Aino Sibelius

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Aino Järnefelt in 1888

Aino Sibelius (nee Järnefelt) (born August 10, 1871 , Helsinki ; † June 8, 1969 , Ainola , Järvenpää ) was the wife of the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius . The marriage produced six daughters: Eva (1893–1978), Ruth (1894–1976), Kirsti (1898–1900), Katarina (1903–1984), Margareta (1908–1988) and Heidi (1911–1982).

Life

Aino Järnefelt was the daughter of the Finnish general and provincial governor Alexander Järnefelt and his wife Elisabeth (née Clodt von Jürgensburg ). She had six siblings, including the writer Arvid Järnefelt , the painter Eero Järnefelt and the composer and conductor Armas Järnefelt .

Aino Sibelius around 1891

It was her brother Armas who introduced his fellow student Jean Sibelius to the family in the winter of 1889. At this time, the writer Juhani Aho also unsuccessfully recruited Aino. After Jean Sibelius returned from his studies in Berlin and Vienna, he married her in Maxmo on June 10, 1892.

Since their engagement, Aino and Jean had been talking about their own house in the country, and in 1898 they had started looking for a property near Lake Tuusula . When Jean's wealthy uncle died in July 1903, they bought a hectare of land in Järvenpää on Lake Tuusula and used the inheritance to pay architect Lars Sonck to design a house, which they named Ainola after Aino .

After moving in in 1904, Aino's first years in Järvenpää were marked by financial problems and the dissolute lifestyle of her husband. Aino laid out a vegetable garden to support the family. After the couple could not afford the school fees, they also had to teach their daughters at home. In 1907 she spent some time relaxing in the Hyvinkää sanatorium.

In 1908, Jean Sibelius had to undergo a larynx operation and refrained from alcohol for the next seven years. Aino later described these seven years as the most beautiful of her life. Margareta was also born in 1908, followed by Heidi in 1911, when Aino was already 40 years old. All daughters grew up in Ainola, only in 1918, during the Finnish Civil War , the family had to spend a few months in Helsinki.

Aino Sibelius in 1922

In the 1930s, all of the daughters left home and Aino wanted to move to Helsinki to be closer to the children. That is why Aino and her husband spent some time in Helsinki over the next few years. In 1941 they returned to Ainola due to possible air raids by the Soviet Air Force . Jean and Aino stayed there until the end of their lives. The marriage lasted a total of 65 years.

Jean Sibelius died on September 20, 1957 in Ainola and was buried in the garden there. In the years after his death, Aino helped writers Santeri Levas and Erik W. Tawaststjerna write a biography of Jean Sibelius. She died on June 8, 1969, almost 98 years old, and was buried next to Jean.

Books

Aino Sibelius was co-author of the following books (correspondence):

  • Suvisirkku Talas, Aino Sibelius: Aino Sibeliuksen kirjeitä Järnefelt-suvun jäsenille ( Finnish ). Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Helsinki, ISBN 951-717-978-2 .
  • Jean Sibelius, Suvisirkku Talas, Aino Sibelius: Sydämen aamu: Aino Järnefeltin ja Jean Sibeliuksen kihlausajan kirjeitä ( Finnish ). Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Helsinki, ISBN 951-746-148-8 .
  • Jean Sibelius, Suvisirkku Talas, Aino Sibelius: Tulen synty: Aino ja Jean Sibeliuksen kirjeenvaihtoa 1892–1904 ( Finnish ). Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Helsinki, ISBN 951-746-471-1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Aino Sibelius . In: BookFinder.com . 2009. Retrieved July 19, 2009.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Sibelius, Aino
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Järnefelt, Aino
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish wife of Jean Sibelius
DATE OF BIRTH August 10, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH Helsinki (Finland)
DATE OF DEATH June 8, 1969
Place of death Järvenpää near Helsinki