Jean Sibelius is the most famous Finnish composer of the 20th century. Though at first he sought a career as an orchestral violinist, it soon became apparent that his life was to be dedicated to composition. That decision was helped by a pension from the Finnish government.

Sibelius was to rely heavily on Finnish patriotism, often using the heroic past as his theme, his most famous work, Finlandia, and Karelia being among this group of compositions. He also based the four dramatic Lemminkäinen legends on the epic Kalevala, the haunting melody of the section known as The Swan of Tuonela being one of the favourites of the concert hall.