Monday, January 31, 2011

Two Illustrious Native Sons

This is the monument in a park dedicated to Jean Sibelius, composer of many symphonies and other musical compositions based on Finnish folklore, including the Kalevela which is the Finnish national epic. His background was actually Swedish and he spoke Swedish all his life. The monument appears to me to evoke the ups and downs of a musical motif. He was apparently a rather stern looking man.
This is Hvittrask, the home, now a museum, of Eliel Saarinen and his family, plus two other architects, Herman Gesellius and Armas Lindgren. The rooms, rugs and furniture were designed by Saarinen, including the beautiful tiled fireplaces and stoves. This is the children's playroom.
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1 comment:

Kristen said...

I googled for more information on these two interesting men. The Sibelius monument looks like organ pipes to me.
The Saarinen museum contains amazing things. I learned that Saarinen creations have been all around without my knowledge of the inventor- including the St. Louis Arch, and the seats on the Star Ship Enterprise which were based on his tulip chair!

February 3, 2011 at 3:29 AM

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