Description

Fredrik Pacius (1809–1891) was a German-Finnish composer and conductor who lived most of his life in Finland. He has been called the "Father of Finnish music".

Pacius was born in Hamburg. He was appointed music teacher at the University of Helsinki in 1834. In Helsinki he founded a musical society, the student choir Akademiska Sångföreningen and an orchestra. In 1848, Pacius wrote the music to the poem "Vårt land" by Johan Ludvig Runeberg, which was to become Finland's national anthem. Pacius's music was also used for the Estonian national anthem "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" and the Livonian ethnic anthem "Min izāmō, min sindimō".

In 1852, he composed Kung Karls jakt (The Hunt of King Charles), which was the first Finnish opera, with a libretto in the style of Romantic nationalism, like the national anthem designed to convince Finland's grand duke (i.e. the Russian Emperor Nicholas I) of the total loyalty of his subjects in Finland. The libretto was written by the author and historian Zacharias Topelius in close collaboration with the composer.

His compositions also include a violin concerto, a symphony, a string quartet and several other operas. In modern times his music compositions have been background sampling for musical artists such as Zara Larson and Lady Gaga.

The collector coin is part of the Europa Coin Programme, also known as the European Silver Programme, or the Eurostar Programme. It is an initiative dedicated to the issuance of collector-oriented legal tender coins in precious metals to celebrate European identity. The issuing authorities of EU member countries voluntarily contribute coins to the Europa Coin Programme. Multiple countries have participated in the programme, beginning in 2004. Some coins are denominated in euro, others are denominated in other currencies.

The obverse and reverse of the coin complement each other, forming stylized musical notations floating in what reflects a view of a stage.

Engraver: Pertti Kalervo Mäkinen