Described by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) as �a confession of the soul,� Symphony No. 2 was written in Italy after Baron Axel Carpelan, who had given Finlandia its name, encouraged the composer to spend some time in �a country where one learns cantabile, balance and harmony, plasticity and symmetry of lines, a country where everything is beautiful – even the ugly.� While Sibelius always maintained that all of his symphonies were pure, absolute music, the work was appropriated as a programmatic emblem of Finland�s national liberation from Russia quickly following its March 8th, 1902 premiere by the Helsinki Philharmonic Society, Sibelius conducting. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 4.3.3.1: Timp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set).