Sibelius’s diaries finally to be published in Finnish

Original Swedish-language version appeared back in 2005

Jean Sibelius (1865–1957)

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The diaries of composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) will finally be published in Finnish. The translation is expected to be completed by the autumn of 2014.
      The volume, which was edited by Professor Emeritus Fabian Dahlström, 82, first came out in the original language - mostly Swedish - in 2005, published by Svenska Litteratursällskapet i Finland and Atlantis.
      Now, Svenska Litteratursällskapet i Finland is looking for someone to translate the book into Finnish.
     
In his diaries, Sibelius - who was born into a Swedish-speaking family in the town of Hämeenlinna - occasionally quotes from quite old Swedish-language sources.
      In places he adds spice to his diaries by using Latin, German, and French as well, but only a total of 61 Finnish words are to be found on the pages.
      The volume meticulously edited by Dahlström sheds light on the background of the diaries’ fragmental entries both in the introduction and the footnotes, which run to no less than 176 pages.
     
The composer’s grandchildren and their offspring, who own the rights to his work, contemplated long and hard whether to publish the diaries, but when the compiled volume came out in 2005 it contained few new revelations.
      The “cherries” of the diaries had already been picked and widely quoted in previous literature about Sibelius.
      “For the family it is important that the project is launched and moves forward when Professor Emeritus Fabian Dahlström is still involved in it”, explains the composer's great grandson Pertti Virkkunen, the spokesman for the Sibelius beneficiaries.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Sibelius letters unearthed from document case (15.11.2011)

See also:
  Is this the sound of Sibelius´s lost Eighth Symphony? (15.11.2011)

Links:
  Jean Sibelius (Wikipedia)
  Jean Sibelius (Official Website)

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