Trips Abroad 1889 – 1931
Chronological list of foreign trips.
For more details on the purposes of trips, see the Life Story section. For composition work, also see the Music section.
1. September 1889-June 1890
Study trip to Berlin
Route Helsinki (ship) – Tallinn – Lübeck (train) – Berlin. Return Berlin (train) – Lübeck (ship) – Stockholm – Helsinki. Visit to Leipzig in December.
Accommodation:
Initially Marienstrasse 4, from the second week of October Magdeburgerstrasse 31. Move at the beginning of February, new address Kurfurstenstrasse 40, landlord Herr Bernhardt.
During the trip, Sibelius studied composition under Alfred Becker with the help of a grant.
2. October 1890-June 1891
Study trip to Vienna
Route Hanko (ship) – Lübeck (train) – Wittenberg – Berlin – Prague – Vienna.
Return Vienna (train) – Prague – Berlin – Lübeck (ship) – Hanko – Tallinn – Helsinki
Accommodation:
Waaggasse no. 1 II St.1.14 Vienna
During the trip, Sibelius continued his composition studies under Karl Goldmark and Robert Fuchs.
3. July-September 1894
Trip to the Bayreuth Wagner Festival
Route Helsinki (ship) – Lübeck (train) – Hamburg – Cologne (river boat) – Mainz (train) – Nuremberg – Bayreuth – Nuremberg – Munich – Nuremberg – Bayreuth – Nuremberg – Munich – Innsbruck – Verona – Venice – Verona – Innsbruck – Munich – Nuremberg – Leipzig – Berlin – Stettin (ship) – Helsinki.
Accommodation:
Hotel St. Petersburg Hamburg
Hotel Reichsadler Bayreuth
Schwabinger Landstrasse 34 II Munich, landlord Herr Schreiber
Hotel Roth Munich
Hotel Alle Barche Venice
Winterfeldet 18 b Berlin, landlord Herr Fischer.
The purpose of the trip was to get more closely acquainted with Wagner’s music, but Sibelius actually became estranged from his Wagner admiration.
4. May-June 1896
Aino’s first trip abroad to Berlin
No documents have survived from the Sibelius couple’s first joint trip abroad. Apparently, the route followed familiar routines. The trip lasted a few weeks.
5. June-July 1897
Tourist trip to Italy in the company of Walter v. Konow
Route Helsinki (ship) – Stettin (train) – Berlin – Dresden – Prague – Vienna – Graz – Trieste – Venice (ship) – Ancona (train) – Foligno – Assisi – Perugia – Florence – Bologna – Innsbruck – Munich – Nuremberg – Leipzig – Berlin – Stettin (ship) – Helsinki.
Accommodation:
Hotel Du Lion Assisi
6. February-May 1898
Aino’s interrupted trip to Berlin
Route Helsinki (train) – Vyborg – St. Petersburg – Pskov – Dünaburg – Kovno – Insterburg – Allenstein – Thorn – Posen – Berlin.
Aino Sibelius returned to her home country at the beginning of April due to pregnancy-related nausea. Brother Armas accompanied his sister on the above route to Helsinki. Sibelius’s visit to Leipzig. Return probably by ship from Stettin.
Accommodation:
Potsdamerstrasse 106 B II Berlin,
landlady Frau Dierk.
During his long trip, Sibelius established a relationship with the publisher Breitkopf & Härtel, prepared his first symphony, took riding lessons and celebrated with his friends.
7. July-August 1900
With Kajanus’s orchestra
Route Helsinki (ship) – Stockholm (train) – Kristiania (Oslo) – Gothenburg – Helsingborg (train/ferry)(!) – Helsingör – Copenhagen (train/ferry) – Lübeck – Hamburg – Berlin – Amsterdam – The Hague – Rotterdam – Brussels – Paris – Reims – Trier – Cologne – Lübeck (ship) – Hanko.
Accommodation:
Hotel Rydberg Stockholm
Hotel Bristol Kristiania (Oslo)
Hotel Kongen af Danmark Copenhagen
Roeckstrasse 6 Lübeck (Adolf Paul)
Hotel F. C. Stein Hamburg
Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Berlin
Hotel Mille Colonnes Amsterdam
Hotel de l’Esperance Brussels
Hotel de Bretagne Paris
During the trip, Sibelius presented himself to the international music audience by bowing after Kajanus’s performances of his works. The performances of the First Symphony marked a breakthrough in international critic circles.
8. October 1900-May 1901
Family trip to Germany and Italy
Route Helsinki (train) – Vyborg – St. Petersburg – Pskov – Dünaburg – Kovno – Insterburg – Allenstein – Thorn – Posen – Berlin. Sibelius made a stopover in Leipzig.
Accommodation:
Pension Berlinerstrasse 46 III Berlin
Pension Kurfurstenstrasse 75 III Berlin (December-January)
Route Berlin (train) – Nuremberg – Stuttgart – Basel – Lucerne – Milan – Genoa – Rapallo. Sibelius made a stopover in Rome via Florence.
Accommodation:
Pension Suisse Rapallo
Route Rapallo – Florence – Bologna – Trieste – Graz – Vienna – Prague – Berlin – Stettin (ship) – Helsinki.
With funding arranged by Axel Carpelan, Sibelius was intended to get “Mediterranean lightness” in his expression. During his trip of over half a year, Sibelius sketched several works, including his second symphony.
9. May-June 1901
First German concert in Heidelberg
Route Helsinki (ship) – Stettin (train) – Berlin – Leipzig – Erfurt – Würzburg – Heidelberg – Karlsruhe – Würzburg – Erfurt – Leipzig – Berlin – Stettin (ship) – Helsinki
Accommodation:
Hotel Prinz Carl Heidelberg
During the trip, Sibelius conducted his music at the Heidelberg Music Festival. The program included The Swan of Tuonela and Lemminkäinen’s Return. Sibelius’s position in German music circles strengthened.
10. June 1902
Awakening trip to Berlin
Route Helsinki (ship) – Stettin (train) – Berlin (train) – Stettin (ship) – Helsinki
Accommodation:
Marienstrasse 31 b Berlin (at brother Christian’s), landlord Herr Radtke
During the trip, Sibelius met his brother Christian, sister Linda, Adolf Paul, and other friends.
11. November 1902
First concert in Berlin
Route Helsinki (train) – Vyborg – St. Petersburg – Pskov – Dünaburg – Kovno – Insterburg – Allenstein – Thorn – Posen – Berlin. Return probably the same route.
Accommodation:
Grand Hotel Bellevue Berlin
The reason for the trip was a concert by the Berlin Philharmonic, where Sibelius conducted the revised version of En Saga at the invitation of his friend Ferruccio Busoni.
12. May 1903
First concerts in Estonia
Route Helsinki (ship) – Tallinn (ship) – Helsinki
Accommodation:
Kadriorg Spa Tallinn
During the trip, Sibelius conducted, among others, his first symphony at the invitation of Georg Schnéevoigt.
13. June 1904
Last concerts in Estonia
Route Helsinki (ship) – Tallinn (ship) – Helsinki
Accommodation:
Kadriorg Spa Tallinn
Sibelius conducted, among others, his second symphony at the invitation of Georg Schnéevoigt.
14. August 1904
Tour to Latvia
Route Helsinki (ship) – Tallinn (train) – Riga – Liepaja – Riga – Pskov – St. Petersburg – Vyborg – Helsinki
Accommodation:
Jakubetz Spa Liepaja
Dubbeln Spa Riga
Sibelius conducted, among others, the second symphony, En Saga, and Finlandia under the alias Impromptu.
15. January-March 1905
Concert, composition, and business trip to Berlin
Route Helsinki (train) – Vyborg – St. Petersburg – Pskov – Dünaburg – Kovno – Insterburg – Allenstein – Thorn – Posen – Berlin. Return probably the same route.
Accommodation:
Hotel Windsor Berlin
Berlinerstrasse 87 B Berlin (January-March), landlord Herr Spechman
Sibelius appeared for the last time in front of an orchestra in Germany, conducting his second symphony at Busoni’s invitation, listened to and studied new works by Debussy, Mahler, and Strauss, took English lessons, and signed a publishing contract with Robert Lienau.
16. November 1905-January 1906
First concert in England and a visit to Paris
Route Helsinki (ship) – Copenhagen
(train ferry) – Lübeck – Berlin – Hanover – Osnabrück – Antwerp – Ostend (ferry) – Dover – London – Birmingham – London.
Accommodation:
Hotel Stadt Riga Berlin
Hotel Langham London
Route London – Dover (ferry) – Ostend (train) – Brussels – Paris.
Accommodation:
Hotel de Bretagne Paris
Avenue Marquerite 6 Le Vesinet Paris, (at Olle Nykopp’s, 2 days in evacuation)
Hotel Pavillon Henri IV St. Germain Paris (December-January)
Route Paris (train) – Reims – Cologne – Hanover – Berlin. Stopover in Leipzig.
Accommodation:
Hotel Stadt Riga Berlin
Return route via Stockholm. Otherwise unknown.
On his long trip, Sibelius gave a concert in Liverpool, conducting the first symphony and Finlandia. In Paris, he composed Pohjola’s Daughter, then still under the working title Luonnotar.
17. December 1906
First Russian concert in St. Petersburg
Route Helsinki (train) – Vyborg – St. Petersburg – Vyborg – Helsinki
Accommodation:
Hotel d’Angleterre St. Petersburg
Sibelius conducted the premiere of Pohjola’s Daughter. In a concert by the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in St. Petersburg.
18. August 1907
Composition trip to Berlin with Aino
Route Helsinki (ship) – Stockholm (train) – Helsingborg (ferry) – Helsingör (train) – Copenhagen (train ferry) – Lübeck – Berlin – Stettin (ship) – Helsinki.
Accommodation:
Joachimsthalerstrasse 5 Berlin, landlady Frau Schleiffer
Sibelius composed the third symphony. Aino took English lessons and visited museums, theaters, and concerts with her spouse.
19. November 1907
Second Russian concert in St. Petersburg
Route: Helsinki (train) – Vyborg – St. Petersburg – Vyborg –
Helsinki.
Accommodation:
Hotel d’Angleterre St. Petersburg
Sibelius conducted the third symphony at the invitation of Alexander Siloti.
20. November 1907
Only trip to Moscow
Route: Helsinki (train) – Vyborg – St. Petersburg – Moscow – St. Petersburg – Vyborg – Helsinki.
Accommodation:
Hotel du Bazar Slave Moscow
Sibelius conducted, among others, his third symphony and Pohjola’s Daughter.
21. February-March 1908 Second trip to England
Route Helsinki (?) – Berlin (train) – Osnabrück – Antwerp – Ostend (ferry) – Dover (train) – London – Dover (ferry) – Ostend (train) – Antwerp – Osnabrück – Berlin – Stralsund – Sassnitz (ferry) – Trelleborg (train) – Malmö – Stockholm (ship) – Turku.
Accommodation:
Hotel Prinz Friedrich Carl Berlin
Hotel d’Allemagne Ostend
Langham Hotel London
Sibelius conducted his third symphony in a concert of the Royal Philharmonic Society.
22. May-June 1908
Throat surgery in Berlin
Route Helsinki (ship) – Stettin (train) – Berlin – Lübeck – Travemünde (ship) – Trelleborg? (train) – Malmö – Stockholm (ship) – Helsinki.
Accommodation:
Pension Joseph Haydn Strasse 1 Berlin
Hotel Wiesbadener Hof Berlin
Sibelius had a tumor removed in surgery. Seven years of sobriety began.
23. February-May 1909
Composition trip London – Paris – Berlin
Route Helsinki (ship) – Stockholm (train) – Helsingborg (ferry) – Helsingör (train) – Copenhagen (train) – Könsör (ship) – Kiel – Hamburg – Bremen – Osnabrück – Vlissingen (ship) – Harwich (train) – London – Cheltenham – London.
Accommodation:
Langham Hotel London
Gloucester Walk 15 Kensington London, landlady Mrs Dodd
Gordon Place 15 Campden Hill London (pension)
Route London (train) – Dover (ferry) – Calais (train) – Paris
Accommodation:
Hotel du Voltaire Paris
Route Paris (train) – Reims – Cologne – Hanover – Berlin.
Accommodation:
Hotel Wiesbadener Hof Berlin
Kurfursten Strasse 36 II Berlin, landlady Frau Langer
Return route Berlin (train) – Stettin (ship) – Helsinki
Sibelius composed the Voces intimae string quartet and conducted En Saga and Finlandia in London, and Valse triste and Spring Song in Cheltenham. He met Debussy in London and visited a Sibelius evening at the Music Club. After negotiations, he decided to return to collaboration with the publisher Breitkopf & Härtel. In Berlin, he had a post-surgery medical check-up and composed, among others, the string quartet and songs of opus 57.
24. September-October 1910
Via Kristiania (Oslo) concert to Berlin to compose
Route Helsinki (train) – Turku (ship) – Stockholm
(train) – Kristiania (Oslo)
Accommodation:
Grand Hotel Kristiania (Oslo)
Route Kristiania (Oslo) (train) – Gothenburg – Malmö – Trelleborg (ferry) – Sassnitz (train) – Stralsund – Berlin.
Accommodation:
Meineke Strasse 6 Berlin, landlord Herr Voigt [!]
Hotel Wiesbadener Hof Berlin
Return route Berlin (train) – Stettin (ship) – Helsinki
Sibelius conducted, among others, the premieres of Dryad and In Memoriam in present-day Oslo. In Berlin, he renewed The Origin of Fire and composed his fourth symphony.
25. February 1911
Concert trip to Gothenburg and Riga
Route Helsinki (train) – Turku (ship) – Stockholm (train) – Gothenburg.
Accommodation:
Hotel Palace Gothenburg
Route Gothenburg – Malmö – Trelleborg (ferry) – Sassnitz (train) – Stralsund – Berlin – Posen – Allenstein – Insterburg – Kaunas – Jelgava(Mitau) – Riga.
Accommodation:
Hotel de Rome Riga
Return route Riga (train) – Pskov – St. Petersburg – Vyborg – Helsinki.
Sibelius’s first Swedish concerts included, among others, the third symphony, The Swan of Tuonela and Lemminkäinen’s Return, En Saga, and Nightride and Sunrise. He conducted the Latvian concerts (three in Riga, one in Mitau) at the invitation of Georg Schnéevoigt.
26. October-December 1911
Composition trip to Paris
Route Helsinki (ship) – Stettin (train) – Berlin.
Accommodation:
Hotel Der Königshof Berlin
Route Berlin (train) – Hanover – Cologne – Reims – Paris.
Accommodation:
Grande Hotel de Malte Paris
Hotel du Danube Paris
Hotel de la Grande Bretagne Paris
Return route Paris (train) – Reims – Cologne – Hanover – Berlin – (continuation unknown).
Sibelius left for Berlin but unexpectedly continued to Paris, where he reworked new versions of the Har du mod composition and listened to, among others, Strauss’s Salome opera.
Here is the English translation of the remaining content:
27. September-October 1912
Concert trip to England
Route Helsinki (ship) – Stockholm (train) – Helsingborg (ferry) – Helsingör (train) – Copenhagen (train) – Könsör(ship) – Kiel (train) – Hamburg – Osnabrück – Ostend (ferry) – Dover (train) – London – Birmingham – Stratford-on-Avon – London. Return probably the same route.
Accommodation: Hotel Richelieu London, Shakespeare Hotel Stratford-on-Avon
Sibelius conducted his fourth symphony at the Birmingham music festival at the invitation of Granville Bantock.
28. November-December 1912
Concert trip to Copenhagen
Route Helsinki (train) – Turku (ship) – Stockholm (train) – Helsingborg (ferry) – Helsingör (train) – Copenhagen. Return the same route.
Accommodation: Hotel d’Angleterre Copenhagen
In Copenhagen, Sibelius conducted the fourth symphony, Nightride and Sunrise, and Historical Scenes II.
29. January-February 1914
Composition trip to Berlin
Route Helsinki (train) – Turku (ship) – Stockholm(train) – Helsingborg (ferry) – Helsingör (train) – Copenhagen (train) – Gedser (ferry) – Rostock (train) – Berlin.
Accommodation: Hotel Wiesbadenerhof Berlin
Return by train via the familiar route through St. Petersburg.
Sibelius listened to new music almost every evening and applauded enthusiastically for, among others, Schönberg’s chamber symphony. He composed, among others, Scaramouche scenes for piano and the song “Vi ses igen”.
30. May-July 1914
Trip to the United States
Route Helsinki (train) – Turku (ship) – Stockholm (train) – Malmö (ferry) – Copenhagen (train ferry) – Kiel (train) – Hamburg – Bremen – Bremerhaven (s.s. Kaiser Wilhelm II) – Southampton – Cherbourg – New York.
New York (train) – Norfolk – Boston – Norfolk (car) – Syracuse – Rochester – Buffalo – Niagara Falls – New York (train) – New Haven (Yale) – New York.
Accommodation: Hotel Essex New York, White House Norfolk, Hotel Touraine Boston
Return route New York (s.s. President Grant) – Plymouth – Cherbourg – Hamburg (train) – Kiel (train ferry) – Copenhagen (ferry) – Malmö (train) – Stockholm (ship) – Turku (train) – Helsinki.
Sibelius conducted an extensive review of his music.