SIBELIUS, JEAN. Typed Letter Signed, in pencil, to

MANY WRITERS HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT ME . . . THEY HAVE GIVEN QUITE A WRONG PICTURE" SIBELIUS, JEAN. Typed Letter Signed, in pencil, to President of the International Mark Twain Society Cyril Clemens, apologizing for the delayed reply to his interesting letters, thanking for the gift of coffee, explaining that he would not write an autobiography as he prefers to speak through his music, remarking that most biographers have failed to accurately represent him, stating that he had never met Oscar Strauss, and adding that he met Johann Strauss once in Vienna. 1½ pages, 8vo, written on the first and third pages of a folded sheet; minor abrasion at center of terminal page, horizontal fold. With the original envelope. - Järvenpää, 2 April 1954

". . . No, I have never considered writing my own autobiography because I wish to speak solely through my music. Many writers have written about me whom I never have met and mostly they have given quite a wrong picture of my person. I think it would be wiser to write about my music only and not about myself.

"I never knew Oscar Strauss, the operetta composer. But the great Johann Strauss I met in Vienna and Richard Strauss I of course knew quite well.