Martin Wegelius

Martin Wegelius (10 November 1846 – 22 March 1906) was a Finnish composer and musicologist, primarily remembered as the founder, in 1882, of the Helsinki Music Institute, now known as the Sibelius Academy.

Wegelius studied in Leipzig, Vienna, and Munich. He had intended to pursue a career as a composer and wrote a handful of orchestral works and a significant number of chamber and vocal works. He was a particular admirer of Wagner but wrote predominantly in the Romantic style. After founding the Institute, he had little time for composing and appears to have concentrated exclusively on teaching. Graduates of Wegelius' Institute include Jean Sibelius and Agnes Tschetschulin.

He is often compared with his contemporary and rival Robert Kajanus, founder of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (initially the Helsinki Orchestral Association), the first professional symphony orchestra in the Nordic countries.

He is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.

Birth and Death Data: Born Helsinki (capital and most populous city of Finland), Died March 22, 1906 (Helsinki (capital and most populous city of Finland) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1907 - 1915

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor E-4638 8-in. 7/8/1907 Honkaen peskellä John M. Eriksen Male vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 43635 10-in. December 1915 Tääll' on mun kultani Jean Theslöf Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wegelius, Martin," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116564.

Wegelius, Martin. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116564.

"Wegelius, Martin." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116564

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