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Thanks to Ilona's performance of 'Consolation' by Taneli Kuusisto and a search, I found a new resource for Finnish Composers and their works. 'Music Finland' even has sheet music and audio samples!
Music Finland - Composers and Repertoire
We've talked about some Other Finnish Composers in another Nordic thread - I'll try to make note of them here.
@Ilona -
Any other Finnish Composers you'd like to talk about?
← "Cello Cat and Happy Bluebird", by Pepe Shimada (sorry, not related to Finland).
- Emily
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In the first few pages of that big list, the names that jump out at me as internationally recognized composers (other than Sibelius who is easily the most famous) are Rautavaara, Aho, Saariaho, and Melartin. Of those, Melartin was early 20th century, the rest are recent. Rautavaara was one of the real giants of the late 20th century.
Segerstam and Salonen seem to be more famous as conductors; I saw Salonen conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic many times when I lived in LA, and he's the new music director of the San Francisco Symphony so I'll probably see a lot more of him in the near future.
One I didn't see, and probably the best-known Finnish composer prior to Sibelius, is Bernhard Crusell. Crusell was one of the leading clarinetists of his day and most of his compositions feature the clarinet; he is still a favorite of clarinetists. I played one of his clarinet quartets (clarinet, violin, viola, cello) at a chamber music workshop in 2019. Here's a performance of the same quartet on YouTube:
One obscure Finnish composer I'd like to hear more from is Ida Moberg, who was a student of Sibelius and seems to have been the second-most-popular Finnish composer after Sibelius for a decade or two. Her violin concerto, which for some reason was not published or performed during her life even though she was unquestionably one of Finland's leading composers at the time, was recently rediscovered and got its first-ever performance in November 2020.
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@AndrewH -
THANK YOU!
I'm so glad you exposed these Composers.
Think both 'Crusell's Quartet in Eb Major' and 'Moberg's Tondikt' are fabulous! Found both their styles to be uniquely refreshing and I would be interested in learning at least parts of these pieces.
...really want to hear & learn more!
- Emily
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@AndrewH, there is a lot of info about Ida Moberg available in Finnish, but I found one article also in English: https://fmq.fi/articles/ida-mo.....PoIRdjN8GQ
Ida Moberg was the first Finnish woman to compose the symphony, but her name is still quite unknown to Finns, because her works have not been printed. There are only original manuscripts that are very difficult to find. Many of them, such as that symphony, are also missing.
Some other Finnish composers I want to mention are Armas Järnefelt, Heino Kaski and Lasse Mårtenson. There are many others too, but let’s start with them. 😊
Armas Järnefelt
The best known of his works is ”Kehtolaulu”, Berceuse. I played it here. (Second post on this page.)
Armas Järnefelt was Jean Sibelius's fellow student and his sister Aino was married with Jean Sibelius.
Heino Kaski
Cellist Jussi Makkonen plays two of his best known pieces in this video. ”Pankakoski” starts at 8:25 and ”Yö meren rannalla” at 12:00.
Pankakoski is a place in the Eastern Finland. The word “koski” means rapids, and I think in this composition one can hear how water flows in the rapids. Maybe he was thinking just about it when he composed this. 🤔
”Yö meren rannalla” means simply night by the sea.
Both of these were originally composed for piano, but I just love these cello arrangements!
Lasse Mårtenson
He was mainly a singer, but also composed a lot especially film music. His best known and most loved composition is definitely ”Myrskyluodon Maija”. In this video, of course, as a cello/piano arrangement. 🥰
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@Ilona -
Looks like this thread was long overdue - definitely has kindled in me a new interest in Classical music.
I could lose myself in these pieces, they're so beautiful!
Myrskyluodon Maija really surprised me, it was very exciting - and ALL the pieces seem full of imagery for me, which I really love.
Thank you for sharing this information and and these videos!
...full of imagination, too!
- Emily
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@ELCBK, I’m so glad you liked them! 😊👍🏻 I’ll introduce some others later, I have to find the best videos first.
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@Ilona , @AndrewH -
Have you played any of these?
I posted a little about the Epic Kalevala here:
Here's a couple Classical pieces based on the Kalevala:
Uuno Klami's Kalevala Suite, Op. 23 - performed by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
• The Creation of the Earth: Agitato e misterioso
• 7:16 The Sprout of Spring: Andante, molto tranquillo
• 12:26 Terhenniemi: Allegro leggiero e scherzando
• 19:34 Cradle Song for Lemminkäinen: Andante mosso
• 25:24 The Forging of the Sampo: Allegro moderato
Kalevala Suite, Op.23 - Score by Uuno Klami
Jean Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Four Legends from the Kalevala - performed by the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra.
I. Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island
II. Lemminkäinen in Tuonela
III. The Swan of Tuonela
IV. Lemminkäinen's Return
I've seen video scores available to watch on YouTube.
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I haven't played those specific pieces, but I've played a fair amount of Sibelius in orchestras: I've played his 2nd, 4th, and 5th Symphonies (2nd Symphony live-streamed in November), Violin Concerto (live-streamed in October), Karelia Suite, Finlandia, and Valse Triste.
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@AndrewH -
I was pretty surprised & impressed with Uuno Klami's "Kalevala Suite, Op.23" - felt like I was guided through an interesting story - makes me want to learn more about the Kalevala.
Glad I revisited this thread - forgot how much I liked Lasse Mårtenson's ”Myrskyluodon Maija” (post#4). 🤗
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I've played under Leif Segerstam with the Malmo Symfoniorkester so many times. Brings back so many memories. 😁
Thanks for sharing that video Emily.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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@Fiddlerman -
How about some details on what pieces you enjoyed most while you were there?
I was hoping you'd add to all these Nordic Threads!
...when you find time to take a deep breath. (lol)
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ELCBK said
@Fiddlerman -How about some details on what pieces you enjoyed most while you were there?
I was hoping you'd add to all these Nordic Threads!
...when you find time to take a deep breath. (lol)
There was SO much. The European orchestras play almost the exact same repertoire as the American ones with the exception that they play more of their own modern/contemporary repertoire for the simple reason that they want to support new composers.
Next, and not least, I have a great memory, but VERY short. LOL
I never was good at remembering the week to week repertoire. I could play the repertoire almost by memory by the time the performances came, and I have a great musical memory, but the names don't stick that easily with me. 🤣
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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AndrewH said
I haven't played those specific pieces, but I've played a fair amount of Sibelius in orchestras: I've played his 2nd, 4th, and 5th Symphonies (2nd Symphony live-streamed in November), Violin Concerto (live-streamed in October), Karelia Suite, Finlandia, and Valse Triste.
Yes, same for me. I have played many Sibelius’ pieces in orchestra. We just played Spring Song at our end of the season concert and it was definitely one of the most beautiful moments in my life. I have also played Valse Triste, Impromptu and Romanze.
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