Jean Sibelius

Born Johan Christian Julius Sibelius on 8 December 1865, he grew into the composer Finland needed when it was fending off wave after wave of Russification in the late 19th century. His seven symphonies anchored a catalog that also includes Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse triste, the Violin Concerto, and The Swan of Tuonela - music drawn from Nordic mythology, nature, and the Finnish epic Kalevala. He composed prolifically until the mid-1920s, finishing his Seventh Symphony in 1924, incidental music for The Tempest and the tone poem Tapiola in 1926, then went quiet for three decades in what became known as the "silence of Järvenpää." He tried for an eighth symphony but never finished; he said plainly he'd written enough. He died 20 September 1957, his face later carried on the 100 mark note until the euro arrived.