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The tone poem Finlandia op. 26 was written in fall 1899 as the closing piece of the "Music for the Press Celebrations," in which Finnish intellectuals voiced their protest against the Russian government's tightening of the censorship laws. In its final form, the work was given its world premiere in Helsinki on 2 July 1900 under the title "Suomi" (Finland). The orchestra then went on a European tour which also led them to the World's Fair in Paris. Immediately after this tour, Finlandia won its lasting fame.
As an independent work Finlandia quickly became part of the repertoire and is now one of the most frequently played and best known works by Sibelius. Today there are quite a number of arrangements of this popular composition, including some by Sibelius himself, e.g. one for piano, but also one for mixed choir a cappella (ChB 5371).
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