Kajanus had a decisive impact on the development of the career of
Jean Sibelius. He was considered an authority on the interpretation of Sibelius's music, and he and Sibelius were close friends, but this was compromised in 1898 when Sibelius was appointed to a university post for which Kajanus was himself a candidate. Kajanus appealed, and the decision was overturned. But they reconciled for the orchestra's tour of Europe in 1900, where they appeared at the
Exposition Universelle at the invitation of the French government.
Kullervo, Sibelius's epic masterpiece, was written in the wake of Kajanus' symphonic poem
Aino although Sibelius denied any exertion of influence of this piece over his own work. Additionally, as a conductor, Kajanus was responsible for commissioning one of Sibelius' most popular and enduring works,
En Saga, following the success of
Kullervo. ''
Pohjola's Daughter'' was dedicated to Kajanus. When Kajanus took the Helsinki Orchestra on a tour of Europe in 1900 both he and Sibelius conducted, including what proved to be the first performances of Sibelius's music outside of Finland. This ensured the spread of the young composer's reputation far beyond the borders of his homeland, the first Finnish composer to receive such attention. Kajanus was the first to make recordings of Sibelius's
First,
Second,
Third and
Fifth symphonies and
Tapiola. They were recorded in the early 1930s, with the
London Symphony Orchestra. The relationship between Kajanus and Sibelius was such that his interpretations of the composer's music are usually regarded as authentic. In 1930, the Finnish government and Britain's
EMI-Columbia label, perceiving a potentially wide audience for the composer's work, jointly arranged to record Sibelius's first two symphonies, and Kajanus was selected to record both at the insistence of the composer. In 1932, Kajanus recorded Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5, along with orchestral suites and tone poems. This was a massive recording project for the work of a living composer, and the recordings have been considered definitive for many years and are regarded as necessary listening in the study of Sibelius. Only his death in July 1933, at the age of 76, prevented Kajanus from recording all of Sibelius' Symphonies. ==See also==