Johan Julius Christian Sibelius (December 8, 1865 - September 20, 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic period. The core of his' oeuvre is his set of seven symphonies. Like Beethoven, Sibelius used each successive work to further develop his own personal compositional style. His works continue to be performed frequently in the concert hall and are often recorded. He loved nature, and the Finnish landscape often served as material for his music. The year 1926 saw a sharp and lasting decline in his output: after his Seventh Symphony he only produced a few major works in the rest of his life; incidental music to The Tempest (1926), and the tone poem Tapiola (1926). He wrote some Masonic music, re-edited some earlier works, and retained an active interest in new developments in music, a although he did not always view modern music favorably. He died in 1957, of a brain hemorrhage, at the age of 91. Bain News Service, dated 1913.