In Germany, Jean Sibelius (born December 8, 1865) is primarily perceived as the "Finnish national composer," but he is more of a figure of European stature, being the second most significant symphonist of the 20th century after Mahler. With the help of accessible introductions to his works and previously untranslated primary sources, music journalist Volker Tarnow narrates the story of an original genius caught between Romanticism and Modernism, Nordic nature mysticism and the Berlin Bohemia.