Jean Sibelius was an eminent Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods, widely regarded as Finland’s greatest composer of all time. Having lost his father at the age of three, he was brought up in his maternal grandmother’s home and was sent to a Finnish language grammar school where he came across Finnish literature. Thereafter, he was sent to Helsinki to study law, but abandoned it within one year to study music at the Helsinki Music Institute. Although his initial ambition was to become a violin virtuoso, he soon realized that he had started on violin too late in life. Instead, his teacher advised him to become a composer and in time he became Finland’s greatest composer. With his music, he helped his homeland develop a national identity during its struggle for independence from Russia. Although the core of his oeuvre is made up of his seven symphonies, he is equally known for his many patriotic pieces such as his tone poem ‘Finlandia’ and his works based on the Finnish mythological epic, ‘Kalevala.’