Kyllikki Op. 41 belongs among Sibelius's core piano works. Composed in September 1904, the three-movement plan different from most of his earlier piano works, suggests something special in its genesis.

Sibelius claimed that the music was unrelated to the Kalevala story of Lemminkäin and Kyllikki, but it seems highly probable that either this or some other version of this folk tale underlies the music.

The first edition of Kyllikki was published by Breitkopf & Härtel in February 1906. The p...