Finlandia is a symphonic poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. He wrote it in 1899 and made some changes to it the next year. "Finlandia" is the Latin name for Finland. At the time Sibelius wrote it, Finland was called the "Grand Duchy of Finland". This was because it was being ruled by Russia. The Finnish people wanted to rule Finland for themselves. The music was composed for a pageant to encourage the Finnish people to work for freedom.