Up until 1982 research on Sibelius’s music was mostly based on printed music and scores. This was due to the fact that only a small proportion of his music manuscripts were accessible to researchers. In Finland the manuscripts were mainly to be found in three locations:

The quantity of donated material was enormous. But in addition to the quantity it was extremely important because it included not merely copies of previously known works but also drafts of works at various stages, from preliminary thematic sketches to more advanced drafts, including drafts of orchestration and concepts of various kinds. In addition there were manuscripts which Sibelius had at first intended merely as copies, but which he had continued to work on after they were “completed”. Besides all this there was material connected with the publication of the works, including copies sent to engravers, and proof sheets corrected by Sibelius himself. The donation also included most of the composer’s early works, which had previously been more or less unknown, and numerous exercises in harmonisation, counterpoint, and so on. There were also some previously unknown compositions by the mature Sibelius. And on top of it all there were notes on folk music.

With the donation, an entirely new field of Sibelius studies opened up for scholars. It was now possible for the first time to peep into the composition process. One could see how the works had been created and gain an understanding of the various stages of publication. Moreover, the dating of the manuscripts (on the basis of paper, ink and handwriting) made it possible to rectify incorrect dates that had been accepted for several well-known works, and to date the early works relatively accurately. The manuscripts also contain a great deal of other information: they include drafts of letters, diary-type entries, various notes, and so on – all of it material which is of interest to researchers.

Most importantly, however, it is now possible – using also manuscripts from other collections – to publish works which have remained unpublished, and to find and correct the mistakes which have slipped into the scores of the composer’s published works. And there are indeed surprisingly many errors, since the engravers often had to copy manuscripts which were open to several interpretations; furthermore they sometimes altered the notes, more or less of their own accord. The correction and publishing of all this material falls within a project to bring out Sibelius’s collected works (The Works of Jean Sibelius / Jean Sibelius Werke) to be published by Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden. The aim is to publish all Sibelius’s works in the form of a critically revised edition, using the extant manuscripts as a basis.

and many others) are missing, and nobody knows where they are. Edition Wilhelm Hansen in Denmark also possessed many manuscripts, but with the exception of a single one they were bought and included within the collection of Helsinki University Library. The most significant Finnish publisher of Sibelius, the publishing house Fazer (today Fennica Gehrman Oy), deposited the copies it owned with Helsinki University Library a good many years ago.

Other locations possessing Sibelius’s music manuscripts include various libraries and archives both in Finland and abroad as well as private collections. The number of manuscripts in these locations is quite small. Yet every now and then individual manuscripts come up for sale at international auctions; there, the prices they fetch are usually so high that public libraries and archives may not have the means to purchase them for their collections. Undoubtedly this is a loss as far as research is concerned, since music scholars cannot study the copies which are in private collections.

Although a considerable number of Sibelius’s music manuscripts have been preserved, many are missing. It is a well-known fact that he burned some of his manuscripts at different times, and that these pieces are gone forever. But at least in his youth he also gave his manuscripts to others, so there may be pieces lying hidden away somewhere, waiting to be found. In addition to the manuscripts which he sent to Breitkopf many of the manuscripts which he sent to occasional publishers (e.g. Carl Fisher in New York) are missing as well. One can hope that these too will turn up some day. This would be important, since the missing manuscripts pose great difficulties for the editors of the collected works. The discovery of such manuscripts would also have more general significance, since every new document about Sibelius gives us new information about one of the greatest composers of all time.

In addition to the locations mentioned above, Sibelius’s music manuscripts can be found in the premises of his publishers, Breitkopf & Härtel and Robert Lienau. Lienau’s collection is rather small, since Lienau only published a small proportion of Sibelius’s works. Breitkopf, on the other hand, published the majority of Sibelius’s works. However, for some reason most of the manuscripts which the composer sent to Breitkopf (the scores for symphonies 1, 2 and 4, The Oceanides, Tapiola and many others) are missing, and nobody knows where they are. Edition Wilhelm Hansen in Denmark also possessed many manuscripts, but with the exception of a single one they were bought and included within the collection of Helsinki University Library. The most significant Finnish publisher of Sibelius, the publishing house Fazer (today Fennica Gehrman Oy), deposited the copies it owned with Helsinki University Library a good many years ago.

Other locations possessing Sibelius’s music manuscripts include various libraries and archives both in Finland and abroad as well as private collections. The number of manuscripts in these locations is quite small. Yet every now and then individual manuscripts come up for sale at international auctions; there, the prices they fetch are usually so high that public libraries and archives may not have the means to purchase them for their collections. Undoubtedly this is a loss as far as research is concerned, since music scholars cannot study the copies which are in private collections.

Although a considerable number of Sibelius’s music manuscripts have been preserved, many are missing. It is a well-known fact that he burned some of his manuscripts at different times, and that these pieces are gone forever. But at least in his youth he also gave his manuscripts to others, so there may be pieces lying hidden away somewhere, waiting to be found. In addition to the manuscripts which he sent to Breitkopf many of the manuscripts which he sent to occasional publishers (e.g. Carl Fisher in New York) are missing as well. One can hope that these too will turn up some day. This would be important, since the missing manuscripts pose great difficulties for the editors of the collected works. The discovery of such manuscripts would also have more general significance, since every new document about Sibelius gives us new information about one of the greatest composers of all time.