Pekka Halonen (1865-1933)

Pekka Halonen was perhaps even closer to Sibelius than Aho. Colors dominated the work of both artists. Halonen captured them with a brush, while Sibelius did so with notes. Halonen’s sense of color was said to be so sharp that he could notice even the smallest changes in the natural environment caused by temperature or sunlight intensity. Every day, landscapes and objects appeared to change color before the artist’s eyes.

Sibelius, on the other hand, “heard” colors. C major was red, F major green, and D major yellow. The composer’s favorite color was light green, preferably with a hint of yellow rather than blue. “It’s somewhere between D and E-flat,” the composer explained to his secretary. He rarely encountered this color in nature, but sometimes it appeared in the sky, according to the composer.

With this background, it is easy to understand both men’s interest in Oscar Parviainen’s painting *Funeral Procession* in Ainola’s dining room. Sibelius called it the “D major painting” because of its dominant yellow color (See Ainola’s dining room artworks). According to the story, the two friends could discuss—and sometimes debate—the painting’s color nuances for hours.

Sibelius was concerned for his friend. Halonen’s accident even made it into his diary:

“January 3, 1912: Accident—Pekka Halonen, who has broken his leg, has deeply shocked us.”

The story goes that Sibelius also helped Halonen in a time of financial difficulty by purchasing the artist’s small painting *The Old Well* (See Ainola’s dining room artworks).

Many of Sibelius’s close friends passed away in the early 1930s: Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Arvid Järnefelt, and Robert Kajanus. Pekka Halonen died in 1933. At that time, while struggling with his eighth symphony, the composer felt truly alone.