1899, and it was revised in 1900. The piece was composed for a patriotic pageant performed to mobilise popular opposition to the revocation of Finnish independence from the government of the Russian Empire (see Grand Duchy of Finland for further historical context).
A recurrent joke within Finland at this time was the renaming of '''Finlandia''' at various musical concerts so as to avoid Russian censorship. Titles under which the piece masqueraded were numerous, a famously flippant example being '''Happy Feelings at the awakening of Finnish Spring'''.
Most of the piece is taken up with rousing and turbulent music, evoking the national struggle of the Finnish people. But 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' own creation.Dubal, David. ''The Essential Canon of Classical Music'', p. 466. New York: North Point Press, 2001.
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 generally considered the national anthem). With different words, it is also sung as a Christian hymn (''Be Still, My Soul''), and was the national anthem of the short-lived African state of Biafra (''Land of the Rising Sun'').
In William Saroyan's story "Finlandia", he writes about his love for the music, and a meeting with Sibelius. ''Finlandia'' is also named in his most famous short story, "The Daring Young Man On The Flying Trapeze".
The 1990 film Die Hard 2 ends with Finlandia (the director, Renny Harlin is Finnish^[1]).

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References

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External links

References

1. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099423/soundtrack

See also

★ ''Finlandia Hymn''

External links

★ Full score of a number of Sibelius's tone poems, including this piece