Marshall Walker at Sibelius's table in his favourite restaurant, The Konig, Helsinki. Photo: Marshall Walker
Marshall Walker grew up in Glasgow and was hooked by the music of Sibelius at a very early age.
It became a lifelong passion. He started to call him 'The Big Man'.
These programmes, written in the form of letters, pay tribute to the Finnish composer's genius and give thanks to him for a life's enrichment from a self-confessed "junky".
Although the introduction to the series, in chronological terms this programme deals with the most recent events in Walker's life.
In 1996, he made a pilgrimage to Finland to visit the places of significance to Sibelius: his birthplace in Hämeenlinna, Ainola – his home at Järvenpää, Koli in North Karelia – inspiration for much of his music, and the Sibelius Monument in Helsinki.
'A Letter to Sibelius' won the 1998 New Zealand Radio Award for Best Music Feature and was nominated by RNZ for the 1999 Prix Italia. First broadcast July 1997.
