Inventing Finnish Music Kimmo Korhonen

Inventing Finnish Music
Contemporary Composers from Medieval to Modern
Inventing Finnish Music

Kimmo Korhonen
Finnish Music Information Centre
Contents
To the reader .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
I Church and City .
The early days of Finnish music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
II Officers and Gentlemen
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Composers in the Classical period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The first-generation composers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Erik Tulindberg 18 Thomas Bystrm 19 Carl Ludvig Lithander 19 Other Lithanders 20
Bernhard Henrik Crusell: Composer and clarinettist . . . . . . . . . . 20
III Romancing the Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Kimmo Korhonen (b. 1959) studied musicology and other art subjects at the University of Helsinki, obtaining his M.A. in 1988. He is a freelance writer on music and author of several books on Finnish music published by the Finnish Music Information Centre. The online version of this book is available at www.fimic.fi/inventing 2nd edition Editor: Aarne Toivonen Translation: Jaakko Mntyjrvi Graphic design: Minna Luoma/Candy Graphics Finnish Music Information Centre (Fimic), Kimmo Korhonen and Jaakko Mntyjrvi (translation) (2007) Printed in Finland by Gummerus Kirjapaino Oy, Jyvskyl 2007 Finnish Music Information Centre ISBN: 978-952-5076-61-5
Music in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Fredrik Pacius and the road to Romanticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
the first finnish opera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Axel Gabriel Ingelius 26 Karl Collan 27 Konrad Greve 27 Richard Faltin 27 Filip von Schantz 28 Ernst Fabritius 28
Shaping the structures of musical life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Martin Wegelius 29 Robert Kajanus 29 Ernst Mielck 31 the language issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
IV The Mighty Spring Tide of Finnish Music .

. . . . . . . 33
National Romanticism and Late Romanticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Golden age of Finnish art 33 Helsinki Music Institute and orchestras 35 The choral movement 36 Opera 36 the kalevala, finlands national epic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 finnish folk music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Jean Sibelius: The symphonic master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

sibeliuss second symphony is it just music or a portrait of the independence struggle? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
The shadow of Sibelius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Armas Jrnefelt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Erkki Melartin: An eclectic Late Romantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 The elegance of Leevi Madetoja . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Selim Palmgren, the Nordic Chopin and Schumann . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Ilmari Hannikainen 54 Heino Kaski 54 Ernst Linko 55
Oskar Merikanto, a composer between high culture and public at large . . . 55 Toivo Kuula: Music with pathos and sentiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Armas Launis: An opera composer of the finest quality . . . . . . . . . . 58
Emil Kauppi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 a national opera is born . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Erik Bergman: The musical explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Usko Merilinen: Character and kinetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Paavo Heininen: A devout Modernist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Completely unruly nursery noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Kari Rydman 110 Henrik Otto Donner 111 electronic music in finland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
IX That Which Was Old . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V Windows Open Towards Europe!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
114
Finnish 1920s Modernism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Ernest Pingoud: A man of many worlds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Vin Raitio: Impressionist and Expressionist . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Aarre Merikanto: A national Modernist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
two settings of juha, two operatic fates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
The transition of the 1960s and free-tonality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Erkki Salmenhaara: From Modernism to neo-tonality . . . . . . . . . 116 Tauno Marttinen and the spark of the eternal . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Leonid Bashmakov: A symphonic and concerto composer . . . . . . . . 119 The new wave of choral music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Sulo Salonen 121 Bengt Johansson 121 Eero Sipil 122 Gottfrid Grsbeck 122
Uuno Klami: On the trail of Stravinsky and Ravel . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

uuno klamis kalevala suite: a farewell to the romantic kalevala . . . . . . . 75
Jouko Linjama: Works for choir and organ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Pekka Kostiainen and the national mythology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Jaakko Mntyjrvi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
VI Sheltered by the Kalevala, Overshadowed by War .
. . . . 76
The 1930s and a return to national values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Yrj Kilpinen, the master of Finnish lied . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Tauno Pylkknen, the Nordic Puccini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Continuing the national tradition in instrumental music . . . . . . . . 81
Sulho Ranta 81 Taneli Kuusisto 82 Helvi Leivisk 83 Erkki Aaltonen 83 Nils-Eric Ringbom 83 finnish film music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Some opera composers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Aulis Sallinen starts the opera boom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Ilkka Kuusisto: Operas with wide range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Two Ilmajoki composers: Panula and Almila . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Ralf Gothni 132 Eero Erkkil 132 Kaj-Erik Gustafsson 132 Kari Tikka 132
VII Rising from the Ashes of War .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
From Neo-Classicism to dodecaphony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Einar Englund and the ideal of absolute music . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Other composers of the Neo-Classical period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Ahti Sonninen 89 Jouko Tolonen 90 Matti Rautio 91 Seppo Nummi 91
The turn to dodecaphony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Nils-Eric Fougstedt 93 Sakari Mononen 93 Pentti Raitio 93
Persistent free-tonality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Harri Wessman: Romantic sentiment and intimate lyricism . . . . . . . 133 Lars Karlsson: Stages of self-exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Teppo Hauta-aho: A humorous master of double bass . . . . . . . . . . 135 Pekka Jalkanen: Minimalism with folk music impulses . . . . . . . . . 135 Jukka Linkola: Careers in both jazz and concert music . . . . . . . . . 136 Timo-Juhani Kyllnen: Music with a Russian flavour . . . . . . . . . . 138 Lasse Jalava: Jazzy, Oriental and Latin American spices . . . . . . . . 139 Kai Nieminen: Inspiration from literature and fine arts . . . . . . . . . 139 Harri Ahmas, musician and composer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Pertti Jalava: From jazz to classical music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
the opera boom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 music all year round. a land of symphony orchestras and music festivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Joonas Kokkonen: A passion for quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
VIII Rows, Colours and Nursery Noise
The second wave of Modernism in Finnish music . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
X In the Post-Modernist Hall of Mirrors
. . . . . . . . . . .
145
XII Broadening Horizons
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Composers caught in the crossfire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Einojuhani Rautavaara: A composer of many personas . . . . . . . . . 147
angel of light and the path to success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Leif Segerstam: A musical stream of consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Pehr Henrik Nordgren: The depth of life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Kalevi Aho: A monumental symphonic composer . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Mikko Heini: Post-Modern features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
XI Towards New Sound Worlds
The new wave of Finnish Modernism in the 1980s . . . . . . . . . . . 163 New Modernists in the 1970s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Jarmo Sermil: A shift to a more lyrical sound world . . . . . . . . . . 166 Erkki Jokinen: Harmony, tonal colour and textures . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Herman Rechberger: A versatile storyteller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Jukka Tiensuu: A Modernist musical polymath . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 The Ears Open! group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Eero Hmeenniemi: The Expressionist fundament with Indian elements . 176 Kaija Saariaho: Tonal colours with fantastic images . . . . . . . . . . 178 Magnus Lindberg: Fast, rhythmic and massive music . . . . . . . . . . 182
kraft: a monument in finnish modernism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
The new freedom of the 1990s and the youngest generation of composers 210 Modernism and Expressionism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 Veli-Mati Puumala: Detailed complexity and rich tonal colour . . . . . . 212 Seppo Pohjola: From Modernism to more traditional forms . . . . . . . 215 Jovanka Trbojevic and a bold sense of drama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Jukka Koskinen: Clear, logical masses of sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 Asko Hyvrinen: Complex, frenetic, uncompromising music . . . . . . . 218 Hannu Pohjannoro: A composer of poetic and controlled music . . . . . . 219 Juha T. Koskinen: Playful, alert, rapid and humorous . . . . . . . . . . 220 Perttu Haapanen: A Faustian passion of exploration . . . . . . . . . 221 Sampo Haapamki: Microintervals and spectral music . . . . . . . . . 222 Johan Tallgren: Bright and complex works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Lotta Wennkoski: A fine sense of tonal colour . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Riikka Talvitie: In favour of lyrical textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Sebastian Fagerlund: Rich in sound, quick in movement . . . . . . . . 226 Markus Fagerudd: Rock, jazz and music for the stage . . . . . . . . . . 227
Kimmo Nevonmaa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Jouni Kaipainen: Sonorous and lyrical Classicalization . . . . . . . . 188 Olli Kortekangas: A philosopher with translucent textures . . . . . . . . 191 Esa-Pekka Salonen: Scintillating brilliance and caressing smoothness . . 194 Tapani Lnsi: Technical self-control and conciseness of form . . . . . . 196 Contemporaries of the Ears Open! composers: Modernism and free twelve-tone music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Kimmo Hakola: Music as drama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Olli Koskelin: Music with self-nuanced spectral harmonies . . . . . . . 201 Tapio Tuomela: Modernism combined with national dimensions . . . . . 202 Harri Vuori: Spectral music with carefully shaped details . . . . . . . . 204 Other new composers of the 1980s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Tapio Nevanlinna: Colours, fields, fragments . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Harri Suilamo: Brief, polished and rapid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Vladimir Agopov 208 Oliver Kohlenberg 209 Harri Viitanen 209
Jyrki Linjama: Modernism with emotional sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . 228 Tommi Krkkinen: An interest in constructing harmonies . . . . . . . 229 Jan Mikael Vainio: Extra-musical inspirations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Pasi Lyytikinen: A young opera composer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Freedom of style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Juhani Nuorvala: Urban sensitivity and Minimalist approaches . . . . . 231 Osmo Tapio Rihl and music from surprising sources . . . . . . . . 233 Patrik Vidjeskog: The basis in melody, harmony and counterpoint . . . . . 234 Tomi Risnen: Moving between dodecaphony and free-tonality . . . . . . 234 Aki Yli-Salomki: I am not averse to melody . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 Uljas Pulkkis: Sparkle and programmatic elements . . . . . . . . . . . 235 Jani Kri, a glowing and sonorous Romantic . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 Tuomas Kantelinen: Flexibility and hints of Hollywood . . . . . . . . 237 Olli Mustonen: Romantic idiom with a rhythmic drive . . . . . . . . . . 238 Kirmo Lintinen, a classical musician who has had a more jazzy period . . 239 Jaakko Kuusisto: Neo-Romantic and Impressionist elements . . . . . . . 240
Index
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
242
To the reader
In recent years, high-flying praise for the current boom in Finnish music has become commonplace and perhaps even slightly exasperating. But there is truth behind the hype: Finnish music is at the moment in an exceptionally vibrant and robust state. New works are being written at a heady pace, they are usually premiered without undue delay, and many of them get recorded. Theperforming musical arts are also riding the crest of a wave. However, this boom also conspires to render anything written about contemporary Finnish music outdated by the time it is published. The present volume came about at the instigation of the Finnish Music Information Centre, with the idea of updating the information in Suomalaisia nykysveltji 19651990 (1990) and its English translation Finnish contemporary composers (1995) on the one hand, and of extending the scope of that discussion to include composers of the past on the other. Also, the development of musical life in Finland is here discussed to a much greater extent than in the above-named work, with the objective of providing a context a survey of the material and spiritual environment in which all these composers work or worked. I have also highlighted connections with other fields of the arts and social ideologies with the understanding that there is a relationship, however undefinable, between music and the world around it. The heavyweight reference work Suomen musiikin historia (History of Finnish Music, 199596) written by Fabian Dahlstrm, Erkki Salmenhaara and Mikko Heini is a solid foundation upon which anyone writing about Finnish music can and in fact has to build. The present volume owes a considerable debt to this seminal work particularly in the sections covering the earliest stages in the history of Finnish music. However, new information has surfaced in the very recent past too, such as the discussion of Finnish composers in the Baroque period provided by musician Ville Sirvi. Other phenomena so recent as not to have been covered by Suomen 10 inventing finnish music musiikin historia include the stylistic pluralism of the 1990s. Other sources for my work include Suomalaisia svellyksi III (Finnish Compositions; 1964, 1969) by Kai Maasalo and the many monographs published on major Finnish composers. Finnish operas are covered in detail in the book Finnish Opera (2002) by Pekka Hako. Kimmo Korhonen Helsinki, October 2002
The first edition of this book was completed in autumn 2002. This second edition is greatly augmented, particularly with regard to the youngest generation of composers, many of whom now have a separate dedicated section. The sections on some of the older composers have also been updated. Some of the new material is derived from Finnish Orchestral Music and Concertos 19952005 , previously published by Fimic. Kimmo Korhonen Helsinki, November 2006
Translators note: In this text, towns and cities in Finland are consistently referred to in Finnish, although the official language of the land was Swedish up to the late 19th century. The Swedish version of each name is given in parentheses at its first occurrence, e.g. Turku (bo).
11
I Church and City

The early days of Finnish music
The origins of Finnish music lie buried in the darkness of the Middle Ages. Our knowledge of that period is rudimentary, like a pencil sketch; any attempts at filling in detail or colour are inevitably based on mere speculation and guesswork. This is partly due to the fact that there is very little surviving information, but even the information we do have seems to indicate that there is not very much to know about. Compared with the considerably older high culture in Central Europe, Finland remained a musical backwater not only through the Middle Ages but well into the Renaissance and Baroque eras too. Christianity began to penetrate Finland from the West in some form probably as early as in the 11th century, imported by merchants, Christianized Vikings and German missionaries. At about the same time, Orthodox Christianity from Novgorod began to make inroads in the eastern reaches of Finland. Tradition holds that the first Crusade to Finland was undertaken around the year 1155, by which time Christianity already had a foothold in the land. With Christianity came liturgical chant, Gregorian (Latin) chant from the West and Orthodox (Byzantean) chant from the East. Although the Western influence is easier to trace, its progress is by no means clear. Ilkka Taitto, the leading Finnish scholar in the field, has divided the history of Latin chant in Finland into three periods: 1) the missionary period, from c. 1100 to 1330; 2)theestablished repertoire period, from c. 1330 to 1530; and 3) the early Lutheran period, from c. 1530 to 1640. By contrast, it is almost impossible to estimate with any precision when polyphonic singing arrived in Finnish churches perhaps in the 14th century, in the form of simple types of organum? We also do not know when the first organs appeared in Finnish churches this may have happened as late as in the 16th century, and in any case initially only very few churches acquired organs. 12 inventing finnish music
Apart from churches, music was also practiced in monasteries, the most important of which was the Dominican monastery founded in Turku (bo) in 1249. The monasterys musical practices were transmitted to the Turku Cathedral School (which trained the clergy), founded probably in the late 13th century and in any case no later than 1326. Finland had several other monasteries in the late Middle Ages. Viipuri (Viborg/Vyborg), the second most important town in Finland after Turku, had a Dominican monastery founded in the late 14th century and a Franciscan monastery founded in the early 15th century. In the 15th century, monasteries were also founded in Rauma, Naantali (Ndendal) and Kkar in the land Islands. No Medieval documentation of Orthodox (Byzantean) chant in Finland survives. Finnish Latin chant, on the other hand, exists in a considerable body of fragments and in a few MS missals with music notation. The Missale Aboense (1488), a printed missal created for use in Turku Cathedral, is the earliest book known for certain to have been printed for use in Finland; it has been reconstructed from surviving fragments of liturgical books. This missal, however, only contained texts and blank staves for entering musical notation by hand. The somewhat later clerical handbook, the Manuale Aboense (1522), saw very little use because the Reformation took place soon after its publication. The most significant document of Finlands Medieval musical heritage is the collection of church and school songs in Latin known as Piae Cantiones (1582), edited for printing in Germany by Teodoricus Petri, a Finnish scholar. Jaakko Suomalainen (Jacob Finno) probably also participated in the work, although he is not credited on the title page. The tunes in this collection date mainly from the 14th and 15th centuries, although post-Reformation tunes are also included. It has been proposed that at least some of the 74 tunes in the collection must be of Finnish origin, since nearly half of the tunes appear in no foreign sources at all. A version of the collection in a Finnish translation was published in 1616, and a new augmented edition of the original Piae Cantiones was published in 1625. In Finnish history, the Reformation is usually taken as the end of the Middle Ages. The Reformation in the Kingdom of Sweden
13
officially began in 1527, ten years after Martin Luther had nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church of Wittenberg. The Reformation caused the Church to lose power and property, and eventually the monasteries were dissolved. The practice of music in churches declined significantly with the advent of Lutheranism, and although some old tunes were retained, they were furnished with new texts. The main aim from then on was to hold divine services in the vernacular, i.e. in Finnish in Finland. It was for this purpose that the first missals in Finnish were produced, the Westh codex (1546) and the first printed missal, entitled Messu eli Herran Echtolinen (Mass, or the Eucharist, 1549). The latter was edited by Mikael Agricola, the father of Finlands Reformation and of the written Finnish language. The first printed Finnish hymnal was published around 1580, edited by Jaakko Suomalainen. Secular music in Medieval Finland is even more difficult to trace than church music. Being the eastern borderland of the Kingdom of Sweden, Finland was hopelessly far from the cultural centres of Europe, and there was no court in Finland to speak of. We may assume that music must have been practiced at Turku Castle, the most important stronghold in the land, founded in the 13th century, but we have no information on this. Nor do we know anything about music performed in Finnish towns in the Middle Ages, although it is probably safe to assume that this consisted of monophonic dance tunes. Music was performed by itinerant musicians and clowns or leikari (players), whose social status was unenviable; a 13th-century by-law declared that if someone should strike a leikari, the deed shall in all cases be left unpunished. Moving from the Middle Ages to the 16th century, our picture of events suddenly acquires a surprising splash of colour. Courtly music experienced a brief flourish with Duke John, the son of King Gustavus Vasa, holding court at Turku Castle in 155659 and 156163 in a sumptuous Renaissance style previously unheard of in Finland. Duke John employed as many as eight full-time musicians, and he is known to have hired even more for festive occasions. By the 17th century, there was a lively practice of secular music in Turku and elsewhere in Finland too. Town musicians, who formed a living contact to the city culture of the Baltic States and 14 inventing finnish music
Central Europe, had become an important group of craftsmen. They performed at both secular and church functions; similarly, church organists could be recruited for secular functions if needed. The rising bourgeoisie usually called upon musicians for important family occasions such as weddings and christenings. We know that Finnish organists and town musicians composed music for such occasions, but no such works have survived. Music teaching in schools was more important at this time than it had been previously, and instrument tuition began to become more widespread. On the basis of preserved music catalogues, we know that schools in Turku made use of music by such Renaissance masters as Orlando di Lasso and Josquin des Pres, and by early Baroque composers such as Michael Praetorius. The earliest documented mentions of clavichords in bourgeois homes in Turku and Viipuri date from the mid-17th century, although we do not know what music was played on these instruments. The founding of Finlands first university, the Academy of Turku, in 1640 was a milestone in the history of civilization in Finland. Although the Academy did not include music in its curriculum, music was featured at academic functions as early as in the 17th century, and in the 18th century the Academy played an important part in the development of Finnish music. It was from the Academy of Turku that Isaac Wasbohm (d. 1722) graduated as a magister in 1697. He then returned to his native town of Vaasa (Vasa), where he worked as a music teacher and perhaps even conducted a small orchestra until 1702. A music-book copied by Wasbohm, containing charming dances in the Baroque style, has been preserved. If even some of these were composed by Wasbohm himself, we can award him the distinction of being the first Finnish composer known to us by name and Finlands modest contribution to the rich tapestry of European Baroque music.
I Church and City 15
II Officers and Gentlemen

Composers in the Classical period
From the Middle Ages until the early 18th century, Turku and Viipuri were Finlands major cities. This situation changed during the Great Northern War between Sweden and Russia (170021), with Viipuri being taken by the Russians in 1710. Later in the war, during what is known as the Isoviha or Great Hate (171321), Finland was completely occupied by Russia, and most of the intelligentsia fled to Sweden. Under the Treaty of Uusikaupunki (Nystad) that concluded the war, the Russians retreated, but Sweden was obliged to cede the southeast corner of Finland, including Viipuri, to Russia. It took quite some time for the western parts of Finland to recover from the devastation of the Russian occupation. In the 18th century, the Academy of Turku was the centre of Finlands science and culture. In 1747, Swedish-born CarlPetter Lenning (1711/121788), organist of Turku Cathedral, was appointed music director at the Academy in conjunction with the founding of the Academic Capell, an instrumental ensemble which initially had between 10 and 15 members and which can be considered the first regularly performing Finnish orchestra. Its performances were mainly confined to functions within the Academy, however. One of Lennings successors as organist of Turku Cathedral and music director of the Academy was Johan Torenberg (17731809), some of whose compositions have been preserved. The first public concerts in Turku were organized in the 1760s at the latest, a performance by a Swedish singer in 1766 being the earliest documented public concert. Opera also made its first appearance in Finland in a performance of Johann Theiles work Der erschaffene, gefallene und auffgerichtete Mensch (1678), written for the inauguration of the Hamburg Opera House nearly a century earlier, by the German company led by Carl Gottlieb Seuerling in Turku in 1768. There is some doubt as to the nature of this performance, however; it is not certain whether there was an orchestra 16 inventing finnish music
involved. The first public orchestra concerts were organized in 1773 and 1774 by the Aurora Society, a literary secret society which was active in Turku in the 1770s and had a small orchestra of its own. The most important event in Finnish music in the 18th century was the founding of the Turun Soitannollinen Seura (Turku Music Society) in 1790. The Society efficiently brought together the best musicians in the city, and although its activities were far from continuous in the 19th century, it can be considered the direct predecessor of the present Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. Throughout the Societys first active period (17901808), its conductor was Swedish-born Erik Ferling (17331808), who was also a composer. The Society orchestra initially had about 25 members, augmented with military musicians to 30 members when required. This was around the average for a European orchestra at the time and quite sufficient for the then current repertoire, including works by the Mannheim School, Haydn and Mozart. Society members also frequently performed chamber music. Fledgling musical activities emerged in other Finnish towns too. For example, the well-known Enlightenment-minded economist and vicar Anders Chydenius assembled an active amateur orchestra in the tiny town of Kokkola (Karleby) in the 1770s. Musical life in Helsinki (Helsingfors) was negligible at this time, although the town began to increase in importance with the construction of the fortress of Sveaborg on islands off the city in 1747. [The Swedish name Sveaborg (Fortress of Sweden) was corrupted into Finnish as Viapori; the fortress was renamed Suomenlinna (Fortress of Finland) when Finland became independent in 1917.] The first concert in Helsinki was organized in 1786, apparently with a symphony by Haydn on the programme.
The first-generation composers

The late 18th century in Sweden (of which Finland was still apart) is known as the Gustavian era, very much influenced by the Enlightenment. Various cultural pursuits were considered part of a sound education, but music did not really qualify as a suitable profession for the offspring of the upper classes. Of the known Finnish composers of the Classical period, only Bernhard Henrik Crusell
17
(who in fact came from a lower social class than the others) sought a career in music from the very first; all the others were officers and civil servants for whom music was, at least initially, simply a beloved hobby. On the other hand, music was an eminently suitable hobby for women too, and even before the generation of Classical composers discussed here we find Anna Catharina hrbom of Naantali probably trying her hand at composition: she may well have herself composed some of the clavichord pieces in a musicbook copied by her dated 1759. District judge Gabriel Hannelius (17521803) left a number of pieces for chamber ensemble in a music-book entitled Flaut Travers ; these pieces are not known from any other source. They are akin in style to Quantz, representing the transition from the late Baroque to the Classical period. The first generation proper of Finnish composers began to emerge in the late 18th century. Their music was informed by the ideals of Classicism, although the first inklings of Romanticism can be identified in some cases. Their emergence was linked to thestrong development of music in Turku, but becoming a fulltime composer was still not a viable option. The earliest notable Classical Finnish composer was Erik Tulindberg (17611814). He studied at the Academy of Turku from 1776 but moved to Oulu (Uleborg) in 1784 to take up a post as a civil servant. He moved back to Turku in 1809 and remained there for the rest of his life. Tulindbergs limited output was probably written during his early years in Turku amidst his studies, the lively social life of a student and his work as an amanuensis in the library. His output consists of a Violin Concerto in B flat major, sixString Quartets and one solo violin work. Tulindberg played the violin himself, and the solo part of his Violin Concerto is written in quite a natural idiom. In conception, however, it is simpler than his String Quartets and thus probably earlier. The String Quartets are written in a full-fledged Viennese Classical style, closely related to Haydns quartets. In fact, Tulindberg is known to have bought a copy of Haydns Quartets op. 9 (176970) in 1781; these may have served as a model. At his best, Tulindberg demonstrates original structural ideas and a fresh 18 inventing finnish music
melodic vein; by contrast, his harmonies and quartet textures are quite simple. Thomas Bystrm (17721839) was born in Helsinki and initially pursued a military career. He studied at the Artillery and Sappers Military Academy in St Petersburg in 178791 and moved to Sweden in 1793. Apparently he was a skilled pianist, since after being discharged from the Army he taught the piano and initially also the organ at the Swedish Music Academy from 1818 to 1833. His surviving compositions include three Violin Sonatas, some piano works and a handful of solo songs. These were probably written at a relatively early stage in his career, in the 1790s and early1800s. Bystrms three Violin Sonatas are his main works. Completed around 1797, they were published by Breitkopf & Hrtel under the title Trois sonates pour le Clavecin ou Pianoforte avec accompagnement dun Violon oblig in 1801. As was the custom then, the piano was considered the dominant instrument, but in fact the parts are independent enough to warrant the Sonatas being described as genuine chamber music. The Sonatas contain distant foreshadowings of Romanticism in their rather free use of harmony, frequent modulations and original, somewhat rhapsodic structural designs. The closest comparison is Beethoven, which is quite surprising considering that Bystrm could hardly have been acquainted with Beethovens music when he wrote the Sonatas. Bystrms piano works and songs are written in a more conventional Classical vein. His most notable piano work is the smoothly flowing Air Russe varie (published 179899), recalling the early style of Beethoven. Like Bystrm, Carl Ludvig Lithander (17731843) also took up a military career. He was born in Noaroots in Estonia, where his Finnish father was vicar. After the parents died, some of the children moved via Stockholm to Turku in 1790; Carl Ludvig remained with his uncle in Stockholm. He lived in London from 1814 to 1818 and met Muzio Clementi, who published some of his works. He returned to Sweden but moved to Germany for health reasons in 1821, and three years later he was appointed to an organists post in Greifswald.
II Officers and Gentlemen 19
thomas bystrm
erik tulindberg
carl ludvig lithander
Carl Ludvig Lithander was an accomplished pianist, and his best works are for the piano. He published over a dozen piano works from 1795 onwards. The most important of these are the two Sonatas, the first (in C major) dedicated to and published by Clementi in 1818, and the second (in F sharp minor) published by J. Bhme in Germany in 1822. They are written in a Classical style akin to Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. The Sonata in F sharp minor is more original of the two, and the influence of Beethoven is stronger in it. Carl Ludvig Lithanders minor piano works and his few pieces for flute and piano are easily digestible Classical occasional music. He also wrote two Mozart-style Singspiels, Lantara (Stockholm 1817) and Sckpiparen (The Bagpipe Player); the latter remained unperformed. other lithanders Carl Ludvig was not the only musically gifted one of the eleven Lithander children. Fredrik Emanuel Lithander (17771823) was an accountant by profession but was also a piano teacher and pianist, and music librarian with the Turku Music Society. Like his brother Carl Ludvig, he appears to have been an accomplished pianist; for instance, he accompanied Crusell in the latters performances on a visit to Finland in 1801. As a composer, Fredrik was more conventional than Carl Ludvig and more closely linked to the style of Mozart and Haydn. He wrote a few sets of variations for piano, one piano sonata (Sonate facile ) and a handful of solo songs. Of his other siblings, Ernst Gabriel (17741803), Christophylos (17781823) and Charlotte (17841858) also tried their hand at composition.
Bernhard Henrik Crusell: Composer and clarinettist

The most important Finnish composer of the Classical period was Bernhard Henrik Crusell (17751837). His biography reads as afascinating and even somewhat improbable chapter in the history of Finnish music: the rags-to-riches story of a poor bookbinders son from Uusikaupunki who became an internationally celebrated clarinet soloist and composer, whose works were mostly published by Peters in Leipzig, and who met such notables as Luigi Cherubini, Carl Maria von Weber and the budding 13-year-old genius Felix Mendelssohn in the salons of Europe. There are several such stories 20 inventing finnish music
bernhard henrik crusell
in the history of music in Central Europe, but Crusell is unique in Finland in this sense. Crusell began his musical career at the fortress of Viapori off Helsinki at the age of twelve. In 1791, he followed his patron to Sweden, and two years later at the age of eighteen he was appointed solo clarinettist with the Royal Court Orchestra in Stockholm. He held this post for four decades, except for study trips and concert tours to Germany in 1798, 1803 and 1811. The second of these trips took him as far as Paris, where he was offered a post with the Italian Opera. He turned it down because he considered the salary too low. Crusell made his last visit to Finland in the summer of 1801, giving recitals in Helsinki and Turku. Crusells output includes concertos, chamber music, solo songs and one Singspiel. His major works are the three Clarinet Concertos, which remain in the core repertoire for the instrument to this day and have been recorded several times. Crusells instrumental works were mainly written during the first two decades of the 19th century. By contrast, his solo songs date from all along his career, though mostly from his late period beginning in the 1820s. Crusells Clarinet Concertos are written in a style akin to late Viennese Classicism and related to the Clarinet Concertos of Louis Spohr and Carl Maria von Weber. Crusell was also influenced by French opera through his work in the Court Capell. Crusell wrote his concertos for himself to perform, and their solo clarinet parts are highly gratifying; indeed, he remains the only composer of major clarinet concertos who was himself a clarinettist. Nevertheless, instead of going for maximum virtuoso effect, he subordinated technical brilliance to the musical material. The finest of Crusells concertos, and the high point of his output as a composer, is the nobly melodic Concerto in F minor premiered by Crusell in 1815. Crusell also wrote other works for solo instruments and orchestra, the most substantial of which is the Sinfonia concertante in B flat major (premiere in 1808) for clarinet, horn, bassoon and orchestra. Other such works are the set of variations Introduction et Airs sudois vari (premiered in 1804) for clarinet and orchestra and his last instrumental work, the Concertino in B flat major (1829)
II Officers and Gentlemen 21
for bassoon and orchestra. Of his dozen chamber music works, the three Clarinet Quartets are the most important. Although the clarinet has the dominant role over the strings, the clarinet parts are not as demanding as in the concertos; they were obviously written for the advanced amateur and the salon rather than the concert hall. Crusells most extensive work is the Singspiel Den lilla slavinnan (The Little Slave Girl). It was premiered with great success in Stockholm in February 1824, and during Crusells lifetime it had no fewer than 34 performances in Stockholm. It is based on the familiar tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and accordingly it is a comic work slightly coloured with Oriental exoticism. It is a Singspiel rather than an opera proper since there is more spoken text than music; yet the music alone lasts almost an hour. Crusells output of solo songs and choral songs show signs of emerging Romanticism.
III Romancing the Tone

Music in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland
The repercussions of Napoleons expansionism extended far into the northern reaches of Europe. In February 1808 as per the agreement between Tsar Alexander I and Napoleon Russian troops crossed the eastern border of Sweden into Finland in order to coerce Sweden to join the coalition against England. The assault soon escalated into a full-scale war of conquest, known later as the War of Finland (180809), and Finland was completely annexed by Russia. This was a crucial turning point in Finnish political history: Finland now became an autonomous Grand Duchy with her own laws, her own administration and eventually her own currency; as Tsar Alexander said at the Porvoo Diet in 1809, Finland had been elevated to become a nation among nations. The war caused an upheaval not only of Finlands political status but of her internal balance too. Viipuri, an important cultural city, which had been taken by Russia in 1710, was now reunited with Finland. Turku lost its status as Finlands capital in 1812 when Helsinki, which lay closer to Russia, was declared capital. Initially, this had little impact on musical life, since Turku remained the leading cultural city in the land for almost two decades. The fatal blow came with the devastating Fire of Turku in September 1827, followed by the University (formerly the Academy) being moved to Helsinki in the following year. In the new capital, the University quickly became the centre of musical life. Central European Romanticism arrived in Finland over the frozen sea in the guise of German composer Fredrik Pacius in February 1835. Music by early Romantic composers had in fact been performed in Turku and Helsinki prior to his arrival, but he was the first Romantic composer to work in Finland. However, Romanticism never achieved such profundity in Finland as can be found in the demonic depths of Berlioz and Liszt, for instance.
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22 inventing finnish music
Typical genres of the era such as opera and large orchestral works remained all but untouched until the final years of the 19th century. Finnish Romanticism most of all resembled the Biedermeier style, a model of bourgeois idyll and stability, although its most important manifestation, the piano miniature, did not gain central importance in the output of Finnish composers. Small-scale vocal music was the order of the day. It is not difficult to imagine why there were no orchestral works or operas. Although both Helsinki and Turku had an orchestra, the institutions were not established enough to generate a real demand for orchestral music. There were no properly trained composers in the land. Opera was at an even more rudimentary stage, initially completely dependent on performances by foreign, mainly German, itinerant companies. After the first opera performance in Finland in 1768, the next one may not have been until 1813, when Mozarts Cos fan tutte or parts of it were performed in German. From the 1820s onwards, foreign companies began to visit Helsinki, Turku and Viipuri more regularly, and over the next few decades Finnish audiences were treated to performances of Mozarts Lenozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Die Zauberflte, Beethovens Fidelio, Webers Der Freischtz and Rossinis Il barbiere di Siviglia, together with a host of now-forgotten works. It was not until March 1849 that the time was ripe for a performance of an entire opera Rossinis Il barbiere di Siviglia by wholly Finnish forces in Helsinki.
Paciuss roles as a composer and an organizer merged in the highly successful premiere of his principal work, the opera Kung Karls jakt (The Hunt of King Charles) in Helsinki in March 1852. The work reflects both German and Italian opera: Beethovens Fidelio and Webers Der Freischtz and Oberon on one hand, and Bellini, Donizetti and early Verdi on the other. Kung Karls jakt is, like Fidelio, an opera of redemption with a plucky young heroine. Itis scarcely a coincidence that Paciuss heroine is named Leonora.
The first Finnish opera

Kung Karls jakt (The Hunt of King Charles) by Fredrik Pacius was the first opera composed and produced in Finland. Its premiere in 1852 was a truly gigantic venture, and because the company consisted mostly of enthusiastic amateurs, the production required no fewer than 74 rehearsals. The production was a huge success, however, and it was also well received in Stockholm in 1856. Pacius revised the work for the Stockholm performances, and for later revivals in Helsinki he revised it yet again on two occasions, in 1870 and 1879. Kung Karls jakt was written at a time when Finlands status as an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire was not yet threatened. The opera is not in fact a document of national awakening but a rather neutral show of patriotism geared more towards demonstrating the faithfulness of Finnish subjects towards their monarch, even though the action is set in the idealized era of Swedish rule. The sheer size of Kung Karls jakt as a composition and as a production, on the other hand, is a clear demonstration of nationalist efforts. Kung Karls jakt is not only a historical milestone; it has proved successful in modern revivals too. A recording was released in 1991 to general acclaim, and in the year 2000 it was staged in two separate productions in Finland. The Finnish National Opera has staged a new production in early 2007.
The Finnish National Opera staged its first ever Swedish-language production of Kung Karls jakt in early 2007.
Fredrik Pacius and the road to Romanticism

Fredrik Pacius (18091891) has been given the honorific the father of Finnish music, due probably as much to his efforts as an organizer as to his work as a composer. He was born in Hamburg and studied in Kassel; his violin teacher was Louis Spohr. Before coming to Helsinki, he played violin with the Royal Court Orchestra in Stockholm. In Helsinki, he held the post of music teacher at the University from 1835 to 1867, but he also acted as an organizer in all manner of musical events. He organized orchestra concerts, often appearing as violin soloist himself, and great oratorio performances unprecedented in Helsinki. 24 inventing finnish music
fredrik pacius
III Romancing the Tone 25
Pacius wrote another opera, Die Loreley, based on German mythology, and a Singspiel entitled Princessan af Cypern (The Princess of Cyprus, 1860), which despite its Mediterranean title is based on a story from the Kalevala. Die Loreley was premiered in 1887 but has been completely overshadowed by Kung Karls jakt. Pacius also wrote instrumental music and vocal works. His early works written in Germany include the Overture in E flat major and the String Quartet in E flat major, both written in 1826. While in Finland, he wrote the single-movement Violin Concerto in Fsharp minor (1845), rhapsodic in form but idiomatically written, and a movement for a Symphony in D minor (1850). Paciuss vocal output includes cantatas, choral songs and solo songs; he also wrote the song that became the Finnish national anthem, Vrt land (Our land, 1848). This and certain other patriotic songs have further strengthened his epithet, the father of Finnish music. axel gabriel ingelius Soon after Paciuss Kung Karls jakt, Axel Gabriel Ingelius (1822 1868) also tried his hand at writing an opera. The result, Junkerns frmyndare (The Junkers Guardian, 1853) [Junker is a German term for a young nobleman], is an utter curiosity which was never performed and of which only fragments survive. Before his opera, Ingelius had written the first Finnish symphony. His Symphony (1847) is hopelessly amateurish but not wholly without interest: itsthird movement, Scherzo finnico, is in the unusual metre of 5/4, following the pattern of ancient Finnish runo chants. Ingelius came to a tragic end, freezing to death in a snowstorm in winter. Another amateur composer of his generation, August Engelberg (18171850), also died prematurely, drowning himself in Aura River in Turku on the 100th anniversary of the death of J.S. Bach. Ingeliuss output further includes about a hundred solo songs and choral songs. Fredrik August Ehrstrm (18011850) and Gabriel Linsn (18381914) also focused on vocal music, and both are known today by virtue of a handful of well-written miniatures: Ehrstrm mainly for Svanen (The swan, 1833) and Vid en klla (At a spring, 1834) for male voice choir, and Linsn mainly for Kespiv Kangasalla (Summer day in Kangasala, 1864), originally 26 inventing finnish music
written for female choir but today a favourite with all Finnish choirs. The most important Finnish composer of vocal music in the mid-19th century was Karl Collan (18281871). Like many of his contemporaries, he was an amateur and an autodidact as a composer, but his solo songs are inspired works of a wholly professional standard. The literary genre of Lied was a natural choice for him, since he created a career as a linguist and literature expert. He translated the Kalevala into Swedish in 186468 and collected folk tunes. Collan published his first collection of songs at the age of nineteen in 1847 and eventually published eight collections containing a total of 45 songs. Collans songs echo the Central European Lied tradition of Schubert and Mendelssohn, partly because Collan set some poems by German poets such as Joseph von Eichendorff and Heinrich Heine. Collans songs show very little in the way of Finnish flavour, and the national dimension in his work consists largely of his setting texts by important contemporary Finnish authors such as Johan Ludvig Runeberg and Zacharias Topelius. The Finnish texts that Collan set are all inSwedish except for Savolaisen laulu (Song of Savo). Pacius was not the only German-born musician working in Finland in the 19th century. Konrad Greve (18201851), who died quite young, arrived in Finland in 1842 and was active as a conductor in Turku. He revisited the Leipzig Conservatory for further studies on a number of occasions. His output includes some orchestral works, some instrumental works and incidental music for plays. Richard Faltin (18351918) was also a Germanborn musician; he studied in Leipzig and moved to Finland in 1856, working first in Viipuri and from 1869 in Helsinki. Faltins output consists mostly of sacred music, and his main contribution was his work as a teacher and a conductor, and as a leading figure in the musical community as a whole. The work of Pacius, Greve and Faltin highlights the German affinities of Finnish music and Finnish culture in general in
karl collan
konrad greve richard faltin
the 19th century. Finland, though part of Russia, was firmly oriented towards the West. When Finnish musicians began to go abroad to study in the late 19th century, they invariably went to Germany despite the availability from the 1860s onwards of the Conservatories in St Petersburg and Moscow led by the Rubinstein brothers. In fact, there is a case to be made for a Leipzig School of Finnish composers in the late 19th century, since it was the famous Leipzig Conservatory that attracted the most musicians from Finland, as indeed from other Scandinavian countries. filip von schantz ernst fabritius The most important composers among the first group to study in Leipzig in the late 1850s were Filip von Schantz (18351865) and Ernst Fabritius (18421899). von Schantz was conductor of the theatre orchestra in Helsinki in the 1860s and wrote his Kullervo Overture (1860), reflecting the influence of Beethoven and German early Romanticism, for the inauguration of the new theatre building. This was apparently the first composition to have been inspired by the Finnish national epic. Von Schantz also wrote vocal music. Ernst Fabritius was a more significant composer than von Schantz, who died at an early age, though Fabritiuss career too was interrupted. His health prevented him from pursuing a career as a violinist; instead, he went into agriculture. Fabritiuss output as a composer belongs to the High Romantic era, with influences from Schumann and Mendelssohn, and in some cases Chopin. Fabritius was important in the sense that although he wrote some 30 solo songs, he focused on instrumental music unlike the mainstream composers of the day. His principal work is the instrumentally idiomatic Violin Concerto in D minor (1878). His other major instrumental works include the six-movement suite En barndomsdag (A Day in Childhood, 1884) for violin and piano. He also worked on a Symphony in the 1870s but only completed two movements.
Theoldest Finnish choir still in existence is the Swedish-speaking students male voice choir Akademiska Sngfreningen, founded in 1838. The choir later became bilingual, but the language conflict led the Finnish-speaking members to resign in 1882 and to found their own male voice choir in the following year, Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat (the Helsinki University Chorus, YL). The founding conductor was P.J. Hannikainen (18541924), who is also known as a choral composer. Another well-known choral composer and choir activist of the time was Emil Genetz (18521930). The productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia and Paciuss Kung Karls jakt with wholly Finnish forces in 1849 and 1852, respectively, were not enough to spur a permanent and regular opera tradition; opera performances continued to be sporadically mounted mainly by foreign itinerant companies. However, these performances did have the effect of bringing important Romantic operas to Finland. For instance, works by Meyerbeer, Auber, Verdi and Wagner were performed in Finland in the 1850s. There were domestic performances too, such as the first opera performance in Finnish a production of Verdis Il trovatore organized by the Suomalainen Seura (Finnish Society) in 1870. The first serious attempt at founding a regular opera company was made by Kaarlo Bergbom, a pioneer in Finnish theatre. He was director of the Finnish Theatre, which had a singing department known as the Finnish Opera from 1873 to 1879. Over six years, the department mounted performances in Finnish of some 30 operas, quite a respectable selection of the major repertoire. Unfortunately, Bergboms venture succumbed to financial difficulties, partly because the Swedish-speaking New Theatre was mounting opera performances at the same time; the latter performed 25 operas and almost as many operettas in the 1870s, but in 1880 was also forced to close down. A new era in Finnish music began in 1882 with the founding of the Helsinki Music Institute (now the Sibelius Academy) by Martin Wegelius (18461906) and of the Helsinki Orchestra Society (now the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra) by Robert Kajanus (1856 1933). The latter was the first professional symphony orchestra in
Shaping the structures of musical life

There were several, mostly short-lived, attempts to found an orchestra in Helsinki in the 19th century. There were orchestras in Turku and Viipuri apart from Helsinki. Choral singing began to establish itself in the 19th century, particularly in academia. 28 inventing finnish music
martin wegelius robert kajanus
robert kajanus
the Nordic countries. Both institutions were of crucial importance to the development of Finnish music: we need only consider the case of Sibelius, who studied at Wegeliuss Music Institute and whose music was championed by Kajanus with his orchestra. It is all the more deplorable, therefore, that Wegelius and Kajanus were bitter rivals; the conflict poisoned the atmosphere in Helsinki and wasted precious resources. To prevent confusion, we should perhaps note at this point that the institution founded as the Helsinki Music Institute (1882) was first renamed the Helsinki Conservatory (1924) and finally the Sibelius Academy (1939), while the completely separate institution founded as the Helsinki Folk Conservatory (1922) was more recently renamed the Helsinki Conservatory (1971) and is today a part of Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia. Both Wegelius and Kajanus had studied in Leipzig; Wegelius had also studied in Vienna and Munich, and Kajanus had studied in Dresden and Paris. Although Wegelius all but abandoned composition after founding the Music Institute, he had originally intended to become a composer, and he left quite a substantial output consisting of a handful of orchestral works, chamber music and vocal music. Wegelius admired Wagner above all, although his own music is written in a more general Romantic idiom. Kajanus was more significant as a composer than Wegelius. He also admired Wagner, except that in his music this admiration was clearly evident. In view of Kajanuss career as an orchestra conductor it is scarcely surprising that his orchestral works are his best works so much so that he was the most important orchestral composer in Finland before Sibelius. Kajanuss chamber music works and most of his piano works are early works from his student days in the 1870s; he continued to write orchestral works later, although with the emergence of Sibelius in the 1890s Kajanus began to focus on conducting. Kajanus was one of the first Finnish composers to highlight the national dimension. This was apparent in his choices of subject, as in Kullervon surumarssi (Kullervos Funeral March, 1880) for orchestra, based on a topic from the Kalevala, and in his quoting of Finnish folk tunes as in the two pieces entitled Suomalainen 30 inventing finnish music
rapsodia (Finnish Rhapsody, 1881, 1886). Kajanuss principal work is the tone poem Aino (1885), where a topic from the Kalevala merges with a Wagnerian chromatic idiom, with a male voice choir added at the end. The most merited of Kajanuss later works is the elegant Sinfonietta in B flat major (1915). In his late period, Kajanus approached Classical ideals and even touched upon the then current Neo-Classicism. The history of Finnish music has no shortage of composers who met with a tragic untimely death. In the 19th century, there were Engelberg, who drowned himself in Aura River in Turku; Ingelius, who froze to death; von Schantz, who died of typhoid; Collan, who died of cholera; and Ernst Mielck (18771899). Mielck was one of the greatest promising talents in the history of Finnish music. He died of tuberculosis at the early age of 21, but not before writing a number of extensive instrumental works demonstrating a solid professional skill and a high degree of innovation; these include the first substantial Finnish symphony, completed in 1897 two years before Sibeliuss First. Mielck was not simply a natural talent; he also received an excellent education. Instead of studying at the Helsinki Music Institute, he went directly abroad from his native Viipuri. At the age of fourteen, he was accepted for the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, studying there from 1891 to 1894. He returned to Berlin on two further occasions, in 189596 and 189798, studying with Max Bruch. Mielck also studied the piano. He made his breakthrough in Finland with a composition concert in spring 1897; on the programme were his String Quintet in F major (1897) and Symphony in F minor (1897). Mielcks brief career culminated in a composition concert given in Berlin in December 1898: the orchestra was the Berlin Philharmonic, and the programme included the Symphony, the Dramatic Overture (1898) and the Concert Piece for piano and orchestra (1898), with Mielck himself as the soloist. Although Mielck belongs to a generation of Late Romantics on the basis of his birth date, his output places him in the genre of Central European High Romanticism. His main influences were
ernst mielck
Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms; even his Romantic influences were thus those who were the most faithful in observing the legacy of the Classical period. Mielcks style, although slightly old-fashioned for his time, is confident and natural in its shaping of harmonic structures and overall form. It is also worth remembering that Mielck never progressed beyond his early period. There are moments in his output as in the Concert Piece for piano and orchestra and in Suomalainen sarja (Finnish Suite, 1899) for orchestra where he incorporates Finnish folk tunes, showing that he was not completely aloof of National Romanticism even if he did not actively engage in it.
IV The Mighty Spring Tide of Finnish Music

National Romanticism and Late Romanticism
When Finland belonged to Sweden, such concepts as Finland and Finnish were quite vague and usually free of any patriotic emotional overtones. Finland was felt to be a natural part of Sweden, and few composers or any other cultural figures had any thought for Finlands nationality. Indeed, Finnish national feeling only began to emerge in a serious sense after Finland had been annexed by Russia. Cultural life in Finland in the 19th century was tinted by the increasingly strong sense of national awakening, crystallized in an often-repeated catchphrase: We are not Swedish, we will not become Russian, let us therefore be Finnish. National sentiments were kindled in the early years of autonomy within the movement known as Turku Romanticism. This was a movement born in the Academy, or University, when it was still in Turku; it followed the University to Helsinki in 1828 and found a new life in the meetings of the Saturday Society in the new capital. Several major cultural figures emerged from the Society, such as Elias Lnnrot, who collected folk poetry and collated the national epic, the Kalevala ; Johan Ludvig Runeberg, who became Finlands national poet; and philosopher Johan Vilhelm Snellman, who laid the groundwork for a nation-state by promoting the use of the Finnish language even among the intelligentsia. One of Snellmans dreams, literature in Finnish, began to come true in the 1860s with the works of Aleksis Kivi, the best-known of which are the comedy Nummisuutarit (Cobblers on the Heath, 1864) and the novel Seitsemn veljest (Seven Brothers, 1870). The efforts to create an original national culture culminated in what is known as the Golden Age of Finnish Art in the late 19th and early 20th century. Although the epithet was originally golden age of finnish art
The language issue

Finland is a bilingual land, and this has shaped her culture. After centuries of belonging to Sweden, Finland retained Swedish as the language of the upper classes and of higher education even under Russian rule. The majority of the population, however, spoke Finnish; but it was not until 1863 that Finnish was granted equal status with Swedish in law. There were tensions between the two language groups in the late 19th century, often with repercussions on the cultural front too. The division was starkest in the 1880s and immediately after Finland gained her independence, in the 1920s. This division had an impact on music as well. The language conflict subsided after the Second World War. Today, bilingualism is usually regarded as a great cultural richness, and the status of the Swedish language in Finland is safeguarded in many ways even though the overwhelming majority of the population is Finnish-speaking. It is thanks to bilingualism that the historically and socially important connections with Sweden and the other Nordic countries have been maintained. The Swedish-speaking minority accounts for under six per cent of the population today, but its contribution to Finnish culture in relative terms continues to be vastly greater. Unlike Swedish and the other Nordic languages, Finnish is not an Indo-European language; it belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family. It is closely related to Estonian and remotely related to Hungarian. It is also related to the third official language of Finland, Smi, spoken in the northernmost reaches of Lapland.
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only applied to fine arts, the contribution of authors, architects, dramatists and musicians were quite as important in raising Finnish art to an unprecedented flourish. Finnish artists at that time travelled extensively in Europe and were well acquainted with the latest international trends, and even though the art of the Golden Age was for the most part affirmatively national, it represented a synthesis of national and international influences. For example, the leading architects of the time such as Lars Sonck or the trio of Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen merged the international Art Nouveau style with National Romanticism in their buildings. The national awakening was considerably aggravated by the oppressive measures levelled by the Russian Government at Finland especially after the accession of Alexander III in 1881 and most seriously during the two Oppression Periods under Nicholas II (18991905 and 190817). Art thus became inextricably entwined with Finlands struggle for independence. As with the National Romantic movement elsewhere in Europe, in Finnish music the national dimension manifested itself in national subjects on one hand depictions of the natural environment or the mythology of the Kalevala and in the use of folk music on the other. There were indications of this even before the Golden Age, for instance in the Kullervo Overture (1860) of von Schantz or the folk song quotes in the works of Kajanus in the 1880s. Still, it was not until Sibeliuss work in the 1890s that a more profound and original national voice was discovered. In a speech which Kajanus gave at the celebrations for Sibeliuss 50th birthday, he described Finnish music before Sibelius including his own work as a feeble offshoot of the German school onto which Finnish folk music elements were, shall we say, ethnographically grafted. National Romanticism arrived in Finnish music comparatively late in the European context. In many cases, it merged with Late Romanticism, and these two can easily be discussed in parallel. The output of some Late Romantics such as Selim Palmgren, Erkki Melartin and Ilmari Hannikainen contains Impressionist elements. On the other hand, there was also a more balanced and 34 inventing finnish music
Classical tendency in Finnish Late Romanticism, above all in the work of Sibelius and Leevi Madetoja. The boom in Finnish music around the turn of the 20th century rested largely on the foundation laid by Wegelius and Kajanus. Virtually all Finnish composers of the time except for Mielck entered the Helsinki Music Institute, which Wegelius had founded, and Kajanuss orchestra promoted the music of not only Sibelius but other Finnish composers too. Kajanus soon raised his orchestra to an international standard, and in 1900 it went on its well-received first foreign tour, culminating in performances in Berlin and at the World Fair in Paris. When Gustav Mahler visited Helsinki in autumn 1907 to conduct the orchestra, he wrote to his wife: The orchestra is amazingly good and well trained, which speaks well for the Director of Music here Kajanus, who has of course a great reputation in the musical world. Apart from Helsinki, orchestras also existed in Turku and Viipuri; soon smaller towns too began to found orchestras, largely maintained by music societies with an amateur membership. Orchestras founded around the turn of the century include those of Mikkeli (1903), Kotka (1904), Kuopio (1904), Oulu (1906) and Lahti (1909). However, many orchestras suffered from financial difficulties, even Kajanuss orchestra in Helsinki. The Imperial Senate discontinued government aid to the orchestra in 1911. This launched a process that resulted in a bizarre situation: between 1912 and 1914, Helsinki still a smallish city of 150,000 inhabitants had two rival 60-member symphony orchestras. The episode, known as the orchestra row or even orchestra war, ended with the merger of the two orchestras into the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. The Finnish concert calendar was augmented by foreign stars who often stopped to perform in Finland, especially Helsinki and Viipuri, en route to or from St Petersburg. Finnish culture benefited greatly from the proximity of St Petersburg, and there was close cooperation between Finnish and Russian musicians. These close contacts demonstrate that artists and the intelligentsia were capable of rising above the conflicts and tensions that characterized the political relations between Finland and Russia at the time.
IV The Mighty Spring Tide of Finnish Music 35
helsinki music institute and orchestras
the choral movement
The strengthening of the choral movement was an important element in Finnish music around the turn of the 20th century. Its most visible manifestation was the great song festival tradition, inspired by the similar tradition in Estonia that had emerged somewhat earlier. Preceded by the festival sing of the Folk Education Society organized in Jyvskyl in 1881, the first proper song festival was held in 1884. From the 1890s onwards, the song festival tradition often underpinned by a strong nationalistspirit flourished in Finland and helped disseminate music among the public at large. As recently as at the beginning of the 20th century, the only opera performances in Finland were individual productions mounted by dedicated conductors such as Robert Kajanus, Armas Jrnefelt and Oskar Merikanto. There was a desperate need to found apermanent opera company. This dream finally came true with the founding of the Domestic Opera in 1911. It was renamed the Finnish Opera in 1914 and the Finnish National Opera in 1956. Aballet company, today the Finnish National Ballet, was founded in conjunction with the Opera in 1922. The opera boom of the early 20th century also gave rise to the opera productions organized by star soprano Aino Ackt in the Medieval castle of Olavinlinna in Savonlinna (Nyslott) in 191214, 1916 and 1930, the forerunner of todays Savonlinna Opera Festival. Furthermore, this period saw the first wave of Finnish operas, written by composers such as Jean Sibelius, Oskar Merikanto, Erkki Melartin, Selim Palmgren, Armas Launis and Leevi Madetoja.
The Kalevala, Finlands national epic

Folk poetry was of essential importance in the forming of the Finnish national identity in the 19th century. The ideological basis for this was the contention of German poet and philosopher Johann Gottfried von Herder that folk poetry is the mirror of the soul of its people. Folk poetry collecting was begun in Finland as early as in the 18th century by the Enlightenment-minded historian Henrik Gabriel Porthan; however, the best-known folk poetry collector in Finland was Elias Lnnrot (1802 1884), who compiled Finlands national epic. Lnnrot developed a passion for folk poetry while studying at the Academy of Turku in the 1820s. From 1828 onwards, he went on a total of eleven trips to collect folk poetry, exploring regions from Estonia in the south to Finnish Lapland in the north and from the Tampere area in the west to deepest East Karelia in the east. Lnnrot began publishing his harvest from 1829 onwards. In 1833, he published the Runokokous Vinmisest (Poetry collection on Vinminen, also known as the Ur-Kalevala), followed by the first version of the Kalevala in 183536 (the Old Kalevala) and the final version in 1849. This was nearly double the size of the first version and contained 50 runos or cantos, with a total of 22,795 lines. Lnnrot also published a volume of lyrical folk poetry entitled the Kanteletar (184041). The folk poems collected by Lnnrot did not in themselves form a coherent epic, nor was there any underlying single narrative from which they were derived. In fact, some actions are ascribed to different characters in different versions of certain stories. In compiling the epic, Lnnrot performed a huge task in selecting the most suitable variants and assembling the disparate materials into acoherent whole, inserting lines he wrote himself where necessary. Critics of his editorial work claim that the final result is not so much folk poetry as a Romantic notion of folk poetry, although Lnnrots addenda account for less than 3% of the total. The fundamental tension underlying the narrative in the final version of the Kalevala is the power struggle between Kalevala and Pohjola (the North), which involves several interconnected and separate episodes. The work as a whole is immensely rich and touches on profound questions of life and death. Characters such as Vinminen, Ilmarinen, Joukahainen, Aino, Lemminkinen, Lemminkinens Mother,
Pages from the folk poetry notes of Elias Lnnrot.
opera
Louhi, Kyllikki, the Maiden of the North and Kullervo have become deeply ingrained in the Finnish psyche as archetypal yet touchingly human figures. The Kalevala had a huge impact on Finnish self-esteem. It was a major work of poetry that lifted Finland to the domain of high culture and gave the nation a bold mythological history. It highlighted the national characteristics lauded by Herder, and its importance was acknowledged internationally. The Old Kalevala was translated into Swedish and French as early as in 1841 and 1845, respectively, while the final version of the Kalevala was first translated into German (1852) and Swedish (1864), and today exists in full translations in over 40 languages and in abridged form in many more. It is impossible to overestimate the influence that the Kalevala has had on Finnish fine arts, literature and music. This influence peaked during the National Romantic period in the late 19th century with the emergence of Karelianism, a movement largely inspired by the Kalevala. It was in the eastern reaches of Finland in Karelia that the oral folk poetry tradition had been best preserved, and it was to Karelia that enthusiasts began to make pilgrimages, seeking the original roots of the Finns. Even after that era, the influence of the Kalevala has remained significant, and its being open to a wide variety of interpretations has enabled it to influence contemporary artists too. The first composition on a Kalevala topic was the Kullervo Overture (1860) by Filip von Schantz. The same year also saw the completion of the musical play Prinsessan av Cypern (The Princess of Cyprus) by Fredrik
Pacius, where the story of Lemminkinen and Kyllikki from the Kalevala was partly set in the Mediterranean. The next important Kalevala compositions were written by Robert Kajanus Kullervon surumarssi (Kullervos Funeral March, 1880) and Aino (1885). However, in the case of Pacius, von Schantz and Kajanus we find not so much a national musical idiom as an uneasy marriage of Central European Romanticism to Finnish topics. It was not until Jean Sibelius wrote his Kullervo (1892) that a true national musical language emerged. Sibeliuss other major Kalevala works include the Lemminkinen Suite (1896), Pohjolan tytr (Pohjolas Daughter, 1906), Luonnotar (1913) and Tapiola (1926). Sibelius was the most important Kalevala composer. His work was so overwhelming that achieving an original and credible Kalevala style seemed almost impossible for anyone else. Nevertheless, many of the Romantic composers following him wrote significant Kalevala works, including Erkki Melartin and Leevi Madetoja. Uuno Klami made the best use of the Kalevala among the 1920s Modernists; his Kalevalasarja (Kalevala Suite, 1933/43) heralds a clear departure from the models laid down by Sibelius. The national epic has also provided material for Finnish opera composers, beginning with Oskar Merikanto in his Pohjan neiti (The Maiden of the North, 1898) but not limited to the National Romantics, as the contemporary operas Kullervo (1988) by Aulis Sallinen and idit ja tyttret (Mothers and Daughters, 1998) by Tapio Tuomela demonstrate. Other contemporary composers inspired by the Kalevala are Tauno Marttinen, Einojuhani Rautavaara and Erik Bergman.
Finnish folk music

Folk music has probably always served as a source of inspiration for composers of concert music, but it gained a particularly high degree of significance during the National Romantic era. In Finland too, composers sought a national tone through using folk music in their works in avariety of ways either using folk tunes as such or assimilating folk music influences into their musical idiom. Finnish folk music contains several layers and regional variations under which two main strands can be identified. The first and older of these is the tradition of runo songs or chants, laments and herdsmens tunes, the Eastern strand usually known as the Kalevala tradition. Its symbol is what is known as the Kalevala tune, a binary five-beat melodic formula with dozens of variations, suitable for reciting the poetry of the national epic. The kantele, Finlands national instrument, stems from this tradition, as do a number of herdsmens instruments. The second and newer strand is the Western style of instrumental fiddler music that began to develop in the 18th century, with the violin as the principal instrument and various dances forming important genres. There is actually also a third strand in the north of Finland, the yoik tradition of the Smi, who inhabit northern Scandinavia and northwestern Russia. This rough division does not begin to do justice to the full spectrum of Finnish folk music, but it does reflect the approaches of Finnish composers to folk music. Jean Sibelius, for instance, although he never used actual folk tunes in his music, was influenced by the older Eastern tradition, with which he had become acKantele player Teppana Jnis from Suistamo, photographed by musicologist A. O. Visnen in 1916 or 1917.
quainted for instance through the singing of the famous Ingrian runo singer Larin Paraske (1833 1904). Broadly speaking, those composers who have explored the runo singing tradition seem to have had the most original and profound relationship to folk tradition. By contrast, influences from the newer Western tradition often manifest themselves as simple folk song arrangements and folk tune quotes. Smi folk music has had less of an impact on Finnish composers, though there are a number of notable exceptions, the earliest being the opera Aslak Hetta (1930) by Armas Launis. The influence of Finnish folk music was not confined to the National Romantic era. Even Aarre Merikanto and Uuno Klami, who were 1920s Modernists, used folk-like themes in their works, creating a sort of National Modernism much like Stravinsky or Bartk. After the war, many Finnish composers have made use of Finnish folk music in one way or another; of living composers, we might mention Pehr Henrik Nordgren, Pekka Kostiainen and Pekka Jalkanen and, more infrequently, Tapio Tuomela and Veli-Matti Puumala.
Jean Sibelius: The symphonic master

The premiere of the tone poem Kullervo (1892) by Jean Sibelius (18651957) on April 28, 1892 was a key moment in the history of Finnish music. Kullervo was Sibeliuss first significant extensive work, and the most original and powerful work ever written in Finland up to that time. The audience in the Great Hall of the 40 inventing finnish music
University of Helsinki received the work with rapturous acclaim but also with some confusion. That evening, as Kajanus later observed, the mighty spring tide of Finnish music burst out of the wilderness with a roar. Few composers can have been more fortuitously in the right place at the right time as Sibelius. He arrived in Helsinki in 1885, only three years after the founding of the Music Institute and an orchestra in Helsinki. Had these two institutions not existed, his development might have been stunted, or his talent might even have remained hidden. Also, with the Tsarist regime tightening its grip on Finland, there was a niche in the collective consciousness for a quintessentially Finnish master composer. Sibelius studied at the Helsinki Music Institute from 1885 to 1889. He went on to study abroad, not in Leipzig like many of his predecessors but in Berlin, studying with Albert Becker in 188990. His second study trip took him to Vienna to study with Robert Fuchs and Karl Goldmark in 189091. Before and during his studies, Sibelius wrote a substantial body of chamber music, including three String Quartets, two String Trios, two Violin Sonatas, five Piano Trios, two Piano Quartets, a Piano Quintet and several minor works. By contrast, he only wrote two orchestral works while studying, and against this background Kullervo was an astounding achievement. Reports of the premiere of Kullervo highlighted its genuine national flavour. The daily Pivlehti, for instance, declared: This is the first truly Finnish work of music. We should note that here as in his later output, Sibelius did not use actual folk tunes to create the appropriate mood, although influences from folk music are reflected in his themes and more generally in the archaic mood of his idiom. Erkki Salmenhaara summarized this in saying that Sibeliuss music was stylistically influenced to a great extent by the modality, endless repetition and narrow compass of ancient Finnish folk music and the rhythm of the Kalevala poetry much like primitive Russian folk music was later to influence the music of Stravinsky. The major works of Sibeliuss early National Romantic period, apart from Kullervo, were En Saga (1892/1902) and Lemminkinen
(1896), a set of four legends for orchestra that is also known as the Lemminkinen Suite. The latter reflects the increased importance of international influences, in this case Wagner and Liszt in particular and Symbolism in general. The national element is further sidelined in the First (1899) and Second (1902) Symphonies. Sibeliuss idiom remained clearly Late Romantic even in the Violin Concerto (1903/05) and the tone poem Pohjolan tytr (Pohjolas Daughter, 1906), but with the Third Symphony (1907) he turned towards amore restrained, lucid and Classical style. The Fourth Symphony (1911) is an extreme example of Classical simplification. Its severity and tonal ambivalence link it to Expressionism. Around this time, Sibelius wrote other introvert works, and it was not until the tone poem Aallottaret (The Oceanides, 1914) that he made a departure towards a brighter Impressionist tone. The bold and assertive Fifth Symphony (1915/16/19), which was long in the writing, is also lucid and colourful. The Sixth (1923) and Seventh (1924) Symphonies are the work of a serene, balanced and Classically oriented master in complete control of his material. Sibeliuss final masterpiece is Tapiola (1926), a heavily charged tone poem inspired by Finlands forests. Sibelius progressed along two parallel lines: from the national to the universal on one hand, and from the Romantic to the Classical on the other. It should be noted, however, that Sibeliuss late works are not Classical in the sense of Neo-Classicism; the Classical turn involves more a crystallization and balancing of style and idiom within the context of late Romanticism. Sibelius travelled actively in the musical centres of Europe, such as Berlin, Paris and London, after completing his studies. He kept up to date with new trends and knew what music was being written in various parts of the world. Although he assimilated influences, he never compromised his own originality. For example, in the early Lemminkinen Suite, the Wagner and Liszt influences are wholly integrated into his own language. Another case in point is the tone poem Pohjolan tytr, whose orchestral splendour has often been compared to that of Richard Strauss. It is possible and even probable that Sibelius had Strauss in mind when writing the work, but instead of imitating Strausss style he wrote music where grand 42 inventing finnish music
orchestral gestures play an important role just as in Strausss music. A similar relationship may be identified between Aallottaret and the Impressionism of Debussy. Sibelius often used the expression categoric imperative, borrowed from Kant, to describe the uncompromising creative drive that dominated his work. A powerful example of this is the painful gestation of the Fifth Symphony, which only ended with the third version of the work. During the process, in April 1915, Sibelius wrote in his diary: Disposition of themes. This important work that fascinates me in a mysterious way. As if God had thrown down pieces of mosaic from the floor of heaven and told me to find out what the pattern had been. For Sibelius, composing was not pouring music into an existing form but seeking the individual form required by the material at hand. He said that he was a slave to his themes and that it was the themes which determined form in his symphonies. The Seventh Symphony fell into a unique single-movement structure, foreshadowed by the fusion of two movements into one in the Second, Third and Fifth Symphonies. Sibeliuss music is held together by a tight network of motifs, and in this respect he is closely related to Brahms despite the vast difference in idiom. Sibeliuss output is quite extensive, a total of 550 to 600 works depending on how they are counted. The core of his output consists of his seven symphonies and the tone poems, and he is generally considered a master of the orchestra. But the rest of his output contains a wealth of valuable music too. The Violin Concerto is the most popular and most frequently recorded 20th-century concerto, an exceptionally coherent merger of symphonic writing and virtuoso technique. Sibeliuss chamber music dates mostly from his youth and is not in all cases stylistically or technically distinguished; but this category too contains interesting works. His major mature chamber music work, the String Quartet Voces intimae (1909), is in a class of its own. Sibeliuss piano music is uneven in quality much like his chamber music, but for instance the elegance and Classical style of the two small Rondinos (1911) and three Sonatinas (1912) are quite unique for their time. In several miniatures too he managed to capture the essence of the piano.
Sibeliuss output also extends beyond absolute music. His incidental music for stage plays range from the sophisticated and atmospheric Pellas et Mlisande (1905) and Joutsikki (Swanwhite, 1908) to the stylistically challenging Jokamies (Everyman, 1916) and the many-faceted Myrsky (The Tempest, 1925). By contrast, his only opera, Jungfrun i tornet (The Maiden in the Tower, 1896), suffers from a bland libretto and is not one of his major works. Sibelius was a significant composer of vocal music, though: Luonnotar (1913) for soprano and orchestra, a sort of blend of tone poem and orchestral song, is his most original vocal work. He also wrote over 90 solo songs of which some two dozen are undisputed miniature masterpieces. Sibelius enjoyed an almost wholly unassailable position in Finnish music from the very first. This was partly due to his lending a voice to Finlands independence aspirations in the 1890s not only by creating a Finnish national musical style but also by writing such inspiring patriotic pieces as Finlandia (1900). However, he retained his status as a national hero later too, when he had already turned to a more Classical and universal idiom. This admiration could escalate into blind worship at times, with all of Sibeliuss music being hailed as touched by genius. From the 1980s onwards, Sibeliuss personality and output have been subjected to a major reassessment. A darker side of his biography has been brought to light: his egotism, mood swings and profuse drinking. By contrast, reassessment of his music has deepened respect for his work. Whereas earlier the focus was on his importance in developing motif technique and original concepts of form, a wider variety of original features is now being highlighted: processing of time in music, with overlapping tempo layers; the creating of continuity not only through motif processing but through texture metamorphosis; and holistic orchestral thinking, with features that anticipate texture and sound field techniques. New approaches to Sibeliuss music show that although he was firmly seated in the realm of tonality, he was an innovator, not aconservative dwelling on the past.
Sibeliuss Second Symphony is it just music or a portrait of the independence struggle?

The premiere of Jean Sibeliuss Second Symphony (1902) in Helsinki on March 8, 1902 was one of the most tumultuous triumphs in the history of Finnish music. Whereas Paciuss Kung Karls jakt had been enthusiastically celebrated a half century earlier, and Sibeliuss breakthrough work Kullervo had been received with mixed emotions, Sibeliuss Second Symphony really touched a nerve with the public. The applause continued long after the orchestra had already left the stage, and the public continued to applaud the composer outside the concert hall. In the following days, the Symphony was performed three more times in Helsinki, each time to a full house. Esteemed critic Karl Flodin was no doubt correct in observing that Sibeliuss Second Symphony was less Finnish in tone than his First. Nevertheless, the reception of the Second Symphony was coloured by a nationalist viewpoint, and its impact was channelled particularly by the description written by Robert Kajanus. For example, he said of the slow movement that it has the effect of a crushing protest against all the injustice that threatens in our day to deprive the very sun of its light and our flowers of their fragrance. The finale, on the other hand, culminates in a triumph that engenders in the listener an impression of brighter and more comforting times to come. It was largely because of Kajanuss description that the public came to consider the symphony a symbol of Finlands struggle for independence from Russia. What also influenced this was that some time earlier Sibelius had indeed contributed to this struggle in writing Finlandia (1900). However, for him the Second Symphony was just music, with no programme content whatever. The reception and collective interpretation of the symphony is highly indicative of the public mood during what became known as the first Oppression Period. The noble triumphant conclusion of the symphony was something onto which the Finnish people, encumbered by Russian rule, could pin their aspirations and hopes.
The shadow of Sibelius

Sibeliuss major creative career lasted for four decades, from the early 1890s to the late 1920s. For many composers emerging during this period, he was an admired model and the unsurpassed maestro in Finnish music. Although Sibelius was generally encouraging towards his younger colleagues obviously realizing that there was no way that they could pose any serious competition he unwittingly cast a shadow that affected quite a few composers adversely. This mostly applies to composers of his own generation, of course, but the 1920s Modernists and even some post-war composers also had to deal with Sibeliuss overwhelming supremacy. Even as late as in 1996, Einar Englund titled his autobiography Iskuggan av Sibelius (In the shadow of Sibelius). armas jrnefelt One of the composers who suffered particularly hard was Armas Jrnefelt (18691958). Only four years younger than Sibelius, he emerged as an orchestral composer in the early 1890s in much the same way. His major influence was Wagner, with whose music he became acquainted while studying in Berlin in the early 1890s. He later said: I was overcome by an insatiable Wagner fever, I was like a drug addict. His most popular orchestral work is the tone poem Korsholma (1894), whose dramatic battle sequences fuse Wagnerian influences with Finnish nationalist elements. His major works of the 1890s also include the likewise Wagnerian Sinfoninen fantasia (Symphonic fantasy, 1895) and the tone poem Heimatklang (1895). Jrnefelt wrote several orchestral suites too, and in the early 20th century he wrote incidental music to a number of plays. He is also noted for writing one of the earliest Nordic film scores, for Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta (Song of the Scarlet Flower, 1919) by Swedish director Mauritz Stiller. But at the end of the day, Jrnefelt is best known for two melodically charming miniatures: Preludi (1900) and Berceuse (1904), the latter originally written for violin and piano but later published in an orchestral version. Jrnefelt also wrote a substantial body of solo songs and choral songs, and several festive cantatas. Jrnefelts creative spark began to dim as his career progressed, and he focused his energy on conducting. This was in part 46 inventing finnish music
because he perceived his talent to be inferior to that of Sibelius. Heexpressed this frustration more aptly than any of his colleagues, writing at an advanced age: Sibelius was for me like music incarnate. His bold and original approach was an inspiration, but the new and unreachable paths he was exploring confused and even paralyzed me. After hearing his music, I no longer felt like writing music of my own, it seemed hopeless to even contemplate such paths... Jrnefelt is only one example of the inner conflicts caused by Sibelius; Kajanus, for instance, said much the same at times. Although many later composers were influenced by Sibelius, he never engendered a school of followers; he was too individual as acomposer and too haphazard as a teacher, as witness a remark in aletter from Leevi Madetoja to Toivo Kuula in Paris in January 1910: Sibelius has been tutoring me. You know from your own experience that his tutoring is anything but detailed. Kuula and Madetoja were the most significant of the few students that Sibelius taught. Other important contemporary composers were Oskar Merikanto, Erkki Melartin and Selim Palmgren. It was largely due to the influence of Sibelius that orchestral music, and the symphony in particular, became the most respected genre in composition in Finland for a long time. Sibelius probably also influenced the Finnish symphonic style towards an ideal of coherent motif processing as opposed to the pluralism of Mahler. Melartin and Madetoja became important symphonic composers, while Palmgren focused on piano music, and Merikanto and Kuula created their finest work in vocal music.
Erkki Melartin: An eclectic Late Romantic

Erkki Melartin (18751937) was the most versatile of all Finnish Late Romantics. Although the bulk of his extensive output falls within the conventional nationally tinted Romanticism of his age, he also approached more modern means of expression such as Impressionism and even Expressionism in the 1920s. Melartins output centers on his six Symphonies. He was also the first in Finland after Pacius to write a substantial opera, and the first in Finland to write a full-length ballet. Another aspect of his persona
erkki melartin
as a composer may be found in his popular miniatures, many written in an accessible salon style. Melartin was also employed as Rector of the Helsinki Music Institute (the Helsinki Conservatory from 1924) from 1911 to 1936, in which post he demonstrated his visionary capacities. Melartins Symphonies are nearly contemporary with those of Sibelius, the first having been written in 1902 and the last in 1924. However, from the very first he pursued an approach commendably independent from that of Sibelius, and in fact he found a closer influence in Gustav Mahler, the complete antithesis of Sibelius as a symphonic composer. Melartin was the first to conduct a performance of Mahlers music in Scandinavia the slow movement of the Second Symphony in Viipuri in 1909. Like Mahler, Melartin made use of quotes in his symphonies and combined a wide variety of materials such as simple folk-like melodies and sophisticated counterpoint. Melartin liked to experiment with unusual designs in his symphonies. His Second Symphony (1904), for instance, is a singlemovement structure within which the traditional four movements can be identified, rather like in Schumanns Symphony in D minor. Certain thematic elements appear in several movements in this as in the Third Symphony (1907), whose principal theme appears in all movements. The Fourth Symphony, sub-titled Kessinfonia (Summer Symphony, 1912/16), incorporates vocal parts, first a solo soprano and then a female trio vocalizing with the orchestra in the slow movement. In the finale, Melartin quotes from the Summer hymn which is familiar to every Finn. Despite its disparate materials, the Fourth Symphony is the most coherent of Melartins symphonies. The counterpoint element reached its culmination in the Fifth Symphony, Sinfonia Brevis (1916), whose finale is an expansive quadruple fugue based on themes from earlier movements. In addition to symphonies, Melartin wrote a great deal of other orchestral music: tone poems, orchestral suites including the Lyyrillinen sarja nro 3, Impressions de Belgique (Lyrical Suite no.3, 1915/17), and several miniatures in a lighter style. The Violin Concerto (1913), where Melartin consciously sought a virtuoso idiom, is also a significant work. In chamber music, his major 48 inventing finnish music
works are the four String Quartets, the Second of which (1900) is the best known even though it is a relatively early work, written while he was studying in Vienna (18991901). Melartin was immersed in the emotional atmosphere of Late Romanticism and favoured grandiose, even overwhelming textures in his orchestration. Related to this, although shot through with anational tone, is Melartins only opera, Aino (1909). He himself described the opera as a Kalevala mystery. It is a study in Wagnerian Leitmotif technique, containing 22 motifs related to characters, events and moods. The music is by turns lyrical in afolk-like manner and Romantically abundant; the final scene is one of the most gorgeous embodiments of Finnish Late Romanticism. Hints of Impressionism can be identified too. Compared with Aino, Melartins other major work for the stage, the ballet Sininen helmi (The Blue Pearl, 1930), is more traditional in style. Melartin also wrote incidental music for some two dozen stage plays; the best-known set is that for the fairy-tale play Prinsessa Ruusunen (Sleeping Beauty, 1904) by Zacharias Topelius. Melartin had an unprejudiced and open mind both as a composer and as a person. This manifested itself in his output as an expansion of the Late Romantic idiom towards dimensions that were considered Modernist in Finland at the time. Impressionism made only a cameo appearance in Aino, but his second Kalevala work, Marjatta-legenda (Marjatta Legend, 1914) for soprano and orchestra, is almost wholly Impressionist. Here, Melartin also experimented cautiously with static, almost field-like orchestral textures and aleatoric rhythms, which had appeared in Aino too. Melartins closest approach to Modernism appears in certain works from the 1920s. For example, the Sixth Symphony (1924) opens in an environment without a clear sense of key, although the work later turns to a more conventional style. Melartins most Modernist work is the Expressionist Piano Sonata Fantasia apocalyptica, written probably at around the same time though its exact date is not known. Its grandiose, tumultuous keyboard writing echoes not only Liszt but Skryabin. There are also Modernist elements in his eclectic and wide-ranging String Trio, probably completed in the early 1920s.
The elegance of Leevi Madetoja

Leevi Madetoja (18871947) was also a significant Finnish Late Romantic symphonic composer. He was stylistically closer to Sibelius than Melartin was, but even he can hardly be described as a follower or an imitator. Madetoja was more restrained as acomposer than the wide-ranging Melartin, yet his works contain a fascinating ambiguity of harmony and rhythm under a smooth surface. Madetojas music is often described as very Finnish in its elegiac and melancholy moods yet very French in its elegance and polish. It was at the instigation of composer colleague Toivo Kuula that Madetoja went to Paris to study further in 1910, and later he enjoyed several extensive stays in France. Madetoja went through no great stylistic transitions during his career, although a trend towards a more restrained and polished idiom can be traced in his output. Like Sibelius, Madetoja enacted asort of internal Classicalization of the Late Romantic style; he never touched upon Neo-Classicism except for the ballet pantomime Okon Fuoko. It is the polished finish of Madetojas music that shows the French influence, since he was more interested in the Classical approach of Vincent dIndy and the Schola cantorum than in the Impressionism of Debussy et al. Madetoja even aspired to study with dIndy, but this never happened. Madetojas stylistic features emerged at an early date. His early works such as the Piano Trio in E minor (1909) and the tone poem Kullervo (1913) are heavy on emotional expression and pathos. At about the same time, however, he also wrote the breezier Concert Overture (1911), the Impressionistically coloured orchestral work Tanssinky (Dance Vision, 1911) and the lyrically refined Violin Sonatina (1913). After his early period, he all but abandoned chamber music, and although his orchestral output remained fairly limited, it was the orchestra that was his true instrument. He also wrote numerous choral works that have become classics in their genre as well as several fine solo songs. The core of Madetojas output consists of his three Symphonies. The First Symphony in F major (1916) is the shortest and most restrained of the three. The Second Symphony in E flat major (1918), written against the background of the Finnish Civil War, 50 inventing finnish music
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isthe most grandiose and extensive of the three, and a considerable advance over the First Symphony in terms of content and orchestral conception. However, it is the Third Symphony in A major (1926) which is Madetojas true masterpiece. It was partly written in France, and French musicologist Henri-Claude Fantapi has declared that it might well be sub-titled Sinfonia gallica. Instead of the grandeur of the Second Symphony, it features a restrained yet subtly nuanced idiom that is tonally and rhythmically more ambiguous than that of its predecessors. In addition to the French elegance of the orchestration, the work features spacious well-written counterpoint and a richness of vivacious rhythm (for example the waltz embedded into a common-time section in the finale). Huvinytelm-alkusoitto (Comedy Overture, 1923) is a related work. Another important genre in Madetojas output consists of his two operas. Pohjalaisia (The Ostrobothnians, 1923) was hugely successful at its premiere in October 1924 and was quickly elevated to the status of a national opera. It is Madetojas most obviously national work, featuring several Finnish folk tunes. Madetojas other opera, Juha (1934), is based on the same love-triangle libretto that had already been set by the young Modernist Aarre Merikanto in the 1920s. Despite its finely toned music, Madetojas Juha has never matched the popularity of Pohjalaisia. The most curious of Madetojas works for the stage is the ballet pantomime Okon Fuoko (1927), based on a Japanese subject. It is not particularly successful as a stage work, since both its libretto and its combination of different types of stage expression are considered unsatisfactory. However, its music is Madetoja at his best and stylistically most advanced. It is performed today in the form of a suite adapted by Madetoja himself. This work represents his only brush with the Neo-Classicism of the 1920s. Without falling into the trap of superficial exoticism, Madetoja managed to conjure up acaptivating, stylized Oriental mood. Madetojas creative powers began to wane after the opera Juha. He reported that in the late 1930s a suitcase with the final score of his Fourth Symphony had been stolen from him at a railway station in Paris. He never found the energy to reconstruct the Symphony, and in his final years he wrote no more major works.
Selim Palmgren, the Nordic Chopin and Schumann

Those who were fortunate to hear and see Jean Sibelius himself conducting his Kalevala tone poems in the period I am discussing between 1895 and 1899 can scarcely forget such an experience. Dear Palmgren, I thought to myself, there is nothing left for you to do with the Kalevala ; just you let Sibba handle that and try to think of something else! And so I did... This was the recollection of Selim Palmgren (18781951) in his autobiography of the reflections prompted by the music of Sibelius. Indeed, Palmgren left both the Kalevala and orchestral music well alone and is chiefly remembered for his piano music, five Piano Concertos and nearly 350 miniatures that have earned him the honorific Chopin of the North or Schumann of the North. His choice of focus was only natural considering that he created a lengthy career as a concert pianist. Palmgren was the most cosmopolitan Finnish composer of his time. He stayed abroad for long periods of time, for instance in Germany and Italy, and from 1922 to 1926 he was Professor of Music at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester in the USA, a post which Sibelius had turned down. Later (193951), Palmgren was Professor of Composition at the Sibelius Academy (formerly the Helsinki Conservatory). Palmgren was not a keyboard innovator; his music rests solidly on the foundation of his great predecessors such as Schumann, Liszt, Grieg, Busoni and the Russian Romantics, above all Rakhmaninov. Palmgren also admired Chopin, but there is little of Chopins lyrical and poetic bel canto melody in his works. Thenational dimension appears in Palmgrens output as stylized folk dances and hymn-like melodies echoing the simplicity of folk tunes, and also in his choice of national subjects. Although the roots of Palmgrens music lie deep in the soil of the Romantic era, he did expand his palette towards Impressionism. He used whole-tone scales, parallel chords, augmented triads and textures characteristic of Impressionist piano music. He is generally credited with introducing Impressionism to Finland. On occasion, Palmgrens music coalesces into a cautious sort of Modernism, for example in the form of dissonant 52 inventing finnish music
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bitonality. On the other hand, from the 1930s onwards his music shows a clear tendency towards Classicism. Palmgrens extensive output for solo piano consists mainly of miniatures. His only more extensive works in this category are theearly Piano Sonata (1901), the tumultuous Fantasie (1900) and the variation-form Ballade (1906). Palmgren usually published his miniatures in collections, which however cannot be considered cycles as with Schumann. The most extensive of these collections is the 24 Preludes (1907). The Impressionist element makes its first appearance in some of the preludes and certain other contemporary works such as Toukokuun y (May Night, 1907) and Varjojen saari (Island of Shadows, 1909). Palmgren began his series of Piano Concertos in 1904. Both his First Piano Concerto and the three following ones are cast in a single movement and a rather free form wherein conventional movements can nevertheless often be identified. The greatest departure from the traditional concerto form is in the Third Piano Concerto, sub-titled Metamorphoses (1916), conceived as a set of variations. The best-known and most coherent of Palmgrens concertos is the freely flowing yet structurally controlled Second Piano Concerto, sub-titled Virta (The River, 1913), which contains both rich melodic writing recalling Rakhmaninov and lighter lyrical moments in an Impressionist vein. The Impressionist element is at its most conspicuous in the Fourth Piano Concerto, sub-titled Huhtikuu (April, 1927). Palmgrens final work in this genre was the Fifth Piano Concerto (1941), which is the most traditional of his concertos in terms of its form (three movements) and its Classical idiom. Palmgren also wrote an opera, Daniel Hjort (1910/38). In the context of Finnish music at the time, it is very free in its tonality, almost unsettled, and it makes much use of the whole-tone scale. It is not an Impressionist work, however; Palmgren made use of ascheme of Leitmotifs as a major structural principle, although this scheme followed the Wagnerian model only in part. He may also have derived influences from contemporary Italian operas while staying in Italy during the writing of his opera. Palmgren also wrote over 200 choral works, many of which, particularly for male voice
choir, have become Finnish choral classics, such as Soi, soi, kaisla (Sigh, sedges, sigh), Paimenen ilo (The herdsmans joy), Tuutulaulu (Lullaby), Hiiden orjien laulu (Song of the ogres slaves), Laiskurin laulu (Song of the lazy man) and Hiihtjn virsi (Song of the skier). ilmari hannikainen Ilmari Hannikainen (18921955) was another Finnish pianist and composer who expanded the Late Romantic style towards Impressionism. His piano works also owe a fair amount to such great Romantic predecessors as Schumann, Liszt and Rakhmaninov. Hannikainens career as a pianist and a respected teacher prevented his output from becoming as extensive as that of Palmgren. In addition to piano music, Hannikainen wrote chamber music including the Piano Quartet (1913) and the String Quartet (1919), solo songs and the folk opera or Singspiel Talkootanssit (The Village Dance, 1930), which was very popular in its day. Hannikainens more extensive piano works include an early Piano Sonata probably completed in the early 1910s, two Piano Concertos on which he began to work while on a study trip to St Petersburg in 191617, and the most important set of variations in the Finnish piano repertoire, Variations fantasques (191624). Most of his piano works are miniatures that incorporate features of salon music, National Romanticism and Impressionism. He was slightly later in taking up Impressionism than Palmgren, applying it for instance in Feux follets (1914), Ensilumi (First Snow, 1915) and Suihkulhteell (At the Fountain, 1916). His most obviously Impressionist piano piece declares its allegiance in its very title, Debussyn varjokuva (Silhouette of Debussy, 1921). Heino Kaski (18851957) is also remembered primarily as acomposer of piano music, although he also wrote several very popular songs, some chamber music including a Flute Sonata (1937), and, as if out of obligation to the Sibelian era, a Symphony in B minor (1918/19), which, however, is not one of his best works. Kaski was fundamentally a lyrical composer, a melodic writer and a miniaturist. His piano miniatures are not usually technically difficult, and he could be described as a sort of late representative of a national Biedermeier style. Hints of Impressionism appear 54 inventing finnish music
now and again. Among his best-known piano miniatures are thevoluptuously romantic Prelude in G flat major (1912), the brisk Grieg-ish Vuorenpeikkojen iltasoitto (Trolls Playing Taps, 1914), themelodically flowing Y meren rannalla (A Night by the Sea, 1923) and the Prelude in B minor (1926), also known as Pankakoski after the eponymous rapids, which employs conventional Romantic means tremolos, arpeggios and scales to invoke a portrait of acascading watercourse. Like Palmgren and Hannikainen, Ernst Linko (18891960) created a long career as a pianist and teacher. He wrote a body of quite conventional music inspired by the masters of the Baroque and the Classical-Romantic era, including four Piano Concertos (191657), solo piano works and chamber music. Other instrumental composers in the same generation were Erik Furuhjelm (1883 1964), Lauri Ikonen (18881966) and Arvo Laitinen (18931966). Furuhjelms name survives in his Brahmsian Piano Quintet in C minor (1906), one of the most highly valued works in Finnish chamber music. Arvo Laitinens output also focused on chamber music, while Ikonen followed in the footsteps of Madetoja with his chamber music and six Symphonies. ernst linko
Oskar Merikanto, a composer between high culture and public at large

It may be a bit surprising to find that the most popular and beloved composer in Finland at the turn of the 20th century was not Sibelius but Oskar Merikanto (18681924). Whereas Sibelius was solidly entrenched in the realm of high culture and was thus the property of the upper classes, as it were, Oskar Merikanto built bridges between concert music and the public at large. To this end, he undertook extensive concert tours in Finland as an organist, aconcert pianist and an accompanist. His lifes work covered an exceptionally broad span in Finnish music; in addition to everything else, he was a church organ inspector, a conductor, aneducator and a music critic. Merikanto had a naturally flowing melodic vein, and he is best remembered for his solo songs and piano pieces, over 100 of each.
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It is indicative of just how popular he was and is that many of his songs are erroneously held to be folk songs. A contributing factor to his popularity was that he was the first major Finnish composer to set texts in Finnish. His evergreen songs include Annina, Hn kulkevi kuin yli kukkien (She Walks on Flowers), Miksi laulan (Why Do I Sing), Laatokka (Ladoga), Kun piv paistaa (When the Sun Shines), Elmlle (To Life) and Soi vienosti murheeni soitto (Play Softly, O Song of my Mourning). Some of his piano miniatures have similarly achieved the status of a classic, such as Romanssi, Kesillan idylli (Summer Evening Idyll), Idylli and the waltzes Kesillan valssi (Waltz of the Summer Evening), Valse la Chopin and Valse lente. Also, his Passacaglia (1913 at latest) is one of the earliest major works in the Finnish organ repertoire. Although Merikanto is best known for his small-scale pieces, he was not just a miniaturist. He also wrote three operas, the first of which, Pohjan neiti (The Maiden of the North, 1898), based on the Kalevala, was the first opera ever written to an original libretto in Finnish. However, neither Pohjan neiti nor his two other operas, Elinan surma (The Death of Elina, 1910) and Regina von Emmeritz (1920), have survived the test of time.
(1907) and the Piano Trio in A major (1908). Before these, he had written a few solo songs Syystunnelma (Autumn Mood, 1904) and Aamulaulu (Morning song, 1905) that have since become classics. Some of Kuulas later songs have also remained in the core repertoire. Perhaps the best-known of these is Tuijotin tulehen kauan (Long I Stared into the Fire, 1907), which somehow captures the essence of his solo songs: the music begins in a static meditation, escalates to a powerful climax and then returns to the brooding mood of the opening. A more delicate aspect can be found in Aamulaulu, Sinipiika (The Forest Maiden, 1912), and his last solo song, Purjein kuutamolla (Sailing in the Moonlight, 1917), where an Impressionist flavour can be detected. In addition to his 24 solo songs, Kuula also wrote a considerable number of choral songs for mixed choir and male voice choir. The extensive Meren virsi (Hymn of the Sea, 1909) for mixed choir has become famous, even notorious, for its difficulty. Other well-known choral works of his are Siell on kauan jo kukkineet omenapuut (Yonder the Apple Trees are Blooming, 1908) and Auringon noustessa (Sunrise, 1910) for mixed choir, and Virta venhett vie (Drifting on the Stream, 1906) and Nuijamiesten marssi (March of the Club Warriors, 1913) for male voice choir. Kuulas major works are vocal works with orchestra. The lucid Merenkylpijneidot (The Sea-Bathing Maidens, 1910) for soprano and orchestra, the titanic and pathos-laden Orjan poika (Son of a Slave, 1910) for soprano, baritone, mixed choir and orchestra, and the Impressionistically tinted Impi ja Pajarin poika (The Maiden and the Boyars Son, 1912) for soprano and orchestra can be seen as a cycle in that they are all settings of poems from the first set of Helkavirsi (Whitsongs) by Eino Leino. More extensive than these is the Stabat mater (191418), which can be considered Kuulas most significant work. It remained incomplete at Kuulas death; aperforming version was edited by Leevi Madetoja, a close friend and composer colleague. Apparently Madetoja mainly touched up the orchestration, although it is known that he also added completely new sections to the music. Kuulas Stabat mater is asort of compendium of the dimensions of his creative work: it is written in his signature style, melodically flowing and sombre
Toivo Kuula: Music with pathos and sentiment

Toivo Kuula (18831918) was another popular composer of vocal music. He is frequently described as the tragic Romantic in Finnish music, chiefly because of his violent death in a shooting incident at the early age of 35. On the other hand, the description also captures something of the flavour of his music, which is often replete with brooding pathos and overflowing sentiment. Kuula went on study trips to Italy, Germany and France and developed an interest in the Impressionism of Debussy. There are fleeting touches of Impressionism in his music, for example in the orchestral pieces Metsss sataa (Raining in the Forest, 1912) and Hiidet virvoja viritti (The Will-o-wisp, 1912), but for the most part his style is a flowing, nationally tinted brand of Romanticism. Kuula was also an active collector of folk music and occasionally used folk tunes in his works. Kuula made his breakthrough with two extensive and tempestuous chamber music works, the Violin Sonata in E minor 56 inventing finnish music
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LateRomanticism, but it also contains lighter Impressionist tones, a rugged archaic streak and even a concluding Bach-like fugue. Otto Kotilainen (18681936) and Axel von Kothen (18711927) were also National Romantic composers focusing on solo songs. Heikki Klemetti (18761953) and Bengt Carlson (18901953) are best remembered as choral composers; Klemetti was also perhaps the most legendary Finnish choir conductor of his time. Ilmari Krohn (18671960) also focused on vocal music, mainly sacred music. He wrote several extensive works such as cantatas, oratorios and the Biblical opera Tuhotulva (The Flood, 1918/29). Armas Maasalo (18851960) is best known for his sacred vocal music.
Armas Launis: An opera composer of the finest quality

Armas Launis (18841959) was an exceptional figure in Finnish music in his day in that he methodically sought to become an opera composer. He wrote a total of eight operas; two further unfinished opera projects are known of. However, only the first two of his operas, Seitsemn veljest (Seven Brothers, 1913) and Kullervo (1917), have ever been produced on stage. In addition to operas, he wrote orchestral works, chamber music, piano pieces and vocal music. He was also a highly active collector of folk music and also a musical organizer; he founded several folk conservatories in Finland in the 1920s, though in the event only the one in Helsinki survived. Launiss Seitsemn veljest was the first Finnish comic opera. It was received with mixed emotions at its premiere in Helsinki in spring 1913, principally because of the peculiar vocal idiom favoured by Launis, a sort of recitative somewhere between speech and singing. In Kullervo, he explored a more traditional melodic vein, and indeed that opera was much better received. But despite the success of Kullervo, Launis remained a marginal figure on theFinnish musical scene. This was largely because he spent most of his time abroad. In 1930, he settled in Nice, where he managed to organize a staged performance of Kullervo in 1940. The time for a Launis revival came in spring 2004 with aconcert performance of his third opera, Aslak Hetta (19221930), conducted by Sakari Oramo in Helsinki. The occasion was 58 inventing finnish music
something of a sensation, forcing a reappraisal of the role of Launis in the history of Finnish opera. Long neglected and considered something of a curiosity, he was suddenly revealed as an opera composer of the finest quality, with an output brimming with expressive, colourful and powerful music. Set in Lapland, Aslak Hetta shows the influence of Wagner and a number of early 20th-century composers but has an original flavour all its own lent by the authentic Smi folk tunes that Launis used as thematic material. The score also contains the innovative idea of screening afilm over two of the orchestral interludes; this predates by several years the contemplation by Alban Berg of using film in his opera Lulu. Although Launiss later operas have never been performed, in concert or on stage, this is not to say that they are unimportant. Jehudith (1937), a setting of the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt, employs genuine Bedouin tunes and elements that are Impressionist and bordering on the atonal. Launis seemed willing to expand his idiom to wherever the libretto would take him, and the resulting wide range of stylistic elements brings a compelling variety to his operatic output. Another composer whose hopes of an opera career waned was Emil Kauppi (18751930). He was a National Romantic composer who wrote two operas, incidental music for the stage, operettas and a considerable number of solo songs. His first opera was Pivkummun pidot (The Feast at Solhaug, 1925), which was quite well received. Its successor, Nummisuutarit (The Cobblers on the Heath, 1930), based on the highly popular comedy by national author Aleksis Kivi, did not fare nearly as well. The opera was unanimously panned by the critics, and Kauppi, extremely hard hit by the criticism, disappeared soon after the premiere, most probably having committed suicide. emil kauppi
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A national opera is born

After Paciuss Kung Karls jakt there followed a long hiatus in opera composition in Finland, with no new significant works being written. As the National Romantic movement gained strength, the desire to find an opera to reflect the burgeoning national values, a national opera, continued to grow. This goal was not attained by Oskar Merikantos rather simplistic Pohjan neiti (Maiden of the North, 1898), nor by Erkki Melartins Wagnerian-cum-Symbolist Kalevala mystery Aino (1909), Selim Palmgrens historical drama Daniel Hjort (1910) or Armas Launiss operas Seitsemn veljest (1913) and Kullervo (1917). Aarre Merikantos Juha (1922), which although written in a Modernist style is set in a traditional rural setting, would scarcely have been hailed as a national opera, although in the event it was never even put to the test itwas not staged until 1963. On October 25, 1924, the Finnish public finally got what they wanted with the premiere of Leevi Madetojas Pohjalaisia (TheOstrobothnians) at the Finnish Opera in Helsinki. The production was an enormous success, and Evert Katila wrote in the daily Helsingin Sanomat that it was the most substantial work in the whole of Finnish opera. Pohjalaisia has remained in the repertoire of Finnish opera companies ever since, and soon after its premiere it was also produced in Kiel (1926), Stockholm (1927), Gothenburg (1930) and Copenhagen (1938). Pohjalaisia has many features that have contributed to its status as a national opera. The very basis of the plot the upright of people of Ostrobothnia rising up against the draconian Constable representing the Russian occupiers appealed to the sensibilities of the public. Secondly, the powerful cast of characters can be seen as representing the whole of the nation, even if Ostrobothnia is only one aspect of Finland. Thirdly, the opera contains a strong element of familiarity in its folk-tune material, which is used in a number of ways. Ultimately, of course, Pohjalaisia is quite simply a good opera. It combines comic and serious dimensions into an integrated whole, and despite its tragic conclusion it contains a spark of hope.
V Windows Open Towards Europe!

Finnish 1920s Modernism
We live in a new, creative age. It is fortunate to be young in such anera. It is a time of revolutions and utopias. No one believes in the truths of the past any longer, and the truths of the future have yet to be shaped. Nothing is certain but the present and were you to ask for the truth of the present, it will only respond: seek! Thus rejoiced Olavi Paavolainen, a leading member of the Modernist literary group named Tulenkantajat (Firebearers), in his essay collection Nykyaikaa etsimss (Seeking Modern Times, 1929). This statement summarizes the enthusiastic curiosity felt by the young generation for a new era and new phenomena. Although the First World War had not directly affected Finland, the young nation could identify with European sentiments of the post-war era. Finland had in fact been at war too, since after the country became independent in December 1917 she was plunged into a bloody Civil War in January 1918. The war ended with the right-wing Whites triumphant over the Reds in May 1918, leaving a deep rift in the countrys collective consciousness for years to come. Modernism began to arrive in Finland in the 1910s in various branches of the arts. In fine arts, the Septem group (including Magnus Enckell and A.W. Finch) explored the colourist movement, while the Marraskuu (November) group (including Tyko Sallinen, Alvar Cawn and Ilmari Aalto) followed Expressionist and Cubist influences. In literature, Swedish-speaking poets were the first to take up Modernism; the bold free-form poetry of Edith Sdergran, Gunnar Bjrling and Elmer Diktonius soon attracted followers from the Finnish-speaking side too, for example in the Tulenkantajat group. In architecture, international Functionalism reached Finland in the late 1920s, attaining an early culmination inthe Paimio Sanatorium of Alvar Aalto, completed in 1933.
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A scene from the premiere production of Madetojas Pohjalaisia at the Finnish National Opera in 1924.
Modernism began to creep into Finnish music in the 1910s. Thefirst germs go back as far as 1911, to the daring style and expression of Sibeliuss Fourth Symphony, which at its premiere made a deep impression on two future Modernists, Vin Raitio and Aarre Merikanto. As Finland was cut off from the rest of Europe during the First World War, being a part of Russia, Raitio and Merikanto went to Moscow to study. Indeed, Alexander Skryabin was one of the main influences for Finnish 1920s Modernists. The Russian dimension was further strengthened by Ernest Pingoud, a Russian of Finnish extraction who emigrated from St Petersburg to Finland and whose first composition concert in Helsinki in autumn 1918 was a sensation, unofficially marking the launching of Finnish Modernism. Equally important were theinternational Modernist influences that came from Paris, afavourite destination for composers study trips in the 1920s. In the 1920s, dodecaphony was at the cutting edge of international Modernism, although it remained relatively limited in scope and did not reach Finnish music until the 1950s. Pingoud, Raitio and Merikanto had their roots in Late Romanticism, progressing towards Modernism for the most part through Expressionism la Skryabin. Finnish 1920s Modernism was thus not really about following the example of Schnberg, Berg and Webern but asErkki Salmenhaara later observed about the music of Raitio about a sort of Franco-Russian Expressionism. A later, distilled form of Impressionism was also an important colour in the palette of the early Finnish Modernists. The major influences for Uuno Klami, who was slightly younger than Pingoud, Raitio and Merikanto, were Ravel, Stravinsky in his Russian period, and Neo-Classicism in general. Jazz, which had had some impact on international Neo-Classicism, arrived in Finland in 1926, but Paris appears to have been a more important source for jazz influences. Internationalism was one of the highest ideals of the young generation of artists at the time, as witness the slogan Windows open towards Europe! coined by Swedish-speaking poet Elmer Diktonius (18961961), who also tried his hand at composing Modernist music. The young composers maintained that National Romanticism had served its time and could be disposed of. 62 inventing finnish music
Pingoud, for example, declared that national art is the infancy of any art form. However, internationalism was not a popular thing to uphold in a nation that had only just gained her independence, and the nationalist undercurrent and its more traditional styles remained strong. A rift between international Modernism and National Romanticism in Finnish music in the 1920s was thus inevitable. This is not to say that the gap between trends could not be overcome. Melartin, for example, expanded his Late Romantic idiom towards Modernism in some works, and even the restrained Madetoja flirted successfully with Neo-Classicism in his ballet pantomime Okon Fuoko. Likewise, although Pingoud and Raitio were emphatically non-Finnish in their radical period, Aarre Merikanto and Klami strove for a synthesis of Modernism and national elements. Solo song composer Yrj Kilpinen chose in effect a third way; his rugged music defies categorization, occupying terrain somewhere between the national style and Neo-Classicism. Although the 1920s are generally regarded as the decade of Modernism in Finnish music, it should be remembered that the Romantic style was still alive and well. Sibelius, Melartin and Madetoja were at the height of their creative powers, and they were widely admired by the public at large. The young Modernists, by contrast, were often lambasted by audiences, critics and music institutions alike, and many significant works remained hidden in desk drawers. The cruellest fate was endured by Merikanto, whose principal work, the opera Juha (192022), was never performed during the composers lifetime. It was apparently at least in part due to the unfavourable reception of their music that Merikanto, Raitio and Pingoud turned towards a more traditional and conventional style in the following decade; this pattern also occurred in the output of less known composers such as Sulho Ranta. Only Klami, who was never as radical a Modernist as the others to begin with, wrote works of major significance in the 1930s. The structures of musical life continued to strengthen in the 1920s. Folk conservatories were founded to provide tuition for amateurs of various ages. The primus motor in this was composer Armas Launis, who founded a folk conservatory in Helsinki in1922
V Windows Open Towards Europe! 63
and continued to found similar institutions in seven other towns. Only the one in Helsinki survived for any length of time, however; in 1971, it was renamed the Helsinki Conservatory. Radio entered the scene with regular broadcasts in 1923. Yleisradio (the Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE) was founded three years later, and the Radio Orchestra (the embryo of todays Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra) was founded in 1927. The Radio Orchestra established itself as an important party in commissioning minor orchestral works from the very first, and YLE has been an increasingly important cornerstone in Finnish music ever since. There was a temporary setback in the mid-1920s when government aid to orchestras was suspended and all Finnish orchestras apart from the Helsinki Philharmonic had to disband for a few years. The Finnish Opera too was closed between 1925 and 1927 because of financial difficulties.
(1916), Hymnen an die Nacht (1917), Danse macabre (1918/33), Mysterium (1919), Le prophte (1921) and Le chant de lespace (1931/38). He also wrote three Symphonies (1920, 1921, 192327) and three Piano Concertos (1917, 1921, 1922), but these are not in his most characteristic idiom. Apparently the freer expression possible in tone poems was more inspiring to him than the absolute, confined genres of symphonies and concertos. Pingouds music combines a variety of elements, and in this sense he was a typical early 20th-century Modernist. These elements include an abundant brand of Late Romanticism traceable back to Richard Strauss, the Impressionism of Debussy, and an overflowing Expressionist streak akin to Skryabin. We might also mention his expressive nocturnal scenes, his ecstatic visions of heaven and his sharp wit. La face dune grande ville (1936/37), originally intended as ballet music, is considered the first Futurist machine-romantic work in Finnish music. Pingoud wrote his music largely on the terms of the orchestra and was adept at creating both grandiose culminations and thin translucent textures. Viisi sonettia (Five sonnets, 1918) for chamber orchestra is wholly different, a set of restrained and reduced miniatures. Pingoud was an exceptional artist in Finnish music in that he was conscious of the aesthetic and philosophical underpinnings of his works. He was an active writer on music and well acquainted with the latest cultural trends in Europe. His music was a melting pot of approaches. Charles Baudelaire, the favourite poet of theSymbolists, inspired a number of his works, such as Prologue symphonique (1915) and Confessions (1915/16), and more generally his world view seems to have been linked to German philosophy from Kant to Nietzsche. In view of this, it is scarcely surprising that he never wrote a work based on the Kalevala, nor is it surprising that Finnish audiences had little appreciation for his very un-Finnish flights of fancy. Pingoud had started to turn towards a simpler style by the time he wrote Cor ardens (1927). In the 1930s, he not only wrote in a more conventional style but also wrote less music, and his final orchestral work was La flamme ternelle (1938). Four years later, depressed and suffering from alcohol and drug abuse,
Ernest Pingoud: A man of many worlds

When Ernest Pingoud (18871942) conducted his first composition concert in Helsinki in November 1918, he was completely unknown to Finnish audiences. Scarcely half a year earlier, he had emigrated to Finland to escape the Russian Revolution. The concert was a sensation. It was more Modernist than anything heard in Finland before then. The critics sharpened their pencils and characterized the fledgling composer as a Futurist, Cubist, Ultra-Modernist, extremist and ironically a Bolshevik in music. Although Pingoud actively promoted his works at six composition concerts in Helsinki between 1918 and 1925, he never really found a niche for himself in Finnish music. His nonconformist, colourful Modernism and cosmopolitan personality simply did not fit the mould that the newly independent nation had conceived for its great public figures. His few foreign successes included a wellreceived composition concert in Berlin in 1923 and a handful of performances abroad, most notably the performance of Le prophte conducted by Leopold Stokowski in Philadelphia in 1926. Pingoud was above all an orchestral composer. His major works are tone poems, whose titles provide a dazzling vista into the composers expansive imagination: La dernire aventure de Pierrot 64 inventing finnish music
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heextinguished his own flame by throwing himself under a train in Helsinki. He had been a train buff since childhood.
Vin Raitio: Impressionist and Expressionist

Music is colour is what Vin Raitio (18911945) is reported to have declared as his musical credo. This was a somewhat incautious statement, at least if Raitio had wanted to avoid being typecast as an Impressionist. Tonal colour and Debussy-like lingering moods do play an important part in his output, but his music also has ruggedness and abundance that owes more to the Expressionism of Skryabin so much so that it is much more apt to compare Raitio to Skryabin than to Debussy. Raitio began his career as a full-blooded Late Romantic, as witness the composition concert he held after concluding his studies in Finland. The concert in Helsinki in March 1916 featured his Violin Sonata in F sharp minor (1913), Runoelma (Poem, 1915) for cello and orchestra, and the Piano Concerto in C minor (1915). In winter 191617, Raitio went to Moscow to study further, and it was there that he first encountered the music of Skryabin. Raitio later went to Berlin (1921) and Paris (192526), but it is worth noting that he wrote his boldest works before going to Paris, which is usually seen as an important source of Modernist influences. Raitios following composition concerts in 1920 and 1921 showed quite a different composer. The Symphony in G minor (1919), the String Quartet (1917) and the Piano Quintet (1921) are still cast in a Late Romantic idiom, although in the Quintet the harmonies are quite complex. Raitios breakthrough work, and his first proper work in a new style, was the tone poem Joutsenet (The Swans, 1919). Its themes and overall shape are rooted in the Romantic-Symbolist philosophy, but its orchestral colour and in part its harmony are in a more Impressionist idiom. The importance of colour is indicated in the very title of Raitios major piano work, Nelj vrirunoelmaa (Four Colour Poems, 1922). Raitios core output of the 1920s consists of freeform descriptive orchestral works. Their titles and their content sometimes meditatively introvert and mysteriously vibrant, sometimes bursting into torrents are highly reminiscent of Skryabin. Raitios radical 66 inventing finnish music
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period began with Fantasia estatica (1921), whose sister work is Fantasia poetica (1923), the middle movement in a planned triptych that was never realized. The tripartite tone poem Antigone (1922), inspired by the tragedy by Sophocles, is more powerful and sombre in expression, while Kuutamo Jupiterissa (Moonlight in Jupiter, 1922) and Puistokuja (Avenue in the Park, 1926) for soprano and orchestra are more Impressionist. Very few people could appreciate Raitios bold style, and it is indicative that apparently both Nelj vrirunoelmaa and Puistokuja remained unperformed during the composers lifetime. In the late 1920s, Raitio discovered a new genre in music for the stage. His miniature ballet Vesipatsas (Water Column, 1929) is one of his most effective works, combining rich colour with an almost Stravinskian incisive use of rhythm. An energetic rhythmic element is also present in Raitios other ballet, a late work, Le Ballet grotesque (1943). More important than the ballets, however, were the operas. Raitio wrote five operas in all, only three of which were staged during his lifetime: the lyrical miniature opera Jeftan tytr (Jephtas Daughter, 1929); the grand historical drama Prinsessa Cecilia (Princess Cecilia, 1933, performed in 1936), set in the 16th century; and Kaksi kuningatarta (Two Queens, 1944), set in the court of Naples in the 14th century. Although both Prinsessa Cecilia and Kaksi kuningatarta were favourably received, they did not enter the Finnish repertoire. Raitio retained much of his original style in his operas, but by contrast his later orchestral works are more conventional in style, more modest in scope and less expansive than his works of the 1920s. At the time of the centenary of the Kalevala, he wrote two quite charming Kalevala-based works, Lemminkisen iti (Lemminkinens Mother, 1934) and Neiet niemien neniss (Maidens of the Headland, 1935), both based on folk tunes. These are a world apart from his tumultuous tone poems of the 1920s, and despite the success of his operas with the critics, the final stage of Raitios career comes across as a gradual diminuendo, concluding in asilence that persisted for a long time after the composers death.
Aarre Merikanto: A national Modernist

Aarre Merikanto (18931958) son of the beloved National Romantic composer Oskar Merikanto was the most earthy and florid of the Finnish Modernists, both as a composer and as a personality. Unlike Pingoud or Raitio, he combined Finnish national elements such as folk dance rhythms with his Modernism, and even his principal work, the opera Juha, is set in a Finnish wilderness despite the universal applicability of its love-triangle 68 inventing finnish music
story. Furthermore, whereas Pingoud and Raitio were at their best in writing for orchestra, Merikantos core output includes not only orchestral works but also concertos, chamber music, two orchestral songs and an opera. Radicalism was bred in the bone with Merikanto, as witness the miniature opera Helena (1912) which he wrote at the early age of eighteen. Its score has been lost, but the music preserved in the vocal parts booklets shows something of its style. It is grounded in a Puccini-like Late Romanticism, spiced with heavy chromatic writing and a richness of rhythm. After the bold dbut of Helena, Merikanto returned to a more conventional, even Romantic idiom. He studied with Max Reger in Leipzig in 191214 and was thoroughly schooled in the art of counterpoint. Studying in Moscow in 191516 exposed him to colourism and the music of Skryabin. While studying in the 1910s, Merikanto wrote a substantial body of work, including two Symphonies (1914/16, 1918), other orchestral works such as the tone poem Lemminkinen (1916), concertos and chamber music, including the String Quartet in Emajor (1917). His transition from Late Romanticism to Modernism happened in the opera Juha (192022). Other important early Modernist works of his are the two elegant orchestral songs Ekho and Syyssonetti (Autumn Sonnet; both from1922) and Phantasy (1923) for orchestra. What is striking about Juha and Phantasy is the richness of colour in the music. The idiom remains rooted in Late Romanticism, but there is a powerful Expressionist streak too. The freely shifting harmonies are often roughly dissonant, while the melodic lines flow in freeform arcs, underpinned by dynamic and even dance-like rhythms. The banquet scene in Juha echoes folk dancing in a way reminiscent of how Karol Szymanowski used the folk music of the Tatra Mountains in his ballet Harnasie (1931). Merikanto continued his radical period on the crest of a creative wave. The overflowing, perhaps slightly uncontrolled Fantasia was followed by the more elegant, more Impressionist and tonally bolder orchestral work Pan (1924). The Second Violin Concerto (1925), by contrast, is airy with freely floating atonal melodies; it is the pinnacle of Merikantos concerto writing. Immediately before
Two settings of Juha, two operatic fates

It was not easy to be a Modernist in Finland in the 1920s. On the occasions when aModernist got his works performed, theresponse was suspicious or even hostile. What was more tragic was that even significant works could remain unperformed for a long time. The saddest fate was that which befell Aarre Merikantos opera Juha (1922).
The libretto for Juha was adapted by Finnish star soprano Aino Ackt from the novel (1911) by Juhani Aho, one of the finest achievements in Finnish literature at the turn of the 20th century. Ackt had no doubt envisioned the role of Marja, the female protagonist, as a brilliant vehicle for herself; in fact, she even titled her libretto Marja. The libretto was considered by Sibelius before Merikanto, but despite Ackts wishes Sibelius finally decided that he was not interested in writing an opera. Merikanto received the libretto sometime in the late 1910s or early 1920s and wrote the opera in a high state of inspiration, completing it in early winter 1921. Almost immediately, he revised the work, completing the new version in January 1922. The board of the Finnish Opera took the opera under consideration in spring of the same year, but evidently felt it to be too Modernist and too demanding on the orchestra. Once the Finnish Opera had turned Juha down, Ackt reclaimed the libretto and sent it to Leevi Madetoja. Madetoja wrote his own setting of the same libretto, making changes to it along the way. Madetojas Juha was completed in October 1934 and was premiered in February 1935 almost obscenely quickly
Maija Lokka and Jorma Hynninen performing Merikantos Juha .
compared with Merikantos Juha. It was a great success, but despite its fine music Madetojas Juha has been overshadowed by Pohjalaisia, mainly no doubt because of the dramaturgical problems in the former. Merikanto has since ousted Madetoja. Merikantos Juha was first produced on stage in Lahti in 1963, five years after the composers death. The Finnish National Opera staged the opera in 1967, and three years later it was performed at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. Nearly half a century after its completion, Merikantos Juha had finally attained its deserved status as a masterpiece of Finnish Modernism.
theConcerto, he had found a new genre in chamber music through what was to remain his greatest international success, winning shared first prize in the composition competition organized by B. Schotts Shne publishers with a Concerto (1924) for violin, clarinet, horn and string sextet; because of the competition, itis usually known as the Schott Concerto. This was followed by theNonet (1926), another fine chamber music piece. Along the line, Merikantos idiom became sharper, tending towards a more linear and more ruggedly dissonant style akin to Hindemith. This development came to a head in Sinfoninen harjoitelma (Symphonic Study, 1928), the culmination of his radical period and of his orchestral writing overall. Merikantos Modernist style was not very well received by audiences. Many important works in addition to Juha remained unperformed, and later the embittered composer destroyed or defaced many of his compositions. The Nonet has since been reconstructed on the basis of preserved instrumental parts, while the destroyed pages of Sinfoninen harjoitelma and the String Sextet (1932) have been reconstructed by Paavo Heininen, who was Merikantos student at a later point in time. In 1993, Heininen even went so far as to reconstruct an entire piece his conception of what Merikantos Third Violin Concerto might have sounded like. The Concerto was written in 1931 but never performed, and Merikanto completely destroyed the score in 1955; we only know of its existence through his diary entries. It is difficult to say to what extent Merikantos simplification of his style in the 1930s was due to the disappointments he had suffered, and to what extent this development was simply due to internal compulsion. The stylistic shift became established in the orchestral suite Kyllikin ryst (Abduction of Kyllikki, 1935), written for the centenary of the Kalevala. Here, the folk dance rhythms frequently used by Merikanto appear in a more traditional environment. Merikanto continued to write substantial works, though, including the Second (1937) and Third (1955) Piano Concertos, and it would be doing him a disservice to denigrate his later and more traditional output in favour of his Modernist works. From the 1930s onwards, Merikanto approached Neo-Classicism, colouring it with
national and even National Romantic elements. Merikanto received some restitution for his artistic adversities in being appointed Professor of Composition at the Sibelius Academy in 1951. In this post, he was an essential background influence in post-war Finnish Neo-Classicism.
Uuno Klami: On the trail of Stravinsky and Ravel

Russian Modernists such as Prokofiev and Stravinsky, and new Spanish music, shook me up from top to toe. That is where the Karelian Rhapsody came from. It was around that time that I went to the Sorbonne to borrow a copy of the Kalevala. This description by Uuno Klami (19001961) of the impact of his study trip to Paris in 192425 shows a composer of fascinating versatility, discussing the most recent Modernist trends and the national tradition embodied in the Kalevala in the same breath. Klami never saw the two as opposites; instead, he like Stravinsky in his Russian period created an appealing synthesis, albeit thenational dimension is audible only in a few of his works. Apart from Stravinsky, Ravel was an important influence for Klami. He described Ravels Rhapsodie espagnole as the most beautiful score in the world. Generally speaking, Klami was in the camp of NeoClassicism, whose stylized approach, up to and including exoticism, suited him well. By contrast, the pathos, ecstasy and Expressionism of Skryabin, an important influence for other Finnish Modernists, held no attraction for him. Unlike Raitio and Merikanto, Klami did not really have aRomantic early period. In the chamber music works he wrote while studying, he already demonstrated an international approach, and a trip to Paris was a natural outcome of this. In addition to Ravel, modern Russian Primitivism and the Spanish music of Falla, Klami was also inspired by jazz. This is reflected in the main product of his year in Paris, the First Piano Concerto (1925), which fuses influences from Ravel and jazz in a metropolitan atmosphere, as its sub-title Une nuit Montmartre indicates. This was probably the first time that saxophones were used in Finnish concert music. Klami went on a second study trip to Vienna in 192829, but its impact was far less significant. 72 inventing finnish music
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Klami made his breakthrough with his first composition concert in Helsinki in autumn 1928, around the time when the other Finnish 1920s Modernists were set to turn away from their most radical period. On the programme of the concert were the abovementioned Piano Concerto and the uproarious, unconventionally national Karjalainen rapsodia (Karelian Rhapsody, 1927), demonstrating a wholly new type of Finnish musical humour. Klamis second composition concert in December 1931 established him as one of the leading composers of his generation. Klami was at his best in writing for orchestra. His melodic invention was not particularly rich, but he had a talent for finding a sonorous and expressive orchestral guise even for simple ideas. His principal work is the Kalevala-sarja (Kalevala Suite, 1933/43), which took a long time to finalize; in its final form, it has five movements. Its primitive rhythms and radiant orchestral colours owe a lot to Stravinsky, and it has in fact been described as a Finnish Sacre. The impressive oratorio Psalmus (1936) for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra is another major work from the same period. It is a setting of the poem Etks ole Ihmisparca by Juhana Cajanus (16551681), an earthy contemplation of the impermanence of life. Although Psalmus is distantly related to works such as Zoltn Kodlys Psalmus Hungaricus (1923), Stravinskys Symphony of Psalms (1930) or Bartks Cantata profana (1934), it is independent of them in terms of both style and genre. Klami wrote a number of other works in suite form apart from Kalevala-sarja. These include the popular Ravelesque Merikuvia (Sea Pictures, 193032) and the humorously grotesque Kuvia maalaiselmst (Scenes from Country Life, 1932), probably theclearest manifestation in Finnish music of Stravinskian NeoClassicism. Klamis sense of humour also showed itself in the tone poem Lemminkisen seikkailut saaressa (Lemminkinens Adventures on the Island, 1934) and the Overture to Nummisuutarit (Cobblers on the Heath, 1947). The Overture to Kuningas Lear (King Lear, 1944), Karjalainen tori (Karelian Market Place, 1947) and Revontulet (Northern Lights, 1948) are more substantial; thelast-mentioned is one of his best works. Klami also wrote two Symphonies (1938, 1945), but they are not in his most characteristic
idiom. His concertos, by contrast, are significant: his finest solo works are the Violin Concerto (1943/54) and the Second Piano Concerto (1950), which displays the influence not only of Ravel but, surprisingly, of Shostakovich. In Teema ja seitsemn muunnelmaa (Theme and Seven Variations, 1954) for cello and orchestra, it is possible to sense Prokofiev in the background. Klamis output appears as a set of parallel stylistic strands rather than a development process. Notwithstanding this, his later works from the Second Piano Concerto onwards do demonstrate a sharpening of expression. This trend was to have found its culmination in Klamis late masterpiece, the full-length ballet Pyrteit (Whirls, 195760?) based on a subject from the Kalevala but left incomplete when the composer died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Pyrteit displays new features in Klamis idiom: translucent textures and clashing dissonances; even in its unfinished state, itranks as Klamis third major work alongside Kalevala-sarja and Psalmus. Klami wrote the music for two acts of the ballet but only orchestrated Act II. Kalevi Aho orchestrated Act I in 1988, and he later also wrote new music for the non-existent Act III.
Uuno Klamis Kalevala Suite: A farewell to the Romantic Kalevala

Conscious of the dangers involved in exploring territory where Sibelius reigned supreme, and realizing that many previous efforts in that area had resulted in grey and uninteresting music, Itook a wholly different approach. Uuno Klami wrote this when recalling the genesis of Kalevala-sarja in the 1950s. The work has a long and complicated history. In its early stages in the early 1930s, Klami appears to have been planning an extensive oratorio. The introduction to this oratorio, an early version of the present opening movement of Kalevalasarja, Maan synty (The Creation of the Earth), was performed in 1932. Soon Klamis plan for the work changed from an oratorio to an orchestral suite, and the work was premiered with four movements in December 1933. In1934, Klami tried to write a scherzo to go in the middle of the work, but the movement grew too large and eventually became an independent work, Lemminkisen seikkailut saaressa (Lemminkinens Adventures on the Island). Itwas not until 1943 that Kalevalasarja acquired its present five-movement form with the addition of Terhenniemi as the central scherzo. Klami also revised the other movements. Kalevala-sarja is one of the most significant and most frequently performed Finnish orchestral works of the post-Sibelius era. Klami managed to avoid the dreaded Sibelius influences, but the impact of Stravinsky in particular is very clear. Whereas Erkki Melartin had cast Kalevala topics in an Impressionist light in Aino (1909) and Marjattalegenda (1914), it was Klami who finally managed to create an updated Kalevala style independent of Sibelius and National Romanticism, and credible in its own right.
Klami created his own brand of Kalevala music, with a Stravinsky-like bite. The same un-romanticized approach can be seen in the painting The Forging of the Sampo (1893) by Akseli Gallen-Kallela.
VI Sheltered by the Kalevala, Overshadowed by War

The 1930s and a return to national values
The 1920s was a period of great flourishing in Finnish music. The major Late Romantics, Sibelius foremost, were at the pinnacle of their careers, and the young Modernists were in their most fruitful and stylistically boldest period. It is probable, however, that history lends more weight to Modernism than it actually enjoyed at the time. The decade was in fact still dominated by nationally tinted Romanticism, and Modernism could do no more than cause ripples in the mainstream, despite the efforts of the Modernists. In the 1930s, Modernism grew even weaker as the Modernists, except for Uuno Klami, turned towards a more traditional style. The 1930s turned out to be a sad lean period in Finnish music. This was due not only to the constrained stylistic atmosphere and the regression of the Modernist composers but also to the waning of the major Romantic composers. Sibelius had isolated himself in Jrvenp, struggling with his Eighth Symphony and not publishing any new works; the Symphony, if he ever completed it, fell victim to his merciless self-criticism. Melartins powers were also waning, and at his death in 1937 many planned major projects, including his Seventh and Eighth Symphonies, remained unrealized. Madetoja made his final great effort in his opera Juha (1934) and wrote no further major works. Palmgren was also past his prime. Of the traditionally oriented composers, only Yrj Kilpinen was still going strong in the 1930s, gaining great popularity in Germany and Britain. Sibelius and Madetoja were the main influences in National Romanticism in the 1930s. Music written in this style was often austere owing to the cautious application of influences from Neo-Classicism; the stylization and playfulness of international 76 inventing finnish music
Neo-Classicism were wholly alien features. The resulting synthesis of Romanticism and Neo-Classicism dominated the music of certain older composers and many composers who emerged during the 1930s. Although these composers perpetuated traditionalist values well into the post-war period, they were doomed to become a generation of in-betweens: they never gained the originality and power of their predecessors, and their music was overwhelmed by new trends from the 1940s onwards, first Neo-Classicism and then dodecaphony. Many of them cautiously updated their style and experimented with more Modernist means, even twelve-tone technique, after the war. The traditionalist backlash in the 1930s may have been a result of the natural oscillation that is a fact of life in the history of music: any modernization trend is inevitably followed by a reaction. This happened in several countries in Europe. The national element was strengthened in Finland by the centenary of the publication of the Kalevala in 1935, with main events celebrated in Helsinki and at the Sortavala Song Festival. The centenary launched a flood of Kalevalabased compositions. As Uuno Klami demonstrated, this need not have required reverting to a traditional idiom, but nevertheless many composers did. Continued development of Finnish music was also seen as a national responsibility. The leading musical institution in the country was the Helsinki Music Institute, founded by Martin Wegelius in the previous century and renamed the Helsinki Conservatory in 1924. A new building was completed in 1931, and in 1939 the institution was renamed the Sibelius Academy. Orchestras were also active. New orchestras were founded in Tampere and Vaasa in 1930 and in Pori in 1938. The Viipuri Orchestra under Boris Sirpo was at the height of its career, performing more contemporary music than any other orchestra in Finland and showing that Modernism was by no means a dead letter. The cinema provided new work opportunities for composers. Finnish films favoured national subjects, and as a result strengthened the National Romantic style rather than the Modernist style. Finlands nationalist aspirations were not unique in Europe. Increasing geopolitical tensions were plunging the continent
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into agloom, and right-wing extremist movements, often with nationalist tendencies, emerged in various countries. Finlands version of this trend was the Lapua Movement, active from 1929 to 1932 and modelled on the Fascists of Italy. In 1935, Nordic neutrality was defined as the basis for Finlands foreign policy, but Finland, like Denmark and Norway, was nevertheless drawn into the Second World War. The war in Finland was divided into two main phases of combat against the Soviet Union, the Winter War of193940 and the Continuation War of 194144, followed by the War of Lapland in 194445 to expel the retreating Germans former allies. Despite the war, efforts were made to provide a lively programme of music. Conditions were harsh, and in Helsinki in particular concerts were often interrupted by air raids. The Great Hall of the University of Helsinki, the most distinguished concert hall in the country and the venue for many premieres of Sibeliuss works, was destroyed in an air raid in February 1944 but rebuilt in 1948. During the war, composers produced a body of strongly patriotic works.
Yrj Kilpinen, the master of Finnish lied

Yrj Kilpinen (18921959) rose to the height of his career in the 1930s; at the time, he was even considered Finlands most significant composer after Sibelius. It was not altogether advantageous for his later reputation that he was extremely popular in Nazi Germany; critics there described him as the greatest lyricist of the age and a master of song of the highest calibre in 1934. We should note, though, that he was also highly regarded in Britain, where the Kilpinen Society was founded in 1935. Kilpinens reputation remained solid in Finland after the Second World War, and he was appointed a member of the newly founded Academy of Finland in 1948. After his death, however, his status and importance have been vehemently reappraised. Kilpinen was exceptional in focusing on a single genre, the Lied. The exact number of solo songs he wrote remained unknown until the publication of his catalogue (1998) edited by Tarja Taurula, which fixed the number at 790. Kilpinen also wrote 35 communal 78 inventing finnish music
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songs, 25 choral songs and some 40 instrumental works, the most extensive of which are the piano suites written in the 1930s such as the Totentanz Suite (1932), the six Piano Sonatas, the Violin Sonata and the Cello Sonata. It has been said of Kilpinen as of Hugo Wolf that he set poets, not poems. His output contains several extensive cycles of settings of particular poets, most notably 31 songs to poems by Hugo Jalkanen (opp. 1518, 191819), 37 songs to poems by V.A. Koskenniemi (opp. 2026, 1921) and 75 songs to poems by Christian Morgenstern (opp. 5970, 1928). A similar cycle is the 64 songs to texts from the Kanteletar folk poetry collection (op. 100, 194850). Although Kilpinen continued in the national tradition, he was not a National Romantic in the traditional sense. He avoided Romantic sentiment and pathos, and came closer to Neo-Classicism in his rugged and often simple yet effective idiom. Frequent features include chords without thirds, particularly open fifths, and ostinato accompaniments. There is no sense of stylization or pastiche, however. Kilpinen discovered his own voice at a relatively early stage in his career, in the mid-1910s. He experimented with more Modernist means in some settings of poems in Swedish, especially in the collection of 15 songs to poems by Pr Lagerqvist entitled Reflexer (Reflections, opp. 3334, 1922). The next significant milestone was the series of Morgenstern songs (1928), and in the 1930s he set some more German poetry. The most significant and best-known of his settings of Finnish texts is the cycle of 27 songs to poems by V.E. Trmnen known as Tunturilaulut (Songs of the Fells, opp. 5254, 1926). Evidently it was this work and Kilpinens austere, rugged style that his student Seppo Nummi, also a notable Lied composer, had in mind when he described his former teacher as an Arctic puritan. There were other composers in the interwar period besides Kilpinen who focused on vocal music. Martti Turunen (19021979) became famous as a choir conductor, but the core of his output as a composer consists of solo songs. Einari Marvia (19151997) also
VI Sheltered by the Kalevala, Overshadowed by War 79
created his best work in his over 100 solo songs. He was influenced by his teacher Melartin but also incorporated elements of Impressionism and Expressionism into his colourful songs. Vilho Luolajan-Mikkola (19112005) wrote both solo songs including the ever-popular Htanhu (Wedding Dance, 1945) and sprightly instrumental works. Torsten Stenius (19181964) mainly wrote sacred vocal works such as cantatas, oratorios and the Svenskt requiem (Swedish[-language] Requiem), but being a church organist by profession, he also wrote organ works.
Tauno Pylkknen, the Nordic Puccini

Tauno Pylkknen (19181980) was the only Finnish composer of his generation to work almost exclusively in opera. His ten operas show a vibrant Late Romantic composer often dubbed the Nordic Puccini. Pylkknen was artistic director of the Finnish National Opera from 1960 to 1969. Pylkknens core output also includes a number of song cycles, the best-known of which is Kuoleman joutsen (Swan of Death, 1943). He also wrote orchestral music, chamber music and the single-act ballet Kaarina Maununtytr (1961). Pylkknen made his dbut as an opera composer with the premiere of Mare ja hnen poikansa (Mare and Her Son, 1943) in Helsinki in 1945. This, however, was his third opera: he had previously written the operas Jaakko Ilkka (1937), a youthful work which remained unperformed, and Batsheba Saarenmaalla (Bathsheba on Saarenmaa, 1940/58). These early works laid the foundation for the two main strands in Pylkknens opera output: full-length grand operas on one hand and miniature operas lasting under an hour on the other. The former group includes Mare ; Simo Hurtta (1948); Ikaros (194453), described by the composer as a musical legend; Opri ja Oleksi (Opri and Oleksi, 1957), a Karelian story; and Tuntematon sotilas (The Unknown Soldier, 1967). The first of his miniature operas was Bathseba, followed by Sudenmorsian (TheWolfs Bride, 1950), Varjo (The Shadow, 1954) and the TV opera Vangit (The Prisoners, 1964). The division into these two groups is based only on the durations of the works, since Pylkknen always used a full-scale orchestra even in his miniature operas. 80 inventing finnish music
Pylkknens dramatically concise miniature operas are his best works, particularly Sudenmorsian and Varjo. The miniature operas all focus on the theme of a womans forbidden love, which in Sudenmorsian (based on a text by Aino Kallas) is treated in a fascinating ballad style. The work employs a variation of the werewolf myth to explore the conflicts that arise when a womans sensuality overflows the narrow confines of the role imposed on her by society. Varjo is more realistic but also stylistically broader, inviting comparison with Gian Carlo Menotti. In Sudenmorsian and Varjo, Pylkknen began to expand his Late Romantic idiom towards a more chromatic free-tonal style, and in Vangit and Tuntematon sotilas he even made use of twelve-tone rows.
Continuing the national tradition in instrumental music

Other composers besides the major 1920s Modernists Pingoud, Raitio and Aarre Merikanto abandoned their radical approach as they grew older, for example Sulho Ranta and Taneli Kuusisto. The main difference here is that whereas Pingoud, Raitio and Merikanto were at their best in their Modernist period, Ranta and Kuusisto wrote their most significant works after their transition. Sulho Ranta (19011960) wrote several chamber music works in an Expressionist vein in his early period in the 1920s and attracted attention with his bold choice of style. In the 1930s, however, he turned to a more traditional style embracing Neo-Classical clarity and tonality. The core of Rantas extensive output consists of four numbered Symphonies, preceded by the unnumbered Sinfonia programmatica (192931) inspired by Greek mythology. Ranta also provided sub-titles for his numbered Symphonies: the First Symphony is Sinfonia piccola, the Second is Sinfonia semplica (1936), the Third is Sinfonia dellarte (1947), and the Fourth is Oratorio volgare (1951). The last-mentioned work is written for soloists, choir and orchestra, introducing an oratorio element to thegenre. Ranta was not only a composer but a conductor, an educator, anorganization activist and an author on music.
tauno pylkknen
sulho ranta
taneli kuusisto
Like Ranta, Taneli Kuusisto (19051988) also began his career in Modernism, employing cautious Skryabin influences. He too turned to a more traditional style in the 1930s, with National Romantic and Neo-Classical dimensions. Kuusisto was also similar to Ranta in that he had a variety of musical duties, for example as a church organist, choir conductor, holder of several elected posts and Rector of the Sibelius Academy from 1959 to 1971. It was evidently because of the influence of Sibelius and the strong ties of Finnish music to Germany that the symphony remained the most highly esteemed genre in composition in Finland for a long time. The influence of Sibelius is particularly strong in the output of Bengt von Trne (18911967), who wrote six Symphonies. They are in a traditionally tonal style, and up to his last Symphony (1966) Trne used key signatures. Another composer overshadowed by Sibelius was Eino Linnala (18961973), whose two Symphonies (1927, 1935) also show a strong measure of Bruckner. It is possible that Heikki Suolahti (19201936) would have become a symphonic composer too; before his untimely death at sixteen he wrote one symphony, the Sinfonia piccola (1935), which has remained in the repertoire of youth orchestras in Finland and in the USA, for example. Lauri Saikkola (19061995) began his symphonic career before the Second World War. His output blends Neo-Classical elements into a National Romantic style. He wrote atotal of ten Symphonies (193989), and twelve Sinfoniettas in his late period. Erik Fordell (19171981) took an exceptionally intensive approach to symphonic composition, writing 44 Symphonies from 1949 onwards, a record unbroken in Finnish music until Leif Segerstam surpassed it in 2000. Other composers who studied in the 1930s and continued in the spirit of national traditionalism although they did not begin their symphonic careers until after the war were Helvi Leivisk (19021982), Ahti Karjalainen (19071986), Olavi Pesonen (19091993) and Kalervo Tuukkanen (1909 1979). Ahti Karjalainen and Kalervo Tuukkanen in particular retained their traditional Romantic idiom almost intact despite the new stylistic challenges of the postwar period. Karjalainen wrote three 82 inventing finnish music
Symphonies, Tuukkanen wrote six. Leivisk and Pesonen, on the other hand, made something of a departure from the Late Romantic tradition. The three Symphonies of Leivisk reflect a serious composer personality. Counterpoint plays an important part in her work, and it was counterpoint that led her to explore a more chromatic style. This is evident both in the single-movement Sinfonia brevis (1962/72), not one of her numbered symphonies, and in the Third Symphony (1971). Leivisk was also important in that she pioneered the concept of a woman composer at a time when the very existence of such a person could arouse prejudice in audiences. Olavi Pesonen was also very much into counterpoint, as witness the orchestral work Fuga fantastica (1948) and the two Symphonies (1949, 1953) whose writing is highly chromatic. Vocal works also form an important genre in Pesonens output. The new postwar trends trickled into the output of many composers who had begun their careers in the Romantic style. Erkki Aaltonen (19101990) merged a variety of elements into his best-known work, the Second Symphony, Hiroshima (1949), inorder to reflect the tragic subject. In his Violin Concerto (1966), he even experimented with dodecaphony. Nils-Eric Ringbom (19071988) expanded the idiom of his Romantic early works, such as the Brucknerian First Symphony (1939) with grotesque and satirical tones in the Second (1944) and Third (1948) Symphonies, with dissonant Neo-Classicism la Hindemith in the Wind Sextet (1951), and with fully chromatic (though not yet dodecaphonic) writing in the Fourth (1962/82) and Fifth (1970) Symphonies. Nils-Eric Fougstedt (see p. 93), by comparison, went over to actual dodecaphony in some of his later works. helvi leivisk
erkki aaltonen nils-eric ringbom
Finnish film music

For the first Finnish film music, we have to go back to the tango that Emil Kauppi wrote for the thriller Salainen perintmrys (The Secret Directive, 1914). Another important pioneer was Armas Jrnefelt , who wrote the music to the film Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta (Song of the Scarlet Flower, 1919) by Mauritz Stiller, aFinnish-born filmmaker who had emigrated to Sweden. We might also mention Armas Launis, who wrote the music to the documentary Hidenvietto Karjalan runomailla (Wedding Feast in the Runo Lands of Karelia, 1921), recycling some of its material from his earlier works. Finnish film music only really got under way with the advent of sound films in the 1930s. Several film music composers working in a genre somewhere between concert music and popular music began their careers at around this time: Martti Simil (18981958), Georg Malmstn (19021981), Tapio Ilomki (19041955), Harry Bergstrm (19101989) and George de Godzinsky (19141994). Heikki Aaltoila (19051992) created amajor career in film music, beginning in the 1940s. He wrote the music for about 75 films, and also incidental music for about 150 stage plays. Inthe 1940s, some Finnish composers of concert music also tried their hand at film music, including Nils-Eric Fougstedt , Tauno Pylkknen, Tauno Marttinen and Ahti Sonninen. The 1950s were a golden age in Finnish film, at least in terms of the number of films produced. The National Romantic aesthetics of the 1930s remained dominant in film music, although newer voices were beginning to be heard. The most significant newcomer to film music was Einar Englund, whose Neo-Classical style injected a new flavour into Finnish films. His music to the film Valkoinen peura (The White Reindeer, 1952) by Erik Blomberg is aclassic in its genre in Finland comparable to Prokofievs music to Serge Eisensteins films Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the Terrible (194346). In the 1950s, the face of film music changed further with the introduction of popular music and jazz into Finnish films. As the studio era in Finnish film ended in the 1960s, the use of large orchestras for film music also declined. Usko Merilinen and Osmo Lindeman provided Modernist concert music for films, but in keeping with the international new wave, jazz was adopted as the most common way of expressing modern alienation. Henrik Otto Donner balanced between Modernism and jazz in his film music. Subsequent Finnish films have made use of both rock and jazz on one hand and concert music on the other, although the former trend seems dominant. The best-known film music composer in the concert music camp today is Tuomas Kantelinen; Jukka Linkola has also written some fine soundtracks. Kaija Saariaho, Atso Almila, Olli Koskelin and Jovanka Trbojevic have also dabbled in film music at least once.
VII Rising from the Ashes of War

From Neo-Classicism to dodecaphony
When the war ended, I was sixteen years old. Our generation had been mentally trained for military service. This statement by author Veijo Meri echoes the deep shadow which the Second World War cast over the 1940s and which coloured the mood in Finland well into the following decade. Finland had survived the war but had been crippled in the process, being forced to cede extensive areas to the Soviet Union, including Viipuri, Finlands second-largest city and a major centre of culture. Over 400,000 people, nearly a tenth of the countrys population at the time, were evacuated from the ceded areas and resettled in Finland. The country also had a heavy schedule of war reparations to pay. The reconstruction of the war-torn nation laid the foundation for a boom period, and the pre-war standard of living was reached as early as in the early 1950s. As if to symbolize this new rise, Helsinki hosted the Olympic Games in 1952, and coincidentally the final instalment of war reparations was also paid in that year. In culture, too, the post-war decades were a period of reconstruction and growth. Alvar Aaltos architecture put a human face on international Modernism, and industrial design produced the celebrated concept of Finnish Design, promoted with successful appearances for instance at the Milan Triennale, beginning with the three main prizes won by Tapio Wirkkala at the 1951 Triennale. In literature, epic writing rose to the forefront, as in Mika Waltaris international bestseller, the historical novel Sinuhe, egyptilinen (The Egyptian, 1945), and Vin Linnas Tuntematon sotilas (The Unknown Soldier, 1954). From the 1950s onwards, literary Modernism spread to Finland. Musical institutions returned to normal quite soon after the war. Orchestras in Helsinki reinstated their regular concerts in
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1947, and new orchestras were founded in Joensuu in 1953 and in Jyvskyl in 1955. An opera society was founded in Tampere in 1946, and most large cities followed suit; these opera companies are now known collectively as regional operas. The Sibelius Week (today the Helsinki Festival), organized from 1951 onwards, was an important addition to the concert scene, bringing many of the most celebrated musicians of the day to Finland. The founding of the Association of Finnish Composers in 1945 was of prime importance for the status of composers. The Contemporary Music Society (officially Nykymusiikki-Nutidsmusik ry.) was founded in 1949 to promote new music; in 1951, the Society was accepted as Finlands representative in the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM). After the war, Finnish music was suffering not only from the effects of wartime conditions but also from the aesthetic recession of the 1930s, with its emphasis on national values. Many of the Romantics continued their work after the war, only to be overtaken by newer trends first Neo-Classicism, then dodecaphony. Few of them, such as Erik Bergman, Nils-Eric Fougstedt or Sulo Salonen, were able or willing to adapt to the new challenges and revise their idiom. Death also took its toll: of the Romantics, Erkki Melartin had died in 1937, Leevi Madetoja died in 1947 and Selim Palmgren in 1951; of the Modernists, Ernest Pingoud had died in 1942 and Vin Raitio in 1945. Yrj Kilpinen, Aarre Merikanto and Uuno Klami were older-generation composers who were still alive and well. Kilpinen was appointed the first musician member of the newly founded Academy of Finland in 1948. Upon his death, hewas succeeded by Uuno Klami from 1959 to 1961 and Joonas Kokkonen from 1963 to 1996. Merikanto was appointed Professor of Composition at the Sibelius Academy in 1951, and in this capacity he played an important part in the education of the new generation of composers in the 1950s. The breakthrough of Neo-Classicism came with the first two Symphonies of Einar Englund in the late 1940s. There had actually been Neo-Classical elements in Finnish music earlier, as early as in the 1920s, but in Englunds works this style came across more sharply and forcefully. It was also important that Englund was able 86 inventing finnish music
to give new substance and significance to the symphony, a genre which was still valued above all others in Finland but which had not been added to in any significant way since the last symphonies of Sibelius, Madetoja and Melartin. Neo-Classicism touched many other Finnish composers besides Englund, and it became the mainstream style for about a decade. Its position was strengthened by the appearance of many important international Neo-Classical composers on concert programmes of Finnish orchestras: Stravinsky, Bartk, Hindemith, Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Englund continued to embrace Neo-Classicism throughout his career, whereas for others such as Joonas Kokkonen, Einojuhani Rautavaara and Usko Merilinen it remained a youthful phase leading to dodecaphony.
Einar Englund and the ideal of absolute music

After that concert, we were all Englundians, Joonas Kokkonen said of the premiere of the First Symphony (1946) of Einar Englund (19161999) in January 1947. Englund had already attracted attention with his Piano Quintet (1941), but the Symphony was his real breakthrough, consolidated further by his masterly Second Symphony (1948). Within a short space of time, Englund became the most talked-about new composer in the country. Compared with earlier Finnish Neo-Classicism, Englunds music was quite new, more powerful and broader in scope. For example, his Second Symphony is by turns delightfully lyrical aswitness its sub-title, Mustarastassinfonia (Blackbird Symphony) bitingly ironic and militantly dramatic, with frequent effective juxtapositions. The war has often been identified as the mental backdrop for Englunds output as a whole and as the factor that tore him away from the National Romantic idyll. He himself observed that the First, Second and Third of his Symphonies, and even the Fifth (1977), are music that documents our horrible wars for posterity. The main features of Englunds Neo-Classical style were already in place in his first two Symphonies. His nearest influences are late Bartk, Prokofiev and Shostakovich. The latters influence is particularly evident in the clarity of Englunds orchestral structures
VII Rising from the Ashes of War 87
einar englund
and, for instance, his use of sonorous doublings. His long underpinning pedal points echo Sibelius, although the link is more in technique than in style. Englund was above all an instrumental composer. He valued absolute music above everything else, and the core of his output consists of seven Symphonies, six Concertos and chamber music. He frequently used traditional multi-movement forms, and traditional forms for single movements too (sonata form, passacaglia, fugue). Englunds composer profile was shaped by his being an excellent pianist and his favouring a traditional instrumental idiom. It is said that he improvised the cadenza to the first movement of his First Piano Concerto (1955) at the premiere and only later transcribed it from a recording of the concert. This concerto, reminiscent of late Bartk, is the most frequently performed Finnish piano concerto of all time, with the possible exception of Selim Palmgrens Virta (The River). In the 1950s, Englund wrote some music for films and the stage and the miniature ballets Sinuhe (1953) and Odysseus (Ulysses, 1959), but these do not detract from his profile as a composer of absolute music. Although Englund was an innovator in Finnish music, he was also a conservative. This is apparent from his focus on forms derived from traditional Classicism. His innovation met its limits when Finnish music progressed first to dodecaphony in the 1950s and then to radical Modernism. In the 1960s, Englund underwent a serious crisis and stopped writing music altogether for nearly adecade. The main reason for this lay in the new Modernist trends, which he felt were a mockery of the composer as a serious artist. In his autobiography (1996), Englund revealed another reason for the crisis: the tragic death of his wife in 1956. Englund returned to the land of the living as a composer with his Third Symphony (1971), a masterpiece equal to the Second. His style had not essentially changed during the ten years of silence, but his expression had acquired new facets such as increased chromatic writing. The resigned mood and lyrical nostalgia of the Fourth Symphony, Nostalginen (Nostalgic, 1976), for strings was another new dimension, and this appears in many other late works of his, up to and including the sombre Seventh Symphony(1988). 88 inventing finnish music
Englund also broadened his horizons by beginning to write chamber music, the vivacious Divertimento Upsaliensis (1978) and the Violin Sonata (1979). His passion for the piano manifested itselfin the Second Piano Concerto (1974) and in a number of works for solo piano, most importantly the Piano Sonata (1978). Englund was at his most productive in the 1980s, writing his last two Symphonies, the flowing melodic Violin Concerto (1981), the Flute Concerto (1985), which seeks a sharper and more dramatic profile than usual for its solo instrument, and several fine chamber music works. One of his best late works is the Concerto for 12 cellos (1981), a synthesis of the genres of his output, combining orchestral music, chamber music and the concertante approach. Englund continued to seek a new approach in his Sixth Symphony (1984), sub-titled Aforismeja (Aphorisms), adding a choir singing fragments from the aphorisms of Heracleitos. Englunds health declined in his final years, and his composing career ended with the Clarinet Concerto (1991).
Other composers of the Neo-Classical period

Ahti Sonninen (19141984) was another composer emerging soon after the war who was firmly rooted in Neo-Classicism. However, his composer profile is exceptionally multi-faceted and difficult to define, and his stylistic range extends from clear tonality to a handful of dodecaphonic experiments. Neo-Classicism is only one of his stylistic frameworks, albeit the most important one. His output is equally varied in other ways too, being by turns devoutly spiritual, vividly humorous, archaically Finnish or internationally urban. Works for children and film music form further self-contained genres in his output. After the early Romantic Violin Concerto (1943) and Piano Concerto (1945), Sonninen broached the forefront of Finnish Modernism with the striking orchestral suite Sinfonisia tuokioita (Symphonic Moments, 1947). Neo-Classicism came to the forefront in his following works, for example in the orchestral suite Seitsemn veljest (Seven Brothers, 1947) and, with a Spanish flavour, in the song cycle El amor pasa (1953). The orchestral work Alla Lapin taivaan (Under the Lapland Sky, 1954) expands into
ahti sonninen
anearly chaotic fugue, whereas another orchestral work, Rapsodia 059 (Rhapsody 059, 1958), was described by the composer as arow technique exercise. Sonninens best-known work is the most popular Finnish full-length ballet, Pessi ja Illusia (Pessi and Illusia, 1952). Based on afairy tale by Yrj Kokko, it was performed some 150 times during its first three years. It has Romantic warmth akin to Prokofiev and Stravinskian crisp rhythms. Sonninens later output includes the folk ballet Ruususolmu (Rose Knot, 1956) and the ballet farce Se (It, 1971). Works for the stage form an important part of Sonninens output; this was foreshadowed by Merenkuninkaan tytr (The SeaKings Daughter, 1949), the first Finnish radio opera. His operas include the Finnish ritual opera Karhunpeijaiset (Bear Wake, 1968) and the sea-oriented opera Haavruuva (The Mermaid, 1971). Sonninens interest in Finnish mythology resulted in several Kalevala-based vocal works dating from the 1950s onwards, including Taivahan takoja (Forger of Heaven, 1957). Sonninen sought a mythical atmosphere through an austere idiom and suggestive repetition. The same archaic world, albeit seen through a folk tradition coloured by Christianity, appears in one of Sonninens principal works, the expansive Suomalainen messiadi (Finnish Messiad, 19591972) for soloists, choir and small orchestra. jouko tolonen Jouko Tolonen (19121986) wrote the bulk of his output within ashort space of time in the late 1940s and early 1950s. After that, his other duties took up all of his time. Although Tolonens output is decidedly Neo-Classical, it contains traces of Late Romanticism. His principal works are the Symphony (1952) and the cantata Notku, nuori neitsykinen (Sway, Young Maiden, 1955). The Symphony is in a single movement but has three main sections slow flanking sections in a sombre contrapuntal vein and an extensive middle section where the influence of Bartk and Shostakovich is evident. The cantata, written for soloists, choir and orchestra, employs frequent repetition of motifs and an archaic tone harking back to the primitivism of Carl Orff.
Like Tolonen, Matti Rautio (19221986) also wrote a fairly limited body of work because of the demands of his career elsewhere in music. His greatest achievement was a reform of Finnish music teaching. Like Englund, Rautio remained true to his original style and never experimented with dodecaphony or the sort of eclecticism practiced by Sonninen. His rhythmically vibrant and fresh music has roots going back to such international NeoClassical names as Stravinsky, Bartk, Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Rautio wrote mainly instrumental music, and his best-known works are two vivacious solo works: Divertimento I (1955) for cello and orchestra and the Piano Concerto (1972). His ballet Sininen haikara (The Blue Heron, 1957) is Neo-Classical in an exotic, stylized Oriental fashion. Neo-Classical is the best way to describe the limited output of Erkki Lnsi (19271956); his bestknown work is the incisively humorous Musiikkia 5 puhaltimelle ja kontrabassolle (Music for 5 winds and double bass, 1949). Neo-Classicism mainly manifested itself in instrumental music in Finland, particularly orchestral music. Seppo Nummi (19321981), by contrast, was a Neo-Classical composer who focused almost exclusively on solo songs. This may have been due to his teacher Yrj Kilpinen, although Nummis Neo-Classicism is lighter and more elegant than Kilpinens. Nummi wrote some 230 solo songs, many of which form song cycles. The best-known of these is Vuoripaimen (The Mountain Shepherd, 195161/80), acycle of settings of poems by his brother Lassi Nummi. Another important set is the Kiinalainen laulukirja (Chinese Song Book, 194577), divided into four separate cycles: Lauluja hyljtylt seudulta (Songs from a Deserted Place), Kevtteilt (From Spring Roads), Lnsilinnan lauluja (Songs of the Western Palace) and Joen lauluja (Songs of the River). Nummis output also includes Viisi madrigaalia (Five Madrigals, 195960) for mixed choir, highlighting his interest in Renaissance madrigals. Nummi was not only a composer but an active participant in public debates on culture and a cultural politician.
matti rautio
seppo nummi
The turn to dodecaphony

Neo-Classicism dominated Finnish post-war music for roughly a decade but was upstaged by dodecaphony after the middle of the 1950s. Joonas Kokkonen, Einojuhani Rautavaara and Usko Merilinen made the transition from Neo-Classicism to dodecaphony. Others approached dodecaphony from Romanticism, such as Erik Bergman and Nils-Eric Fougstedt; some Romantic composers such as Erkki Aaltonen, Sulo Salonen and even Tauno Pylkknen experimented with row technique but never adopted it. By contrast, the somewhat younger Paavo Heininen practically began his career with dodecaphony. Different backgrounds and circumstances caused dodecaphony to find a wide variety of manifestations in Finland. For some, like Usko Merilinen and Aulis Sallinen, it was a brief encounter, while for others it formed a firm basis for their work for an extended period of time. The nature of dodecaphony also varied from one composer to another. Although it was a feature that introduced a more Modernist approach into Finnish music, it was more of acomposition method than a style factor. It was a sort of ridge, with one slope where the last of the Romantics could climb without losing touch with their roots and another slope that offered vistas to the latest trends of avant-garde Modernism. Tradition-oriented composers employed conventional forms, rhythms, textures and even harmonies in the context of dodecaphony, while Modernists proper saw dodecaphony as a serious challenge or even a moral compulsion to renew the above-mentioned elements in their musical language. Dodecaphony was brought to Finland by Erik Bergman, first as an isolated experiment in the piano piece Espressivo (1952), then more methodically from Kolme fantasiaa (Three fantasies, 1954) for clarinet and piano. In 1954, Bergman went to Ascona in Switzerland to study dodecaphony with Wladimir Vogel, and at Bergmans recommendation Rautavaara, Merilinen and Tauno Marttinen also took a study trip to Ascona. Vogel could in this sense be dubbed the unofficial godfather of Finnish dodecaphony. The status of dodecaphony was further strengthened by the gradual appearance of international dodecaphonic classics in the Finnish concert repertoire in the late 1950s. 92 inventing finnish music
Dodecaphony ultimately spread so widely in Finnish music that the vast majority of leading young and middle-aged composers tried it, at least tentatively. The most significant exception was Englund, who plunged into a serious crisis with the advent of dodecaphony and the new wave of Modernism: a composer who had been the embodiment of new Finnish music in the late 1940s now suddenly found himself sidetracked. Dodecaphony also had an indirect influence on many older composers, and even Romantic composers who never touched dodecaphony proper adopted a more chromatic idiom; a case in point is Nils-Eric Ringbom. For Nils-Eric Fougstedt (19101961), dodecaphony was a decisive creative impulse. Fougstedt, who is remembered as a conductor who championed a lot of new Finnish music, was one of the first Finnish composers to cross the line into dodecaphony. His early output is Late Romantic in style, but his single-movement Second Symphony (1949) is already rather chromatic. The next step was Angoscia (1954), the first dodecaphonic orchestral work written in Finland; Trittico sinfonico (1958) is also dodecaphonic. Fougstedts principal work is Aurea dicta (1959) for choir and orchestra. Sakari Mononen (19281997), who created a career as a church musician and organist, went through a dodecaphonic period in the early 1960s, writing mainly organ works. In the late 1960s, he expanded his output towards chamber music and orchestral music, combining clusters and field technique with dodecaphony. After the mid-1970s, he turned to a free-tonal, somehow Neo-Baroque style. Dodecaphony was also a formative influence for Pentti Raitio (b. 1930). His idiom has developed from his subtle post-Webern early period towards a freer style combining Post-Serialist and Neo-Impressionist features. nils-eric fougstedt
sakari mononen pentti raitio
Kokkonen often quoted his friend architect Alvar Aalto saying that creative work is governed by a passion for quality. Kokkonen was a self-critical composer whose work was controlled by a strong sense of self-discipline, conciseness and removal of everything that was superfluous. His output never grew very large, partly also because of his distinguished career as an influential figure in Finnish music, Professor of Composition, Academician and holder of many elected posts. Kokkonens belief in symphonic thinking was a central factor in his composer profile. He completed his First Symphony in 1960, in the midst of the most heated Modernist turmoil, a time when writing a symphony seemed to many a hopelessly outdated exercise. Kokkonen rejected this: The symphonic concept, in the broadly understood architectural and shall we say philosophical sense, is immortal. Kokkonen saw symphonic writing not as an external form scheme but a deep structural approach, the organization of musical material through a coherent motif technique. He said:Forme, symphonic means constructing an entity out of a limited number of motifs that permeate the work, growing, changing and combining in new ways. In this sense, the word symphonic could be replaced with organic growth or something like that. Here, Kokkonen links himself to the symphonic tradition of Brahms and Sibelius. On the other hand, a tightly knit motif technique can be identified in other works of his too, including the opera Viimeiset kiusaukset (The Last Temptations). Kokkonens output is usually divided into three stages: the Neo-Classical, the dodecaphonic and the free-tonal. His early Piano Trio (1948) has traces of Romanticism, but the Piano Quintet (1953) and Duo (1955) for violin and piano are purely Neo-Classical. Kokkonens early period culminated in his breakthrough work Musiikkia jousille (Music for Strings, 1957), whose idiom, owing something to Hindemith and Bartk, was so chromatic that the transition to dodecaphony in his following works was almost imperceptible. While embarking on his dodecaphonic period, Kokkonen wrote the beautiful free-tonal song cycle Lintujen Tuonela (The Hades of the Birds, 1959).
Joonas Kokkonen: A passion for quality

For Joonas Kokkonen (19211996), moving from his early NeoClassicism to dodecaphony was a natural thing, an organic process much like that which governed his compositions. Both his output as a whole and his works individually display a remarkably high degree of coherence and an immediately identifiable voice. 94 inventing finnish music
Kokkonen adopted dodecaphony in his First String Quartet (1959), followed by the First Symphony (1960), the Second Symphony (1961) and Sinfonia da camera (1962) for twelve solo strings. The First Symphony contained many of the external features of Kokkonens symphonic writing: a concise form, aconcentrated idiom devoid of orchestral colour painting, everything subordinate to a coherent overall form. The Symphony also features the wave form typical for Kokkonen, with the music progressing from sketchy beginnings towards coherence in aseries of waves, much like in the slow movement of Sibeliuss Fourth Symphony. Ending a work with a slow movement was also a favourite device of Kokkonens, not only in his symphonies but in other multi-movement orchestral works too. In his dodecaphonic works, Kokkonen used the row as a starting point much as in motif technique, so his new style dovetailed with its predecessor both stylistically and technically. Kokkonens Second Symphony and Sinfonia da camera are his most advanced applications of row technique and also his most Modernist works. After writing them, he turned towards a freer and more sonorous idiom, as in the orchestral work Opus sonorum (1964), the Second String Quartet (1966) and in particular the two sacred choral works where row technique no longer played a part, Missa a capella (1963) and Laudatio Domini (1966). However, it was not until the colourful Third Symphony (1967) that Kokkonen finally abandoned dodecaphony and moved to his third, free-tonal period. Kokkonens free-tonal works are richer in sonority than their predecessors. This manifests itself on the harmonic level in aprofuse use of triads, whereas Kokkonens melodic writing retained arich chromaticism as a remembrance of his dodecaphonic period. Many of Kokkonens most popular works date from this period. The Cello Concerto (1969), Kokkonens only concerto, is the most frequently performed Finnish work in its genre. Its humour and vivacity is balanced by the solemn slow movement, based in part on the organ piece Surusoitto (Funeral Piece, 1969), which Kokkonen wrote for his mothers funeral. The Fourth Symphony (1971) is the most frequently performed of his symphonies. It contains more violent outbursts than his previous symphonies, but on the other 96 inventing finnish music
hand its concluding slow movement contains some of his finest melodic writing. With hindsight, the expansive dramaturgy of the Fourth Symphony seems to foreshadow Kokkonens magnum opus, the opera Viimeiset kiusaukset (The Last Temptations, 1975). The main character in the opera is the Finnish 19th-century lay preacher Paavo Ruotsalainen, the charismatic leader of a religious revival movement. While the spiritual content was of personal importance to the composer, the internal struggle of Paavo on his deathbed is also a universal struggle with the issues and problems of any great mission, be it ideological or artistic. The music in Viimeiset kiusaukset shows Kokkonen at his most dramatic and versatile, although the opera is, typically for him, a very tightly knit entity on the level of motif processing. One of the motifs employed is Paavos Hymn, which Kokkonen adapted from four variants of afolk hymn tune. After Viimeiset kiusaukset, Kokkonen focused on chamber music, writing the Cello Sonata (1976) and the Third String Quartet (1976). After them, still riding on the wave of Viimeiset kiusaukset, as it were, he wrote what is probably his finest instrumental work, ...durch einen Spiegel... (1977) for twelve solo strings and harpsichord. It is a typically firm motif-based construction clad in an effective and even mystical vision generated by the sonorities of the harpsichord and various techniques of playing string instruments. The Requiem (1981), akin to that of Faur in its lucidity and confidence, remained Kokkonens final major work, after which his creative powers began to fail. He completed the brief Il Paesaggio for chamber orchestra in 1987, but he never finished his longplanned Fifth Symphony.
VIII Rows, Colours and Nursery Noise

The second wave of Modernism in Finnish music
The 1950s and early 1960s were a period of feverish searching for new things. In fine arts, the abstract Expressionism of Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko was followed cheek to cheek by Post-Painterly Abstraction, Minimalism, pop art, happenings, conceptual art, earth art and many other trends. In architecture, the formal language was either pure and simplified, following Mies van der Rohe and the international style, or freer in form in the manner of Le Corbusiers Notre Dame du Haut or Frank Lloyd Wrights Guggenheim Museum in New York. In France, Alain Robbe-Grillet pioneered the nouveau roman, and Jean-Luc Godard perfected the nouvelle vague in cinema. These phenomena made their way to Finland too, influencing Finnish artists. Indeed, Finnish artists were at the forefront of international developments in architecture and industrial design. Post-war Modernism in music was also keenly seeking new things. Two main trends within it are usually identified, although distinguishing between them is sometimes difficult, and later on they became even harder to define. The earlier main trend was that progressing from Expressionism through dodecaphony to the total Serialism developed by Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez, and continuing as Post-Serialism; this trend was characterized by the use or heavy influence of Constructivist composition methods and a certain strictness of idiom. The later second trend involved freer expression and the importance of tonal colour and new types of overall texture, aleatorics and improvisation. This trend included such widely differing composers as Witold Lutos awski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Iannis Xenakis and Gyrgy Ligeti. There were also composers like John Cage who defied categorization of any kind. 98 inventing finnish music
The new wave of Modernism was first felt in Finland at a concert given by the Contemporary Music Society in 1956, featuring works not only by dodecaphonic classics Schnberg, Berg and Webern but also by Darmstadtian avantgardists Boulez, Luciano Berio and Henri Pousser. Apart from Schnberg, this was the first time that any of these composers including Berg! had been performed in Finland. In the same year, Usko Merilinen and Gottfrid Grsbeck became the first Finnish composers to go to the now famous contemporary music summer courses in Darmstadt; Erik Bergman and Einojuhani Rautavaara followed suit in the following year. It was also in 1956 that the Jyvskyl Culture Festival was founded, an important forum for presenting new trends to Finnish audiences. Stockhausen was the first important post-war avant-garde figure to visit Finland, in 1958, and Luigi Nono, Cage and Ligeti also gave lectures here soon afterwards. Stylistic development in Finnish music was rapid in the 1950s, progressing from Neo-Classicism to dodecaphony and then to a few Serialist experiments. The first to take up Serialism was Erik Bergman, in whose orchestral work Aubade (1958) the row governs not only pitches but also certain rhythmic structures. Einojuhani Rautavaara and Paavo Heininen also wrote some highly Constructivist works. Electronic music, another important phenomenon in contemporary music at the time, also gained its Finnish pioneers. With the presentation of clusters, field technique, aleatorics, happenings and improvisation at the nursery concerts of the early 1960s, Finnish music finally closed the gap that had existed between Finnish music and international Modernism since the 1920s. The line between Modernism and not-Modernism is vague and perhaps impossible to pinpoint. In Finnish music, the line perhaps lay somewhere within the domain of dodecaphony. Not all composers abandoned traditional ideals even when using dodecaphony; it was not unless elements of form, texture, rhythm, harmony and tonal colour or even of any one of them changed fundamentally in a composers style that the shift could be described as a move to Modernism. Such changes could of course happen without the composer using dodecaphony at all.
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The wave of Modernism influenced Finnish music in many ways, affecting not only those composers who embraced it wholeheartedly. The atmosphere in general became more conducive to experiments, and many Finnish choral composers in the 1960s, for example, began to apply new techniques without cutting their ties to the past. Nevertheless, the difficulties encountered by Paavo Heininen in the early stages of his career showed that Finnish audiences did not accept Modernism without resistance. The wave of Modernism crested in the 1960s and began to retreat. Many composers who had been working with Modernist techniques turned to free-tonality or otherwise more traditional styles. However, Modernism left deep marks in Finnish music. Many composers retained Modernist features as enriching elements, such as field textures with Aulis Sallinen and Tauno Marttinen and a variety of techniques with Einojuhani Rautavaara. And of course there were composers who never renounced the ideals of Modernism, most importantly Erik Bergman, Usko Merilinen and Paavo Heininen.
Erik Bergman: The musical explorer

Erik Bergman (19112006) is a major figure in Finnish Modernism. His early works, written in the 1930s and early 1940s, were Romantic in style and he withdrew many of them later but in the late 1940s he began to seek a more chromatic style. In 1952, he wrote the piano work Espressivo, becoming the first Finnish composer to employ dodecaphony, although he himself said that it was merely an attempt at dodecaphony. Ever since then, he remained at the cutting edge of Finnish Modernism. Bergman made his breakthrough with dodecaphonic and Serialist works, i.e. as a Constructivist, but he is best known for the colourful style that he evolved in the 1970s. Although Bergman went through a number of stylistic phases, certain elements in his idiom remained constant. He typically sought inspiration in distant times and places from ancient Egypt to old Finnish spells and Medieval sacred music in terms of time, from Lapland to the Mediterranean and from Europe to the Far East in terms of place. Bergman often employed exotic instruments 100 inventing finnish music
erik bergman
that he collected on his trips all over the world. The range of expression in Bergmans works extends from fragile lyricism to primitive force and from Oriental death mysticism to earthy humour. Bergman created a long career as a choir conductor, and accordingly choral works exploring and expanding the potential of the human voice in a variety of ways form an important group in his output. His adventurous composer personality also found an outlet in his orchestral, chamber music and solo works. His most extensive work is the opera Det sjungande trdet (The Singing Tree). Although Bergman approached dodecaphony from the Romantic point of view, he also touched upon Neo-Classicism in certain works during his transition period in the late 1940s and early 1950s: in the quite chromatic orchestral scherzo Burla (1948), partly in Intervalles (1949) for piano and the Piano Sonatina (1950), and even in one of his breakthrough works, Rubayiat (1953) for baritone, male voice choir and orchestra. Although Rubayiat was written after Bergmans pioneering dodecaphonic work Espressivo (1952), he did not use row technique in it; its ensemble and extra-European features the text by Omar Khayyam and influences from Arabian music foreshadow many of Bergmans later works. Bergmans dodecaphonic period properly began with Kolme fantasiaa (Three fantasies, 1954) for clarinet and piano. Later in the same year, he went to Ascona in Switzerland to study dodecaphony with Wladimir Vogel. The use of row-based construction spread to his orchestral writing in Tre aspetti duna serie dodecafonica (1957), expanded into Serialism in the Neo-Impressionist colour study Aubade (1958) for orchestra, where the row also governs the rhythm to some extent, and combined with an ancient text in Aton (1959), a setting of the famous Sun Hymn of Akhenaten for baritone, reciter, choir and orchestra. The most advanced example of Serialist Constructivism in Bergmans output is the orchestral work Simbolo (1960), where the row governs not only pitches but also rhythms and dynamics. Bergmans dodecaphonic period ended with Sela (1962) for baritone, choir and orchestra, but rich chromaticism remained a dominant feature of his idiom. The 1960s were a long period of transition for Bergman, ultimately leading him to a new style in the early 1970s. The transition
VIII Rows, Colours and Nursery Noise 101
period produced mainly vocal music, including Fglarna (The Birds, 1962), Nox (1970), Requiem ver en dd diktare (Requiem for a Dead Poet, 1970), Missa in honorem Sancti Henrici (1971), the Hathor Suite (1971) and Samothrake (1971), which includes staging. Bergmans new style finally emerged in the orchestral work Colori ed improvvisazioni (1973), whose title gives the essential features of this style: colour and improvisation. The improvisation is implemented as controlled aleatorics, using space-time notation instead of traditional notation in measures: the duration of each section is given in seconds, but the duration of notes within that section is indefinite. Brief chant-like motifs, rising crescendos, suggestive pounding rhythms and colourful fields of trills and tremolos are immediately identifiable features of Bergmans late and most familiar style. The new style was well suited to Bergmans favourite way of writing, combining vocal parts and instrumental parts. Two of his finest works fall into this category: Bardo Thdol (1974) for reciter, soloists, choir and orchestra, based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and Noa (1976) for baritone, choir and orchestra, based on the ancient myth of the flood. He also wrote pure vocal works, including Lapponia (1975) and Lemminkinen (1984), and orchestral works, including Arctica (1979), Ananke (1982), Sub luna (1990) and Poseidon (1992). In the late 1970s, Bergman discovered two new genres: concertos and chamber music. His first wave of concertos included the cello concerto Dualis (1978), the flute concerto Birds in the Morning (1979), the Piano Concerto (1981) and the Violin Concerto (1982), but after that he did not return to solo works until the late 1990s. Chamber music, by contrast, became a lasting interest for him after Solfatara (1977) for saxophone and percussion. One of his major chamber music works is Silence and Eruptions (1979), whose title is a fitting summary of his composer personality. Bergman favoured unique instrumental ensembles that do not fit into Classical-Romantic genres, but he also wrote two String Quartets (1982, 1997). Many of his vocal works can also be described as chamber music, such as Triumf att finnas till (Triumph of Being Here, 1978) for soprano, flute and percussion and Lament and Incantations (1985) for soprano and cello. 102 inventing finnish music
Bergmans output found a grand synthesis in the opera Detsjungande trdet (The Singing Tree, 198688). It is a setting of a fairy-tale libretto by Bo Carpelan, with roots going back through a Swedish folk-tale to the ancient Greek myth of Amor and Psyche. The melodic element is important here alongside Bergmans characteristic rich colour painting. It was evidently because of the importance of melody that he returned to traditional measure-based notation, which he had used in Lemminkinen too. Bergmans creative career showed no sign of failing even after his opera. With orchestral music, chamber music and vocal music, his opus numbers reached the 150 mark. His style remained fundamentally the same, although an Expressionist brand of melodic writing appeared in his idiom through his opera; this is evident for example in Maestro and His Orchestra (1996) for violin and strings and the serious Preisungen (1996) for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra. The ballet Le Voyage (1999) was written on the basis of impressions that Bergman gained from his trip around the world prior to writing the work. Bergmans 90th birthday in November 2001 was celebrated with a number of concerts, including premieres of the choral work Vinminen (2000) for reciter, four soloists and choir and the orchestral work Meditation and Emotion (2001). Fantasia for Trumpet and Orchestra (2003) was his last work.
Usko Merilinen: Character and kinetics

The music of Usko Merilinen (19302004) grew out of the NeoClassicism of the 1950s. Like many composers of his generation, he was influenced by Stravinsky; hearing Sacre was a particularly formative experience for the young Merilinen. The Stravinsky influences are at their most audible in Partita for Brass (1954) but can also be detected in the First Symphony (1955) and the First Piano Concerto (1955). Merilinens early Neo-Classical period culminated in the Concerto for Orchestra (1956), whose idiom is so chromatic as to lie on the threshold of dodecaphony. Merilinen went through a brief row-technique period lasting only a few years. Despite its brevity, this period injected a new enthusiasm into his work. His dodecaphonic period began with the First Piano Sonata (1960) and ended with the First String Quartet (1965).
usko merilinen
Merilinens early works already contained several features that remained essential to his musical thinking. He was very much an instrumental composer, and his output contains scarcely a handful of vocal works. Rhythmic richness was his hallmark from the start. His early Neo-Classical works contain Stravinskian energetic ostinatos, shifting time signatures and syncopation, but in his later works the rhythm element became more versatile and elastic. The kinetic nature of his music is often referred to, described aptly by Mikko Heini as objectified movement in space. In view of the importance of rhythm, it is hardly surprising that Merilinen wrote four dance works. The first of these, the ballet Arius (1960), dates from the transition between his Neo-Classical and dodecaphonic periods. The other three Psyche (1973), Alasin (Anvil, 1975) and the slightly more diminutive Ku-gu-ku (1979) are electronic works choreographed by Ruth Matso, the composers wife. Merilinen also listed Alasin as his Fourth Symphony, which is slightly confusing considering that the work is not an orchestral symphony in the traditional sense. Even before the First String Quartet which concluded Merilinens dodecaphonic period, a turn towards a new stylistic phase had begun in the orchestral work Epyllion (1963). The approach begun here became consolidated in the Second Symphony (1964) and the Second Piano Sonata (1966). It was with this Sonata that Merilinen defined the structural basis for his new style. He described the composition technique used as a character technique, whose essential elements are three types of character: melodic lines; fields appearing as surfaces of sound or torrents of notes; and points consisting of individual or repeated notes. The details of these characters may change, but the overall shape remains recognizable. The new technique was thus a tool for Merilinen to create coherence in music after abandoning row technique. His music remained richly chromatic, however. Character technique proved a liberating experience, sufficiently flexible yet sufficiently controlled. The Second Symphony is an impressive and expressive work created with this technique; its abrupt shifts led to Merilinen being described as a NeoExpressionist. In the Third Symphony (1971), the character 104 inventing finnish music
technique was replaced by two initial cells from which the entire work is derived: the wedge-like string line that opens the work and the single-note crescendo that breaks up into dissonance. In theFifth Symphony (1976) and the orchestral work Mobile ein Spiel fr Orchester (1977), Merilinen expanded his palette with controlled aleatorics. Character technique also enriched Merilinens piano style, which blossomed in the Second Piano Sonata, a textbook case of the technique. He wrote a total of five Sonatas, the finest set of works in this genre in the whole of Finnish music. The richest of these is the Fourth Piano Sonata (1974), sub-titled Epyllion II, and the same colourful keyboard writing is present in Tre notturni (1967) and Cinque notturni (1978). Also important in this respect are the Second Piano Concerto (1969), Dialogeja (Dialogues, 1977) for piano and orchestra, and Kineettinen runo (Kinetic Poem, 1981) for piano and orchestra. Instrumental and concertante writing in general occupy an important position in Merilinens output. From the late 1970s, Merilinen progressed from NeoExpressionism towards a more subdued and subtle idiom, a poetry of small gestures and sophisticated colourism. Despite this, his music can still contain a latent subsurface tension that may erupt violently. Examples of this new idiom are: Mouvements circulaires en doucer (1985), a curious piece for four flutes exploring the threshold of silence; the Guitar Concerto (1991), where the soft sound of the solo instrument dictates the character of the work; and the Fifth Piano Sonata (1997). We may also mention the Third String Quartet (1992), which after a rapid opening turns to a long, slowly extinguishing final section, an immobility that does justice to the miracle of music according to the composer; the tempo indication is as slow as you feel possible. Chamber music became somewhat more important in Merilinens later output. His major chamber music works include Simultus for Four (1979) for flute, saxophone, guitar and percussionist, the Second String Quartet Kyma (1979), the Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1982), Huilu veden peili (The Flute The Mirror of the Water, 1984) for flute and piano, and Henrietten juhlat (Ftes dHenriette, 1995) for flute, cello and
piano. The vivacious and captivating Suvisoitto (Summer Sounds, 1979) for flute and tape is also essentially a chamber music work. Merilinens concertante writing continued in the flurrying virtuoso-technique flute concerto Visions and Whispers (1985) and, in a way, in the second Concerto for Orchestra, Aikaviiva (Timeline, 1989), both among Merilinens finest works. His late orchestral works include the sensitive ...mutta tmhn on maisema, monsieur Dali! (...but this is a landscape, monsieur Dali!, 1986) and Kehr (Orb, 1996), with a touch of Webern in its string textures. Merilinen rewrote Kehr in 20022003 and gave it the sub-title Symphony no. 6.
musical world view where the technical and sonorous properties ofSerialism and aleatorics would appear as components. Thus Paavo Heininen (b. 1938) summarizes the beginning stages of his composing career. Although his early piano works, Toccata (1956) and the Sonatina (1957), show a Neo-Classical dimension, he practically began his career directly in dodecaphony and Serialism. On the other hand, the softening of style that Heininen alludes to by mentioning Baroque forms and dance rhythms was not as abrupt as he implies, and in fact the more traditional Neo-Classical element manifests itself the most conspicuously in his Second Symphony, Petite symphonie joyeuse (1962), as he himself indicates. The First Symphony (1958) was one of Heininens dbut works. This dodecaphonic and acerbically Expressionist work proved so difficult for the orchestra at the premiere apparently because of a shortage of rehearsal time that its middle movement was omitted. As certain other works of Heininens also suffered from performance difficulties in the early 1960s, he was soon dubbed a martyr to Finnish Modernism and the most Darmstadtian composer in Finland. Whether these descriptions are apt is a moot point, since in any case Heininen became an important figure in the development of Finnish Modernism. He conveyed the Modernist tradition to later generations: many later Modernists beginning with Jukka Tiensuu and including Eero Hmeenniemi, Kaija Saariaho, Magnus Lindberg, Jouni Kaipainen, Tapani Lnsi, Harri Vuori, Tapio Nevanlinna, Harri Suilamo, Tapio Tuomela and Veli-Matti Puumala studied with him. Heininen was Professor of Composition at the Sibelius Academy from 1993 to 2001. Heininen says that the adversities he faced led him to adopt a dual approach to composition. In some works he gives full and uncompromising rein to his composer persona, whereas in others he says that I only hint at my inner musical imagination instead of implementing it fully. Of his early uncompromising works, Heininen mentions the Quintet for flute, saxophone, piano, vibraphone and percussion (1961), Musique dt (1963/67) for chamber ensemble, Adagio (1963/66) for orchestra, the First Piano Concerto (1964) and Discantus I (1965) for alto flute. He names the Second
Paavo Heininen: A devout Modernist

I emerged (in 1957) with works that in terms of their intervallic and rhythmic material were on the threshold of Serialist organization. But after the shock of the First Symphony (the orchestra refused to perform it in its entirety) I felt it necessary to explore other paths Baroque forms and dance rhythms. Between 1960 and 1965, I advanced further (with the exception of Petite symphonie joyeuse ), but I did not take a decisive step towards multi-dimensional Serialism; instead, I tried to create a coherent 106 inventing finnish music
Piano Concerto (1966), the Violin Sonata (1970), the piano suite Libretto della primavera (1971) and the organ pieces of op. 29 (1972) as more stylized and thus consciously simplified early works. Heininens style is grounded in a dodecaphonic brand of Expressionism whose roots go back to Alban Berg. He has even compared his First String Quartet (1974), one of his stylized works, to the early String Quartet op. 3 of Berg. His closest approach to Serialist Constructivism is Musique dt. Heininen often expands his dodecaphonic-Expressionist idiom with sound fields and microtonality, as in Soggetto (1963) for chamber orchestra, and with sound fields and aleatorics, as in the Adagio and the First Piano Concerto. My problem has always been to create uniformity out of material whose expanse and richness of detail threaten to explode cohesion. To limit the amount and power of the content in a radical way and to force it into simple forms would be a negative solution. I have sought positive solutions where the form would tame the entire abundance of material without strangling it. This goal was wonderfully achieved in Heininens Third Symphony (1969/77), his principal symphonic work, where the richness of detail dovetails easily with the expansive arcs of the overall form. In the Fourth Symphony (1971), he returned to a less expansive form, working with sound fields and aleatoric counterpoint. After the Fourth Symphony, he abandoned orchestral music for several years, writing works for solo instruments and chamber music instead. This period includes Heininens major piano work, the rich virtuoso-style sonata Poesia squillante ed incandescente (1974). Heininen abandoned his strict dodecaphonic period in the late 1970s but continued to explore the rich chromatic domain of a deepened brand of Modernism. In the orchestral work Tritopos (1977), he made use of the space-time notation familiar from the works of Erik Bergman, and also used the spatial element by dividing the performers into three groups. Dia (1979), Heininens third major orchestral work after the Adagio and the Third Symphony, continues in the same vein but on a larger scale. In Dicta (1983) for chamber orchestra, Heininen took yet another step ahead, using a computer as an aid in writing. He describes 108 inventing finnish music
the computer as a composers secretary, finding and defining immense groups of details, clouds of short notes, within given parameters. The 1980s became a decade of concertos and operas in Heininens output. The solo music thread continued with the quirky virtuoso-style Third Piano Concerto (1981), the fluently melodic Saxophone Concerto (1983) and the colourful Cello Concerto (1985). His first opera, Silkkirumpu (The Damask Drum, 1983), also contains a strong measure of virtuoso technique, which had been foreshadowed vocally in Reality (1978) for soprano and chamber ensemble. The sub-title of Silkkirumpu, a concerto for singers, musicians, movement, images, words... refers not only to virtuoso technique but to the holistic nature of the work. Whereas Silkkirumpu was based on a Japanese Noh play and was Symbolic in character, Heininens next opera Veitsi (The Knife, 1988) was set in a far more realistic urban environment. Compared with the single-act Silkkirumpu that is conceived as one vast crescendo, Veitsi is more complex in its structure and broader in its content. Heininens output of the 1990s is strangely retrospective. For example, the extensive set of works for string orchestra in op. 66 (1994) seems to be consciously nostalgic. Heininen has also adapted new versions of his early works from the 1950s such as the Toccata (1956), which has re-emerged as a piano piece, Toccata resonata (1990) and the finale of the Second Piano Sonata (1956/92). His Violin Concerto Tuuminki (A Thought, 1993) is a fantasy of what Aarre Merikantos Third Violin Concerto, destroyed by the composer in 1955, might have been like. Heininen has also written two String Quartets in the style of Leevi Madetoja (1999). Of course, he has also continued to write more substantial works in his own idiom, such as the Second String Quartet (1992/94), theSaxophone Quartet (1993/2001), the Violin Concerto (1999), the String Quintet (2001), the Fifth Symphony (2002) and the Fourth Piano Concerto (2005).
Completely unruly nursery noise

The second wave of Finnish Modernism came to a colourful culmination in the phenomenon known as the nursery concerts. This
was a series of concerts organized by the Suomen Musiikkinuoriso society (Finlands Musical Youth) in the early 1960s to showcase the latest in avant-garde. The society had been founded in 1957 by two mainly Neo-Classical composers, Matti Rautio and Seppo Nummi, following the example of the international Jeunesses Musicales organization. In 1961, the society was taken over by agroup of young radicals, the central figures being Kari Rydman, Henrik Otto Donner and Erkki Salmenhaara. They held their first concert in December 1962; Nils-Eric Ringbom, a composer of the old school, passionately condemned it in his review as completely unruly nursery noise. This pronouncement is somewhat ironic when we consider that the programme included not only works by Rydman, Donner, Salmenhaara and Swedish composer Folke Rabe but also no doubt as an intensive though soundless climax John Cages 433. The nursery concerts were at their most active in 1963, with the society organizing a dozen concerts featuring elements such as field technique, clusters, quotes, collage, electronic amplification, aleatorics, improvisation and happenings. These had emerged in international Modernism as a reaction to Serialism, which had been considered a dead end as early as in the 1950s. Only a few composers dabbled in Serialism in Finland, and its position in the development of Finnish music was subsumed by dodecaphony. Although the nursery concerts did not feature very many works of any lasting artistic value, they had an important function in presenting new composition techniques. They also questioned the traditional concert institution, so much so that one of them was dubbed the sabotage concert. No wonder, then, that these efforts by angry young men launched an animated public debate on Modernism and on new music in general. kari rydman The main part of the output of Kari Rydman (b. 1936) in his radical period consists of chamber music and orchestral works. For example, in the six Sonatas written for a variety of ensembles (196263), Rydman experimented with modern textures, glissandos, microintervals, aleatoric counterpoint and graphic notation. In Srnade Djamila Boupacha (1962/63) for strings, he 110 inventing finnish music
expanded his idiom with Penderecki-like clusters. Inhis Second, Third and Fourth String Quartets (196364), which according to the composer can be performed consecutively as one large quartet, he introduced quotes used in a collage-like fashion. Rydmans plurality of materials peaked in the orchestral work Symphony of Modern Worlds (1968). Many of Rydmans works show a penchant for a soft overall sound, and this remained characteristic of his idiom in his comparatively few later works too. His Sixth String Quartet (1979) and Inventions (1982) for strings, for example, are Neo-Romantic and free-tonal. Rydman also expanded his scope beyond concert music and is widely known for writing a number of attractive popular songs. If Rydman was the Romantic of the nursery group, Henrik Otto Donner (b. 1938) was its most radical experimenter. After the early Cantata profana (1962), written in a post-Darmstadt idiom, Donner turned to a freer form of Modernism. He might use the noise from 12 radios as a background as in Ideogramme I (1962) or instruct 20 musicians to move between rooms in an art gallery as in Ideogramme II (1963). Donner had the greatest liking for happenings, such as Street Piece Helsinki organized together with Ken Dewey and Terry Riley in August 1963. Donners Sinfonia (Hommage Charles Ives) (1964) for strings and Hammond organ is a quote-and-collage ironic comment on the symphony tradition so highly respected by Finns; it quotes from Mozart, Lennon & McCartney and contemporary Modernist works. To Whom it May Concern (1966) is written for orchestra and jazz ensemble, and in a number of other works too such as XC (1970) for soprano, choir and chamber ensemble Donner has made use of jazz elements. Since the 1970s, he has been mainly involved in jazz, with only theoccasional excursion into concert music. The nursery concerts were a short-lived phenomenon that fizzled before the middle of the 1960s. Of the three main composers involved, only Erkki Salmenhaara (see p. 116) continued working solely in concert music, and he too turned from his radical idiom to a completely different, often pointedly simple free-tonal or even neo-tonal language.
henrik otto donner
Electronic music in Finland

The history of Finnish electronic music began in 1958 with the concrete-material acoustic composition based on Aldous Huxleys novel Brave New World created by Martti Vuorenjuuri (b. 1932), a music critic and an active promoter of Modernism. The other main branch of electronic music, using only synthetic sounds, found its first Finnish manifestation in Three Electronic Etudes (1960) by Bengt Johansson. In the early 1960s, electronic music attracted composers such as Usko Merilinen, Henrik Otto Donner, Reijo Jyrkiinen (b. 1934), Erkki Kureniemi (b. 1941), Ilkka Kuusisto and Erkki Salmenhaara. Kureniemi was an important figure in that he began to construct Finlands first purpose-designed electronic music studio at the Department of Musicology at the University of Helsinki in 1962. The first major composer of electronic music in Finland was Osmo Lindeman (1929 1987). He began his career with orchestral and chamber music works, progressing from the Neo-Classicism of his First Symphony, Sinfonia inornata (1959) to the expansive sound fields and texture-based conceptions of his First (1963) and Second (1965) Piano Concertos. In his Concerto for Chamber Orchestra (1966), headded aleatoric counterpoint to his palette. Lindeman created his first electronic began teaching electronic music at the Sibelius Academy, and in 1980 he published the first textbook in Finnish on the subject. The year 1972 was important in the history of Finnish electronic music. In addition to the success of Ritual and the beginning of teaching at the Sibelius Academy, the Finnish Broadcasting Company founded an experimental studio and hired its first regular employee, Pekka Sirn (b. 1946). Andrew Bentley (b. 1952) emigrated from Britain to Finland in 1976 and contributed in a major way to the development of the experimental studio. Specialist sound engineer Juhani Liimatainen (b.1952) was engaged by the studio in 1978; he has been of crucial importance in many electronic music projects. A third studio is run by the Sibelius Academy, which acquired its own equipment in 1978 and opened a new computer music studio (SACMUS) in 1991. Since the 1970s, a number of Finnish composers have focused on electronic music. Among the best-known of them are Otto Romanowski (b. 1952), who has an interest in computer-assisted composition, among other things, and Jukka Ruohomki (b. 1947) and Patrik Kosk (b. 1951), who have worked at the studio at the University of Helsinki and received international prizes for their works. Other composers who have worked with electronic music include Antero Honkanen (b. 1941), ke Andersson (b. 1944), Mikael Laurson (b. 1951), Kari Keskinen (b. 1956), Petri Laakso (b. 1955) and Jukka-Pekka Kervinen (b. 1961). Purebred tape music has never gained abroad audience in Finland. Electronic music
has served its purpose best in combination with acoustic music, usually in works by composers who work mainly in conventional genres. The combination of live musicians and tape backgrounds may be found particularly in works by Jarmo Sermil, Herman Rechberger, Jukka Tiensuu and Kaija Saariaho; they have also created works for tape alone. Other composers to be mentioned in this context are Usko Merilinen, Paavo Heininen, Harri Suilamo, Tapio Nevanlinna, Olli Koskelin, Harri Vuori, Magnus Lindberg, Tapio Tuomela, Jovanka Trbojevic and Hannu Pohjannoro. Radiophonic works have been the most successful of all Finnish electronic works. This genre is fairly loosely defined, extending from very free sound collages to radio plays. Examples of the latter are Herman Rechbergers Pekka Mikkosen nousu (The Rise of Mr. Jonathan Smith, 1978), which received a special prize in the Prix Italia competition, and Magnus Cordius (1985). Olli Kortekangas also won a special prize in the Prix Italia with Memoria (1989), awork freer in conception. The three Finnish works that have won the radiophonic category in the Prix Italia competition to date Magnus Lindbergs Faust (1986), Kaija Saariahos Stilleben (1988) and Veli-Matti Puumalas Rajamailla (Borderscapes, 2001) are freeassociative in their dramaturgy.
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composition, Kinetic Forms, in 1969, and after that he never wrote instrumental music again. He used mainly synthetic material in his works, although he introduced the human voice in his best-known work Ritual (1972), which won the competition organized by the Italian division of the ISCM. In that year, Lindeman
IX That Which Was Old

The transition of the 1960s and free-tonality
The disillusionment of composers with the potential of aleatorics and clusters, which had seemed inexhaustible at first, became apparent in the late 1960s both in Finland and elsewhere. After we had spent a decade feverishly chasing that which was absolutely new and unheard of, there was only one thing left that was new: that which was old. Erkki Salmenhaara wrote this in 1978, expressing the deep frustration with Modernism that many composers were facing. Announcing the death of Modernism was a universal phenomenon, but it had a particularly great impact in Finland, where a return to more traditional stylistic values occurred in the late 1960s. Itis indicative that the Contemporary Music Society, previously anactive proponent of new music, shrivelled in the mid-1960s and was given the coup de grace in 1967. In that year, Finlands seat in the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) was transferred to the Association of Finnish Composers. Although Modernism was sidelined, it never went away; itcontinued to thrive in the music of Erik Bergman, Usko Merilinen and Paavo Heininen, for example. Nor was the old to which composers were now returning quite the same old as before, since the traditional values had assimilated new elements by being filtered through a Modernist phase. Furthermore, there were composers like Einojuhani Rautavaara whose music reflected the plurality of the times and who occupied territory between Modernism and more traditional styles. The musical transition in the 1960s was influenced by a number of both internal and external factors. The status not only of Modernism but of concert music in general was being challenged by the rise of popular music and a new youth culture into 114 inventing finnish music
mainstream culture. Young people no longer rebelled by going for Modernism; instead, they discarded the entire institution of concert music. The trend of political activism that emerged towards the late 1960s also posed a challenge: high culture, and concert music as apart of it, was considered a prop to the power of the ruling classes and devoid of political consciousness. The relevance of academic Modernism was questioned within the art world itself too, and the then thriving genre of pop art attacked both the strict puritan forms of modern fine arts in particular and high culture in general. In Finnish music, free-tonality became the mainstream trend in the late 1960s. This was not really a style but an approach that covers a variety of very different styles such as Neo-Classicism, NeoRomanticism and Minimalism. Shared features include freely combined triads and other relatively consonant harmonies. At the same time, textures became more conventional and rhythms became simpler. Melodic shaping was no longer dodecaphonic, although melodic lines could be highly chromatic. This transition had the greatest effect on Einar Englund, who began to write music again after a long creative pause. The most abrupt shift was undertaken by Erkki Salmenhaara, who abandoned radical Modernism and developed a singular free-tonal or even neo-tonal style by the early 1970s. Other previously dodeca phonic but now free-tonal composers were Joonas Kokkonen and Tauno Marttinen. For Aulis Sallinen, dodecaphony had only been a brief early stage before discovering his own voice. Free-tonality was a natural choice for composers emerging in the 1970s such as Pekka Kostiainen and Harri Wessman, and even in the 1980s, when Modernism again became dominant, new free-tonal composers such as Pekka Jalkanen, Lars Karlsson, Timo-Juhani Kyllnen and Jukka Linkola continued to emerge. The rise of free-tonality had a crucial impact on Finnish music. With the danger of audiences being alienated from concert music, it was important for accessible new music to be written. Furthermore, free-tonality was a factor in the opera boom that began with the works of Kokkonen and Sallinen in the mid-1970s. Opera is, after all, an expensive art form that relies heavily on the support of the public at large.
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Finlands thriving music today rests largely on the foundation created through reforms in the 1960s, such as the network of music institutions. Umbrella organizations were founded for the all-important orchestra institution (the Association of Finnish Symphony Orchestras, 1965) and for regional opera companies (the Association of Finnish Operas, 1968). Finlands reputation for highquality summer music festivals also began to grow in the 1960s, and Finland Festivals was founded as an umbrella organization for Finnish cultural festivals not just music festivals in 1968. The Act on State Artists Grants, which substantially improved public support for artists in a variety of fields, was enacted in 1969. The Foundation for the Promotion of Finnish Music (LUSES), founded in 1970, also plays an important role; for instance, it maintained the Finnish Music Information Centre (Fimic) until 1995. A new major player entered the orchestra field with the founding of the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra in 1972.
written in 1962 (revised in 1963) in the middle of his radical period! or his Second Symphony (1963/66), which employs a Ligetian field technique. The sombre Third Symphony (1963/64) is the most substantial work of Salmenhaaras early period, combining sound fields with intensive chromatic melodic writing. The shift towards a new stylistic ideal emerges in Le bateau ivre (1965/66), an orchestral work named after a poem by Arthur Rimbaud: its principal material consists of triads, albeit super imposed in bitonal or polytonal fashion. The simplification of texture continued in the orchestral works Suomi-Finland (1965) and La fille en mini-jupe (1967), the latter being in its title a very 1960s echo of Debussys La fille aux cheveux de lin, which is quoted in the work along with Beethovens Waldstein Sonata. By the end of the 1960s, Salmenhaara had arrived at an idiom completely different from his radical period, featuring a soft sound ideal, simple textures and the use of pure triads up to and including traditional tonality. He combined chords quite freely, but in some of his works he used key signatures. He also employed frequent repetitions of his motifs in a somewhat Minimalist way, although he specifically dissociated himself from Minimalism. Nevertheless, for example in the Fourth Piano Sonata (1980) the repetition is so extensive as to qualify for repetitive Minimalism, at least in thebroad sense of the term. Salmenhaaras neo-tonal works are often dream-like, nostalgic or even resigned. Quotes and allusions import a further dimension of associations. The Third Piano Sonata (1975) contains modified quotes from the first movement of Beethovens Moonlight Sonata, and the Piano Sonatina (1979) quotes from the familiar Minuet by J.S. Bach. The link to the past and to tradition can also be more general, asin the movement titles of the Horn Concerto (1973): Im Walde, Inder Ferne klingt ein Liedchen and Die Jagd, creating a poetic vision of German Romanticism, perhaps the most befitting environment for the horn. Such features lend a fascinating ambiguity to many of Salmenhaaras works the music is simultaneously genuinely original on one hand and stylized and distanced on the other. In his later period, Salmenhaara wrote vocal music, orchestral works, concertos and chamber music. His most extensive vocal
IX That Which Was Old 117
Erkki Salmenhaara: From Modernism to neo-tonality

The renouncing of Modernism was more abrupt and more total with Erkki Salmenhaara (19412002) than with any other composer. He had been one of the most radical Modernists, one of the masters of ceremonies at the nursery concerts, and in his new style too he went to extremes, progressing beyond free-tonality to a sort of neo-tonality or neo-simplicity that is something quite different from traditionalism or a return to the past. Salmenhaara thus became unique among Finnish composers, asort of musical dissenter. In his radical early period, Salmenhaara experimented with avariety of composition techniques not yet widely used in Finland, such as aleatorics and playing the piano directly on the strings, as in Suoni successivi (1962) for piano. The Concerto for Two Violins (1963) makes use of electronic amplification, resulting in spinechilling sounds, according to one report. Salmenhaara also invented an instrument called the ferrophone, which remained a curiosity. Salmenhaara later withdrew these and many other early experimental works of his. We should note, though, that there was a second, more serious dimension to his work even in the early stages of his career. A case in point is his First Symphony, Crescendi, 116 inventing finnish music
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works are Requiem profanum (1969) and its smaller sister work Missa profana (1977), and the opera Portugalin nainen (ThePortuguese Woman), based on a story by Robert Musil, alyrical and non-dramatic work that has been compared to Debussys Pellas et Mlisande. Of his later instrumental works, themost important is the Fourth Symphony (1972), whose sub-title Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita is the opening line of Dantes Divine Comedy. Other instrumental works worth mentioning are the popular Sonatina (1972) for two violins, the String Quartet (1977), Johdanto ja koraali (Introduction and Hymn, 1978) for organ and orchestra, the Concerto for Two Violins (1980), the Sonata for Violin and Piano (1982), the Second Cello Sonata (1982) and the Cello Concerto (198387). Along with his work as a composer, Salmenhaara created adistinguished career as a musicologist, above all as the most highly esteemed music historian in Finland. This limited his composing, which for all practical purposes ceased in the 1990s. His Fifth Symphony, Lintukoto (Isle of Bliss, 1989) for soloists, choir and orchestra, remained his final major work; it is a festive and monumental work whose origins can be traced back to both Bruckner and Sibelius.
in his Violin Concerto (1962), and he applied tone row technique in the TV opera Pllysviitta (The Overcoat, 1963), but then turned to a more traditional free-tonal approach. Marttinen has emphasized the importance of immediate inspiration in his work. I believe that every composition should have a spark of the eternal, of the divinity, for it to live, he once said. Itis easy to understand that a highly controlled technique such as dodecaphony did not really suit him, although paradoxically he wrote some of his most powerful works using that technique. In Marttinens free-tonal period, his harmonic palette has extended from pure triads to expansive sound fields and textures using aleatoric counterpoint. Motif repetition and an effective use of ostinato are among his hallmarks. His formal concepts are free and loosely defined, and although he has written several works that could be described as absolute music, including ten Symphonies and four String Quartets, he is more comfortable with free, descriptive forms such as tone poems, which may be inspired by mythology, the night sky or natural phenomena. Marttinens inspiration has scarcely ever flagged to date, and his prolific output contains almost 400 works. Inevitably, the quality of his works is uneven. An important genre is opera; his 15 operas include both traditional grand operas and concise chamber operas; their topics extend from ancient Egypt to religious philosophy and rustic comedy. Marttinens most highly rated opera, which he himself too considers his best, is the intensive psychological drama Poltettu oranssi (Burnt Orange, 1968), originally written for TV. Works inspired by the Kalevala also form an important group in Marttinens output; the most extensive of these is the ballet Pivnpst (The Sun out of the Moon, 197577/83). The group includes both vocal and orchestral music.
Tauno Marttinen and the spark of the eternal

Turning from dodecaphony to free-tonality was not the first stylistic transition in the career of Tauno Marttinen (b. 1912). He began his career in a traditional Late Romantic style in the late 1930s, but his early works were particularly harshly received by critics. In 1956, he disowned his entire output up to that date, some 40 works, and declared Kokko, ilman lintu (Eagle, Bird of the Air, 1956) for mezzo soprano and orchestra to be his opus 1. The work opened a new, more modern phase in his output and an extensive series of works based on the Kalevala. In 1958, Marttinen went to study with Wladimir Vogel in Ascona, Switzerland, and adopted dodecaphony in his First Symphony (1958). In the orchestral work Linnunrata (The Milky Way, 1961), dodecaphony blends with the more colourful idiom of Kokko, ilman lintu. Marttinen came closest to classical dodecaphony 118 inventing finnish music
Leonid Bashmakov: A symphonic and concerto composer

It just was not my thing, said Leonid Bashmakov (b. 1927) tersely, describing his encounter with row technique. His dodecaphonic period was even briefer than that of Marttinen, its main work being the First Symphony (1963). Bashmakovs stylistic roots are in the Neo-Classicism of the 1950s, which his dodecaphonic transition
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period distilled and concentrated into his later highly expressive free-tonal style. Bashmakov is occupied above all with absolute music symphonies, concertos and chamber music although he has also written a number of extensive vocal works, most significantly the Requiem (1988) for soloists, choir and orchestra. Despite its title, it is a setting not of the traditional liturgical text but of the eponymous poem by Lassi Nummi. The closest comparisons to Bashmakovs energetic, colourful and expressive style can be found in the work of composers such as Bla Bartk, Arthur Honegger and Andr Jolivet. He has also used aleatorics on occasion, as in the Sixth Symphony (1982), and his palette also includes a Post-Romantic streak that even echoes Sibelius, as in the Seventh Symphony (1998). Bashmakovs NeoClassical background is evident above all in his effective use of rhythm, approaching a dancelike idiom in the ballet Tumma (The Dark One, 1976), one of his principal works. Closely related to the ballet are his Fourth Symphony (1977) and Passacaglia (1977) for orchestra. His orchestral output also includes the Concerto for Orchestra (1969) and The Three Tolls (1993), a sort of modernized orchestral version of Rakhmaninovs vocal symphony The Bells. Alongside symphonic writing, Bashmakov has also written several concertos, most important among which are the Cello Concerto (1972) and the Second Violin Concerto (1983). He has written some fifteen concertos or soloist works, which show his interest in wind instruments, including works for flute (Impressioni marini, 1974), clarinet (1990), piccolo trumpet (1992), horn (1992), bassoon (1993) and trombone (Trombonidol, 1993). Some of his concertos are scored for a normal orchestra, others for strings; theOrgan Concerto (1975) is scored for brass band. Bashmakovs chamber music, like his concertos, display his penchant for using unusual instruments and ensembles. Although he has written two String Quartets (1972, 1974), it is more characteristic for him to use such ensembles as flute and percussion in Nelj bagatellia (Four Bagatelles, 1971), organ and percussion in Dialogit (Dialogues, 1971), accordion and harpsichord in Seitsemn inventiota (Seven Inventions, 1985), two accordions and percussion in Kolmipeli (Tripartite Game, 1990), four kanteles in Nelinpeli 120 inventing finnish music
(Doubles, 1991) and a variety of ensembles with an emphasis on wind instruments, often also including percussion. Aseparate group consists of what could be described as chamber concertos: theConcerto da camera I (1972) for flute and string quartet; the Concerto da camera II (1977) for harp and string quartet; and the Concerto for harpsichord, two string quartets and percussion (1991).
The new wave of choral music

The revitalization of choral music was one of the important phenomena of the transition period in Finnish music in the 1960s. Traditional values were joined by a wholly new choral style employing a wider range of vocal expression, including elements derived from the avant-garde. In the works of Erik Bergman, these elements formed a natural part of his musical exploration, but many other composers who otherwise never went in for Modernism also gained influences from new choral phenomena. An important role in creating this new choral culture was played both by older choirs boldly taking up new challenges and by the new choirs founded around this time: the Klemetti Institute Chamber Choir (founded in 1959) and the Finnish Radio Chamber Choir (founded in 1962), both initially conducted by Harald Andersn, and the Tapiola Choir (founded in 1963), Finlands internationally most famous childrens choir, conducted for three decades by its founder Erkki Pohjola. Sulo Salonen (18991976) was a choral composer of the older generation for whom dodecaphony was a rejuvenating force. He is best known for his sacred music; his earliest works show the influence of Bach and Gregorian chant. He experimented with dodecaphony in the organ work Toccata (1955). Later, for example in the Missa a cappella (1957) and the Requiem (1962), he did not apply row technique as such, but his dodecaphonic experiments had lent an increased chromatic flavour to his style. Bengt Johansson (19141989) began his career in a traditional Romantic style in the late 1940s and principally wrote instrumental music until the late 1950s, although this period includes the acappella choral work Stabat mater (1951). In 1960, Johansson
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became a pioneer in Finnish electronic music, creating the first Finnish work based wholly on synthetic sound material, Kolme elektronista etydi (Three Electronic Etudes). More importantly, in the same year he began his choral period with the Missa sacra, awork steeped in influences from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Johansson achieved a coherent synthesis of Renaissance madrigal style and contemporary musical elements in his bestknown work, The Tomb at Akr aar (1964) for baritone and mixed choir, and continued in this vein in Triptych (1965) and the Requiem (1966). Johansson described his technique for Triptych thus: For the most part, I wrote texture in six parts, with the men and women each comprising a three-part group singing major and minor triads, usually in contrary motion. In his later madrigals in the 1970s, Johansson arrived at what he described as a sort of neo-simplicity or diatonic linearity. This period also produced his opera Linna (The Castle, 1975), which came in second to Aulis Sallinens Ratsumies (The Horseman) in the composition competition organized for the 500th anniversary of Olavinlinna Castle and which remains unperformed to this day. Like Salonen and Johansson, Eero Sipil (19181972) was also interested in early music, particularly Gregorian chant. After aNeoClassical early period featuring instrumental works such as the String Trio (1952) and the Partita (1955) for wind quintet, he turned to choral music in the early 1960s. In the motet Super flumina Babylonis (1963), he combined cluster harmonies and glissandos with Gregorian chant influences. Sipils principal work is Te Deum laudamus (1969) for soloists, choir and orchestra. Alighter and more humorous side of his output can be seen in the solo song cycles Schein und Sein (1966) and Tiitiisen satupuu (Tiitiinens Fairy-Tale Tree, 1971). Sipils final work, which he himself considered one of his finest, is the string quartet Lux aeterna (1972) which like his early String Trio is based on aGregorian chant. While Johansson and Sipil progressed from a relatively traditional style towards Modernism, Gottfrid Grsbeck (b. 1927) emerged 122 inventing finnish music
as a highly radical Modernist. This early stage in his career is represented by the small orchestral work Toccata dodecafonica (1959), the Concerto for two tape recorders and orchestra (1964) and the staged cantata Stmmor ur elementer (Voices from the Elements, 1965) for male voice choir, male voice quartet, tape, six projectors and dancers. In the late 1960s, Grsbeck began to turn towards amore traditional free-tonal idiom. His later work consists mostly of relatively simple and archaic choral works, but he has also written orchestral music and concertos. Grsbeck is closely connected with choral music, having had a long career as a choir conductor.
Jouko Linjama: Works for choir and organ

The output of Jouko Linjama (b. 1934) is coloured by his career as a church organist. His early works include 5 Metamorphosen (1963) for chamber ensemble, modelled on the Five Canons op. 16 of Webern. This was quite a Modernist opening for Linjamas career, considering that he has later worked principally with influences derived from Gregorian chant, late Medieval polyphony and Renaissance sacred music. Although Linjamas idiom is free-tonal, it incorporates the legacy of 1960s Modernism in its use of sound fields, for instance. Being an organist, Linjama has written several organ works, including Concerto per organo (1971), Missa cum jubilo (1977), Organum supra BACH (1982), Toccata in D (1985), Heijastuksia Lahden Ristin kirkon urkufasadista (Reflections on the Organ Faade in the Church of the Cross, Lahti, 1991) for organ four hands, and the Concerto for organ, marimba, vibraphone and two wind quartets (1981). The core of his output, however, consists of choral works. His principal sacred choral works are the Missa de Angelis (1969), Maailman alghusta ja Loomisesta (Genesis and Creation, 1983) and the Suomalainen Requiem (Finnish Requiem, 1998). He has also written a considerable body of secular choral works, including Millaista on (How It Is, 1964/68), a setting of Samuel Beckett; Kunnianosoitus Aleksis Kivelle (Hommage Aleksis Kivi, 197076); La sapienza (1980); and Kalevala-sarja (Kalevala Suite, 1981). He recently explored a wholly new genre with his two-act childrens opera Suomalainen tapiiri (The Finnish Tapir, 1999). jouko linjama
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Pekka Kostiainen and the national mythology

Of the composers who made their breakthrough in the 1970s, Pekka Kostiainen (b. 1944) is the one who is primarily known for choral works. He is a successful choir conductor and is well grounded in the potential of choral expression and in the limitations of various types of choirs. Kostiainens music is usually free-tonal, but his idiom extends further both ways, both towards pure tonality and towards more contemporary vocal techniques. For example, in one of his best-known works, Jaakobin pojat (Jacobs Sons, 1976), the Biblical list of names is presented using Sprechgesang, whispers, glissandos, highest and lowest possible notes of undetermined pitch, and a spatial element. Kostiainens choral output consists of some 100 works, which can be divided into three main categories: works for childrens choir, sacred works and Kalevala-mythological works. These categories overlap, of course, since he has written both sacred and mythological works for childrens choir. Kostiainens writing for childrens choir is often briskly humorous, whereas his sacred works are more lucid and demonstrate his interest in Renaissance vocal music. His most extensive sacred vocal work is the Easter oratorio Triduum Paschale (2000) for soloists, choir and orchestra, consisting of the Maundy Thursday mass Missa Viridium, the Good Friday service Passio and the Easter mass Missa Paschalis. The Neo-Classical style recalls the sacred choral works of Poulenc. Kostiainens principal sacred a cappella choral work is Missa in Deo salutare meum (1986). Perhaps the most original group in Kostiainens choral output is that consisting of works inspired by the national mythology, the Kalevala or other ancient folk poetry. Here, Kostiainen aims at an archaic and almost shamanist idiom rather like that of Estonian composer Veljo Tormis, its main characteristics being melodies of narrow compass, repetition of motifs and rhythmic patterns, and simple, even austere harmonies. Kostiainens principal works in this group are Pakkasen luku (The Frosts Incantation, 1983) and Tuli on tuima tieettv (Do Not Play With Fire, 1984). The single-act opera Joukahaisen runo (Joukahainen, 1985) is also related to this group. 124 inventing finnish music
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In the early 2000s, Kostiainen returned to opera in two extensive works. Sammon tarina (The tale of the Sampo, 2003) continues his series of works based on the national mythology of the Kalevala, while the folk opera Lakeuksien lukko (Lock of the plains, 2006), premiered in Ilmajoki in summer 2006, draws on local 19th-century history: the struggle between a modernist factory owner and a conservative farmer, and the love story of their children. Kostiainens instrumental works fall mainly within the NeoClassical tradition. One of his influences shows up in the title of the wind quintet Hommage Prokofiev (1976); the sombre Symphony for Strings (1981), on the other hand, is more closely related to Shostakovich. His most important orchestral work is the First Symphony (2003). Concertos and chamber music form the principal groups in Kostiainens instrumental output. He has written a concerto or concertino for the violin (1978), the cello (1979) and the piano (1987) and also for Finlands national instrument, the kantele (Concertino, 1998). His most extensive solo instrumental work is Urkumessu (Organ Mass, 1974). Kostiainens contemporary Harri Tuominen (19442006) is also best known as a choral composer, and he too was a choir conductor with a solid practical knowledge of vocal expression. More recently, Jaakko Mntyjrvi (b. 1963) has also become widely known as a choral composer; he was composer-in-residence with the Tapiola Chamber Choir from 2000 to 2005. He draws on a wide range of influences, describing himself as an eclectic traditionalist. Mntyjrvi writes both secular and sacred music in a free-tonal style. His most popular works are Pseudo-Yoik (1994), a gloss on the traditional Smi yoik, and El Hambo (1997), a folk dance spoof. His principal work to date is the choral drama Salvat 1701 (2000) for reciters, soloists and choir, which could be described as something between a narrated concert and a church drama. Other extensive works in his output are Kouta (1996), asetting of a poem by Eino Leino for soloists, narrator, choir and instrument ensemble, and Kosijat (The Suitors, 2001), a setting of a poem from the Kanteletar for mixed choir.
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Some opera composers

Aulis Sallinen starts the opera boom
Aulis Sallinen (b. 1935) wrote his first compositions in the late 1950s, at the time of the advent of Modernism in Finnish music. Sallinen did not wholly escape its influence, but he did not discover his own voice until he progressed to an emotionally charged form of free-tonality after a transition period in the 1960s. Sallinen initially wrote orchestral and chamber music, but with Ratsumies (The Horseman) his focus shifted to opera. 126 inventing finnish music
Sallinens dodecaphonic period proper is limited to the First String Quartet (1958). The Concerto for Chamber Orchestra (1959) and the Second String Quartet, Canzona (1960), were written in a similar Expressionist vein but with a freer technique. Sallinens early period culminated in the orchestral work Mauermusik (1962), dedicated to the memory of a young man shot dead at the Berlin Wall; the distorted world is reflected in the microintervals and cluster chords of the musical texture. Quattro per quattro (1965) was a mediator between the early period and the free-tonal style that first appeared in the Violin Concerto (1968). People wallow in enormous masses of sound these days. Many elements of music that are important to me have been abandoned. For me, all good art is powerful and simple, Sallinen has said. Accordingly, in his mature period he has been constructing his music of simple but efficiently used materials. In terms of harmony, he favours triads, particularly minor chords, but his harmonic palette expands to dense clusters if required. The minor-key tone lends a sombre and emotional, even Neo-Romantic tone to Sallinens music. He also favours concentrated thematic processing and a coherence and intensity generated through the repetition and gradual changing of motifs. The variation form is a favourite of Sallinens. Its best-known manifestation is the Third String Quartet, Aspekteja Peltoniemen Hintrikin surumarssista (Aspects of the Funeral March of Hintriki Peltoniemi, 1969), a set of variations on a Finnish fiddler tune presenting it in a variety of guises, with deliberately abrupt stylistic shifts. In his following instrumental works, however, Sallinen returned to a more coherent and concentrated idiom. The singlemovement First Symphony (1971), for instance, is a dense atmospheric piece arising from an F sharp minor environment; and the Fourth String Quartet, Hiljaisia lauluja (Quiet Songs, 1971) also focuses on a single meditative mood. Sallinens career took a decisive turn with the premiere of the opera Ratsumies (The Horseman, 1974) at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in summer 1975. Sallinens creative energies now focused on opera, and since then he has been writing an opera more or less every five years. He has written six operas to date, with a wide
range of topics. Finlands history both real and mythological is explored not only in Ratsumies, with a libretto by poet and playwright Paavo Haavikko, but also in Punainen viiva (The Red Line, 1978), reflecting the social conditions in Finland at the time of the first elections with universal suffrage in 1907; and in Kullervo (1988), the sombre tale of a tragic anti-hero from the Kalevala. More international in scope are Kuningas lhtee Ranskaan (The King Goes Forth to France, 1983), a spectacle in the spirit of the theatre of the absurd; Palatsi (The Palace, 1993), a satire on corrupt dictator ship motivated by the regimes of Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and Nicolae Ceauc ^escu of Romania, for example; and King Lear (1999), a setting of the great tragedy by Shakespeare. Sallinen has used a variety of approaches in his dramaturgy. Ratsumies contains allegorical dimensions, combining the individual with the universal, while in Punainen viiva the characters come strongly across as individuals despite the political context. Kullervo and King Lear are clearly dramas of the individual, while Kuningas lhtee Ranskaan and Palatsi are set in a strongly stylized and highly symbolic world that represents the universal rather than the individual. The approach governs the music in the sense that Kuningas lhtee Ranskaan and Palatsi are lighter and more ironic in tone than Sallinens other operas; Palatsi even skirts close to the edges of a musical comedy style reminiscent of Leonard Bernstein. The operas with Finnish subjects are sombre and tragic, and in King Lear the tragedy is spanned with fine melodic arcs. Sallinens operas employ a wider range of styles than his instrumental works, in many cases simply because of narrative or theatrical reasons. For example, in Ratsumies the aleatoric sound fields of bell-ringing are unusual for Sallinen but find their motivation in the narrative: it is Easter in Novgorod. In Punainen viiva, there are several such stylistic deviations: the lullaby, the peddlers Balladi Vestmanviikista (Ballad of Vestmanviiki), the hymns sung in church and the workers song appearing at the political rally. Kullervo incorporates a pop-jazz piece, Balladi sisaren turmelemisesta (Ballad of the Spoiling of the Sister), sung by a blind singer. Sallinens international reputation rests largely on his operas; indeed, Kuningas lhtee Ranskaan was commissioned jointly by 128 inventing finnish music
theSavonlinna Opera Festival and the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in London. However, Sallinen has continued to write music in other genres too. His extensive vocal work Dies irae (1978) for soloists, male voice choir and orchestra paints a dismal picture of the world after a nuclear holocaust, expressing a global concern that underpins many of Sallinens operas too. Elmn ja kuoleman lauluja (Songs of Life and Death, 1994), another extensive vocal work, has a more individual viewpoint. Sallinen continued to write concertos too; the Second Symphony, sub-titled Symphonic Dialogue (1972) for percussionist and orchestra, can be considered a concerto, and he went on to write the Cello Concerto (1976), the Classical-style flute concerto Harlekiini (Harlequin, 1994) and the Horn Concerto Campane ed aria (2002). His series of works with the Hindemithian title Kamarimusiikki (Chamber Music) includes solo works, the best-known of which is Kamarimusiikki III, Donjuanquijoten ylliset tanssit (Chamber Music III, The Nocturnal Dances of Donjuanquixote, 1986) for cello and strings, and most recently Kamarimusiikki VI 3 invitations au voyage (Chamber Music VI, 20052006) for string quartet and strings. He has continued his series of String Quartets with the Fifth String Quartet, Mosaiikinpaloja (Pieces of Mosaic, 1983), whose deliberately fragmented structure consists of sixteen curious, brief movements. The core of Sallinens instrumental output consists of his eight Symphonies. The Third Symphony (1975), completed at around the same time as Ratsumies, was the first in which Sallinen used a multi-movement form. In the Fourth Symphony (1979), particularly its first movement, Sallinen began to explore a mosaic technique that became a central component in his strategy in the Fifth Symphony, Washington Mosaics (1985/ 87); the sub-title refers not only to the technique but to the commissioning party, the National Orchestra in Washington DC. Sallinen explained that whereas each movement in a symphony usually has its own material, here certain motifs are repeated identically, just like identical pieces in a mosaic, in the various movements. The five-movement Washington Mosaics is Sallinens richest symphony, spanning a range of expression from static frozen cluster chords to almost tonal allusions to Sibelius and Mahler and a dramatic conclusion.
The following two symphonies are more programmatic. The Sixth Symphony, From a New Zealand Diary (1990), is a sort of musical travelogue, whereas the Seventh Symphony, The Dreams of Gandalf (1996), was inspired by the fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Eighth Symphony (2001), commissioned by the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, also has a sub-title, Autumnal Fragments. This is one of Sallinens most impressive symphonies, replete with sombre and even tragic tones. It is cast in a single movement, coalescing from a fragmented opening to a grand drama with symphonic continuity. According to the composer, the sub-title Autumnal Fragments refers not only to his own period of life but also to the events of September 11, 2001 in New York, at which time Sallinen was working on the concluding section of the work. That day caused him to change the ending of the symphony.
Nainen kuin jtynyt samppanja (A Woman like Frozen Champagne, 1999). His later operas include Pula! Ooppera Konikapinasta (Shortage! An opera of the horse rebellion, 2002) and Matilda ja Nikolai (Matilda and Nikolai, 2004). The range of expression in Kuusistos operas extends from the comedy of Miehen kylkiluu to the lyricism of Frken Julie. Kuusistos operas are usually written in a clearly tonal style, sometimes extending even to popular music or musical comedy. His instrumental works, most significantly two symphonies (1998, 2005), are written in a similar vein.
Two Ilmajoki composers: Panula and Almila

Kuusisto has deliberately aimed at writing operas for the public at large. A similar approach is that of Jorma Panula (b. 1930), most of whose operas have been written specifically as folk operas for the Ilmajoki Music Festival. Panulas first opera, Jaakko Ilkka (1978) is a setting of a story with a local character, the 16thcentury Ostrobothnian leader of a peasant revolt. It is written in a tonal style and quotes folk music. Panulas later operas include Jokiooppera (River Opera, 1982), Peltomiehen rukous (The Ploughmans Prayer, 1984) and Lalli ja pyh Henrikki (Lalli and St.Henry, 1987). Panula is not only a composer and conductor; he also created a brilliant career in educating young Finnish conductors as Professor of Conducting at the Sibelius Academy. Panulas position as court composer to the Ilmajoki Music Festival was taken up by another conductor-composer, Atso Almila (b. 1953). The first of his operas was Kolmekymment hopearahaa (Thirty Pieces of Silver, 1988), based on the story of a Revivalist preacher in the 19th century. He has later written the emigrant opera Ameriikka (America, 1992); Isontaloon Antti (Antti Isotalo, 2000), set in early 20th-century Ostrobothnia; and Pohjanmaan kautta (Bottoms Up! 2002), set in the time of the Prohibition. Almilas operas are simple in style, consciously designed as folk operas, and often quote folk music. In addition to operas and music for some 40 stage plays, Almila has written a substantial body of instrumental music, mainly chamber music with brass instruments in leading roles. In traditional genres, he has written a Wind Quintet (1993) and a String
Ilkka Kuusisto: Operas with wide range

The operas of Kokkonen and Sallinen helped create a new operatic tradition, and this boom motivated other composers to write operas too. Ilkka Kuusisto (b. 1933), son of composer Taneli Kuusisto and the most active opera composer in Finland today, actually began his opera career before the opera boom with Muumiooppera (Moomin Opera, 1974), based on the beloved characters created by Tove Jansson. He has since continued to write for children in the opera Pierrot ja yn salaisuudet (Pierrot and the Secrets of the Night, 1991) and in four musicals, including the jazzy Kiljusten Kalevala (Kalevala After the Kiljunen Family, 1999). Kuusistos other operas include both traditional grand operas and diminutive chamber operas. His choice of subjects is also wide-ranging. A national dimension is present in the Kalevala-based Sota valosta (War for the Light, 1980), Jkri Sthl (Jaeger Sthl, 1982), Isnmaan tyttret (Daughters of the Fatherland, 1992) and Kuninkaan sormus (The Kings Ring, 2001), based on a story by Zacharias Topelius. The chamber opera category includes Miehen kylkiluu (The Rib of a Man, 1977); Postineiti (The Postmistress, 1992); Frken Julie (Miss Julie, 1993), a setting of the well-known play by Strindberg; Gabriel, tule takaisin! (Come Back, Gabriel! 1995); and the monologue opera 130 inventing finnish music
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Quartet (1993). His most substantial instrumental works are the concertos, which also show a penchant for brass; he has written aTuba Concerto (1986) and a Trombone Concerto (1994). Almilas music is generally Neo-Classical and oriented towards practical music-making, although in the Flute Concerto (1985) and the Violin Concerto (1989) the idiom is expressive and chromatic. In the Symphony for Brass Quintet and Orchestra (1988), akin to aconcerto grosso, aleatoric counterpoint is added to the mix. His later orchestral works include the Bassoon Concerto (2002), the Second Symphony (2003) for wind band, and the Second Tuba Concerto (2004), which also features a wind band. ralf gothni Ralf Gothni (b. 1946) is best known as a pianist. His relatively limited neo-tonal output consists mostly of vocal works. His first work to attain wider attraction was the chamber opera Ihmeellinen viesti toiselta thdelt (Strange News from Another Star, 1984), based on a story by Herman Hesse. The TV opera Hund (Hound, 1995) features the Russian Mafia. Another important work is the Zen-Buddhist cantata Hrk ja hnen paimenensa (The Ox and His Herder, 1992), which Gothni has adapted into a concerto grosso entitled Hrk ja paimen (The Ox and the Herder, 1999) for violin, piano and strings. Religious or meta-religious works form a separate genre in Finnish opera. The best-known work in this category is Joonas Kokkonens Viimeiset kiusaukset. Operas in a similar vein have been written by Eero Erkkil (b. 1941), Kaj-Erik Gustafsson (b. 1942) and Kari Tikka (b. 1946): Erkkils Kalastaja (The Fisher, 1988/96/2000), Gustafssons church drama Joona (Jonah, 1988) and Tikkas Toivon ja rakkauden muruset (Pieces of Hope and Love, 1981), Frieda (1995) and Luther (2000). The last-mentioned of these has attracted a fair amount of attention. It is written in a Neo-Classical and Minimalist style recalling John Adams or Stravinskys Symphony of Psalms in places. Erkkil, Gustafsson and Tikka have all also written sacred choral music. Tikkas output further includes a Cello Concerto (1983).
Persistent free-tonality
Harri Wessman: Romantic sentiment and intimate lyricism
Harri Wessman (b. 1949) is often showcased as a defender of soft values in Finnish music. His output shows a composer who leans heavily on Romantic sentiment and intimate lyricism, avoiding sharp contrasts. He has half-jokingly described his style as Neo-Pathos; he emphasizes that a composition is above all apsychological message to another person. Ever since his early works of the 1970s, Wessman has determinedly turned his back on the Modernist vocabulary. Although Wessmans works have a strong feeling of tonality, they are in fact free-tonal; he almost never uses key signatures, for example. His harmonies are softly dissonant, often consisting of triads with added notes or of superimposed fourths. His melodies are usually diatonic or constructed from a symmetrical scale of alternating whole tones and semitones; motif processing plays an important role in his writing. His rhythms are often swingingly syncopated or dance-like. Chamber music and concertos form the most important groups of works in Wessmans output. He has written over 60 chamber music works, ranging from the Violin Sonata (1978) to various extensive Sonatas, Trios, Quartets and Quintets. He has also written a great many miniatures for a variety of ensembles. Some of his chamber music works have titles that show his interest in the figuration and musical rhetoric of the Baroque era, such as Eine kleine Figurenlehre (1991) or the Second Piano Trio, Retorinen (Rhetorical, 1992). Wessman began his series of two dozen concertos and solo works with Serenadi (1976) for trumpet and strings; his most substantial works in this category are the Trumpet Concerto (1987), the Trombone Concerto Affekteja (Affekts, 1992), the Horn Concerto (1993) and the Tuba Concerto (1996). In his concertante works, he focuses on melodic lines rather than virtuoso technique. Some of Wessmans chamber music and concertos were written for pedagogical purposes. He has also written sets of works with progressing degrees of difficulty tailored to young musicians of his
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acquaintance, following their development. He has written a considerable body of other works too for young performers and young audiences, such as his most popular choral work, Vesi vsyy lumen alle (Water Under Snow Is Weary, 1976), an innovative reframing of an ancient Kalevala tune; and his most extensive works, the ballet Satumaan Pivikki (Pivikki of Fairyland, 1987) and the chamber opera tkkooppera (Bug Opera, 1998).
important of these is Toccata, variationer och fuga ver koralen Den blomstertid nu kommer (Toccata, variations and fugue on the hymn The time of flowers is at hand, 1994).
Teppo Hauta-aho: A humorous master of double bass

Teppo Hauta-aho (b. 1941) also had a brief encounter with Modernism. His music is grounded in a free-tonal environment, but he has occasionally experimented with other stylistic elements too. For example, his Double Bass Concerto Hippovariaatioita putkessa tai ilman (Hippo Variations in a Tube or without, 1985) begins in an almost Viennese Classical vein but soon progresses to Romantic and cautiously Modernist sections. His most Modernist and also his most highly rated work is Fantasia (1986) for trumpet and orchestra, with a demanding trumpet part floating above arichly coloured orchestra. Hauta-ahos output consists largely of concertos and chamber music works, often involving his own instrument, the double bass. He has also written a fair amount of pedagogical music.
Lars Karlsson: Stages of self-exploration

Lars Karlsson (b. 1953) emerged at about the same time as Wessman. Whereas Wessman has kept to the style that he adopted at an early stage, Karlsson has gone through a stage of stylistic self-exploration, which however did not question his fundamental dedication to free-tonality. He started off in the early 1970s in a rather traditional Neo-Romantic and expressive style, writing vocal and instrumental works with a strong sense of tonality. In the late 1970s, he turned perhaps inspired by the new rise of Modernism to a more chromatic idiom, though without abandoning his roots. His most significant work in this experimental period was Komposition fr orgel och symfonisk blsorkester (Composition for organ and concert band, 1983). After a transition period of a few years, Karlsson arrived at his current style in the early 1990s. This can be seen as a sort of mature return to his early ideals, beginning with the intensely melodic and technically challenging Violin Concerto (1991/93), whose Romantically tinted Neo-Classicism recalls Prokofiev. The Violin Concerto was also Karlssons first work in a traditional genre; it was later followed by the powerful Bartk-like String Quartet (1997), the First Symphony (1999) and the Second Symphony (2005). Karlssons principal works include the oratorio Ludus latrunculorum (1996), which lasts over an hour; and the opera Rdhamn (Redhaven, 2002), set in the composers native land [the archipelago between Finland and Sweden]. Rdhamn is a rare work in Finnish opera in that it depicts the entire life span of its main character, who progresses from a farm hand to a shipowner and a pillar of society. Karlsson has also written minor vocal works and several works for his own instrument, the organ. The most 134 inventing finnish music
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Pekka Jalkanen: Minimalism with folk music impulses

Pekka Jalkanen (b. 1945) is a chapter unto himself in Finnish music in both his outlook and his output. He initially occupied himself with childrens music and also took an interest in folk music and Gipsy music. After studying composition privately with Erkki Salmenhaara, he arrived at a free-tonal style often strongly tinted with Minimalism. Jalkanens Minimalism, however, is related not so much to the American kind (Steve Reich and Philip Glass) as to the Estonian kind (Arvo Prt, Lepo Sumera and Veljo Tormis). Although Jalkanen began to write chamber music in the 1970s, he did not really focus on the world of concert music until the 1980s. One of his earliest significant works is the First String Quartet in E minor (1981), whose Minimalist textures coalesce into dense sound fields. Similar textures may be found in the Concerto for oboe, harpsichord and strings (1982) and the Guitar Concerto (1988). Although Jalkanens works have a strong tonal feel, he has also explored a more chromatic style in the Second String Quartet (1994). Jalkanens Minimalist features, like those of Veljo Tormis, are often
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related to folk music impulses. For example, in Viron orja (The Serf of Viro, 1980) for strings, the texture consists of canons based on an ancient runo tune, built up into sound fields. Folk music also underlies Vgehens otetut neidizet (The Abduction, 1982), Piika Pikkarainen (The Little Lass, 1985) and Muaemo (Mother Earth, 1999). Jalkanens most extensive work is the opera Seitsemn huivia (Seven Veils, 1990), which was preceded by the childrens opera Tirlittan (1986). The main character in Seitsemn huivia is the famous runo singer and kantele player Kreeta Haapasalo, whose life story is explored from a new point detached from the National Romantic idealized conception. Jalkanens principal works also include the Kantele Concerto (1997), whose material is derived from Romanian and Greek folk music. Jalkanen has said that the extremes of the concertante dimension in this work are the intimate, introvert ecstasy of the kantele on one hand and the fiery sea of passion in the strings on the other.
Jukka Linkola: Careers in both jazz and concert music

Like Jalkanen, Jukka Linkola (b. 1955) also arrived at concert music indirectly. He did study the piano at the Sibelius Academy to begin with, but he first emerged as a jazz musician and composer. He took a first step towards concert music in Crossings (1983) for tenor saxophone and orchestra, blending the sax improvisations beautifully with the more conventional orchestral background. Linkola has continued to pursue careers in both jazz and concert music, although he usually keeps these two worlds separate. His output also contains musicals and popular songs that do not fall into either of these two categories. Linkola is an exceptionally prolific composer, and he is remarkable for being able to adapt his writing to a wide variety of situations. Linkolas output as a composer of concert music properly began with the First Trumpet Concerto (1988). It shows many of the features that have been distinctive for him ever since. He writes in a style akin to Neo-Classicism, although there is a Romantic dimension in his music too. His rhythms are often punchy and energetic, reminiscent of Stravinsky, while the Romantic element appears in his melodic writing, which in turn recalls Prokofiev or even film 136 inventing finnish music
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composer Bernard Herrmann. Instead of methodical motif and theme processing, Linkola favours sharp transitions and dramatic contrasts. The First Trumpet Concerto heralded an extensive series of concertos for brass instruments. Since then, Linkola has written two more concertos for the instrument: the Second Trumpet Concerto dates from 1993 and the Third from 2002. The latter is peculiar in Linkolas output in that it is a conscious blend of jazz and classical music, with a jazz soloist playing against a symphony orchestra. Linkola has also written concertos for the other main members of the brass family: the tuba (1992), the euphonium (1996), the trombone (1998) and the horn (2000). Linkola has further written a Flute Concerto (1996), a Sax Concerto (1998), an Organ Concerto (1999) and a Double Bass Concerto (2005). The most substantial work in Linkolas recent orchestral output is his Symphony (2004). At 50 minutes, it is his most extensive orchestral work. It consists of four movements that observe the conventional symphonic form. Linkolas interest in brass can also be seen in his chamber music, which includes a number of works for brass ensembles, such as two Brass Quintets (1985, 1996). He has also written a Flute Quintet (1990), a Clarinet Quintet (1995) and a String Quartet (1996), as well as numerous solo works. Linkola worked as conductor at Helsinki City Theatre for a period of time that proved to be an important stage in his career. He developed an interest in music for the stage, writing both incidental music and musicals. In 1986, he branched out to film, writing his first film score to Lumikuningatar (The Snow Queen), a fairy-tale film by Pivi Hartzell. Subsequently, he completed a full-length fairy-tale ballet, Ronja Ryvrintytr (Ronya, the Robbers Daughter, 1989), and from there it was only ashort step to opera. Linkolas operas are among his principal works. The first of them was Angelika (1991), a TV opera that received awards in Paris and Cannes. Its successor, Elina (1992), is a more expansive work based on an old Finnish ballad. Linkola himself regards this as his most important work. It is a sombre, dramatic work dominated by arhythmic pulse and intense melodic writing. Linkolas third opera, Tyttyneiden toiveiden maa (The Land of Fulfilled Hopes, 1998),
isscored for a slightly smaller orchestra than Elina, and it focuses even more on flowing, Romantic and emotional melodic spans. Linkolas later operas include the chamber opera Joppe Jokamies (Eddy Everyman, 2004), sub-titled an opera about dreams, and Hui kauhistus (One spooky night, 2006), an opera for the whole family based on the popular cartoon characters of Mauri Kunnas. Linkolas range in solo songs and choral works extends from simple occasional music to technically highly demanding works. His most extensive vocal work, also one of his principal works, is the 60-minute 16-movement song cycle Aikapeili (Time Mirror, 2000) for soprano, baritone and orchestra. Its texts form a selection ranging from Icelandic Edda poetry through Petrarch, Shakespeare and Goethe to our own age.
American music. His principal vocal works are Passio secularis (1989) for soprano, baritone, male voice choir and orchestra and the childrens opera Kuninkaiden kirja (The Book of Kings, 2002). Hehas also written works for childrens choir.
Lasse Jalava: Jazzy, Oriental and Latin American spices

One of the cruel realities of Finnish music is that it is Helsinkicentered. This naturally weakens the status of those composers who have settled outside the Helsinki metropolitan area, even though many of them too have carved a niche for themselves in Finnish music. Lasse Jalava (b. 1951) has been vocal in criticizing the many types of bias in Finnish music, not only its Helsinki-centricity but also, in the 1980s, its exclusive focus on Modernist ideals. In his own works, Jalava has remained aloof from Modernism but has otherwise explored a wide range of styles. He has added jazzy, Oriental and Latin American elements to his free-tonal style, and for example in his Fourth Symphony (1995), he added a reggae band to the symphony orchestra. lasse jalava
Timo-Juhani Kyllnen: Music with a Russian flavour

Timo-Juhani Kyllnen (b. 1955) appeared on the Finnish musical scene as if out of nowhere with a composition concert held in Helsinki in summer 1986. Unusually for a Finnish composer, he had done all of his composition studies in Moscow, where he had initially gone to study the accordion. His music has a Russian flavour, particularly of Shostakovich; whether this is actually due to his studying in Moscow is another matter. That flavour is at its most apparent in his slow movements, which tend to be elegiac meditations. Kyllnen spices his fast movements with ostinatos and occasionally with unsymmetrical metres. Kyllnens output focuses on chamber music and vocal works, but his principal works include the two Symphonies (1986, 1992 97). His First String Quartet (1985), sub-titled Ystvn muistolle (To the memory of a friend), is related to Shostakovich, while the Second String Quartet (1989) is more modern and lies closer to the Bartk tradition. Elegia quasi una sonata (1987) for violin and piano incorporates improvised violin glissandos underpinned by piano clusters, but gestures such as these do not undermine the overall free-tonal feel of Kyllnens music. He has made use of his own instrument, the accordion, in some of his works, most importantly the Accordion Concerto (2001), a sombre, dramatic and rhythmically energetic work that reflects his interest in Latin 138 inventing finnish music
Kai Nieminen: Inspiration from literature and fine arts

Kai Nieminen (b. 1953) is a professional guitarist and initially profiled himself as a composer for guitar. However, he has also written several orchestral works and concertos since the mid-1990s. His style is obviously free-tonal, but he also employs more modern means such as 12-tone rows when necessary. His tendency to use open intervals lends his music a kind of purity and an archaic tone. Yet though Nieminen is attracted to early music, he prefers not to use quotes. Nieminens orchestral works are usually based on an extramusical inspiration, which may come from nature, visual arts or literature. Author Italo Calvino has inspired several works. The first of his works to be inspired by Calvino was Le citt invisibili (Invisible cities, 1998), followed by Il castello dei destini incrociati (The castle of crossed destinies, 2000) and his first concerto, the flute concerto Palomar (2001) written for Patrick Gallois, while of his other works Time Around Spring for orchestra (1997) is dedicated to the memory of Finnish author Timo K. Mukka, and the violin concerto Il viaggio
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del cavaliere (2005) is a homage to Cervantes. Time around Lights, Shadows and Spaces for chamber orchestra (1999) is a memorial to painter Helene Schjerfbeck. The extra-musical inspirations are more than just inspirations for Nieminen, since the works themselves are often obviously programmatic.
Harri Ahmas, musician and composer

harri ahmas Harri Ahmas (b. 1957) has progressed from free-tonality towards a more chromatic style. He is a musician as well as a composer, playing principal bassoon with the Sinfonia Lahti. Winds, particularly the bassoon, occupy an important role in his output, which consists mostly of chamber music. He has, however, also written concertos for the trombone (1987), the tuba (1995), baritone horn (2001), and viola (2004). Ahmass orchestral output includes two symphonies (2002, 2003) and minor, formally less constrained works. Ahmass Second Symphony was awarded shared 2nd prize in the First International Uuno Klami Composition Competition in 2004. His principal vocal works are the melodrama-like Becket (1993) for mezzosoprano, cello and piano, and the chamber opera Sydnvirrat (Heartstreams, 199699).
Many free-tonally oriented composers have attracted an appreciative body of performers and listeners in their home region or in relation to a particular instrument. For example, Jack Mattsson (b.1954) and Peter Lng (b. 1963) have profiled themselves as land composers. Mattsson explains that he has remained separate from everything that the avantgarde and the experimental crowd have to offer. He considers his Piano Trio In Memoriam (to the memory of Einar Englund) his principal work. Peter Lngs principal works are his three operas. As an example of a composer associated with a particular instrument, we may take Spanish-born Juan Antonio Muro (b. 1945), who is a guitarist and composes specifically for the guitar. Further foreign influences in Finnish music include Ukrainian Fridrich Bruk (b. 1937), a Prokofievian composer who settled in Finland in 1974; cellist and composer Victoria Yagling (b.1946) from Moscow; Chilean-born Alfonso Padilla (b. 1949), who has written choral works inspired by Latin American music; and Vladimir Wistuba-Alvarez (b. 1956), also from Chile. Other free-tonal composers we may mention are Mauri Hongisto (19212001), who wrote in a traditional key-oriented tonality; Martti Parkkari (b. 1938), who has written music for the stage; Esko Syvinki (b. 1943), composer of several concertos; Lasse Eerola (19452000), known for his works for wind instruments; Sakari Vainikka (b. 1945); Kari Kuosmanen (b. 1946); Heikki Valpola (b. 1946), whose output includes music for accordion and choral works; Asko Viln (b. 1946), composer of orchestral and wind band music; Matti Murto (b. 1947), who has written pedagogical works, chamber music and concertos; Mauri Viitala (b. 1948); Ilari Laakso (b. 1952), who has written mainly instrumental music; Tuomo Teiril (b. 1952), who began his career experimenting with modern techniques but then turned to a more traditional style; Kari Karjalainen (b. 1953), a trumpeter and composer; Carl Armfelt (b.1956); and Jukka-Pekka Lehto (b. 1958). Ari Vakkilainen (b. 1959) has gained attention with two chamber operas: the beer opera Ltkk (Puddle, 1988), which is a mishmash of stylistic elements; and the bright and largely tonal childrens opera Punahilkka (Little Red Riding Hood, premiered in 2000).
other composers
Pertti Jalava: From jazz to classical music

Like Jukka Linkola, Pertti Jalava (b. 1960) was a jazz musician before taking up classical music. Also like Linkola, he has kept jazz and classical music compartmentalized instead of combining them into a crossover style. Some of his works are based on his earlier jazz output, but even here the material has been adapted to the genre. Jalavas most substantial works are his two symphonies. Jalavas First Symphony (1995), sub-titled Puuttuva lapsi (The missing child), is in a free-tonal, at times almost Neo-Romantic style. His Second Symphony (19961999) is written in a very similar style, though somewhat more incisive. In Kuin huokaus (Like a sigh, 1999) and Pinta (Surface, 2002), two fantasies for strings, his style has become somewhat more Modernist or free-atonal, clearly different from the First Symphony. This style also appears in the Concerto for Piano, Flute and Strings (2001), whose occasional energetic rhythms prompt an association with Neo-Classicism. 140 inventing finnish music
pertti jalava
The opera boom

The boom of new Finnish opera began in 1975 with the premieres of Aulis Sallinens Ratsumies (The Horseman) and Joonas Kokkonens Viimeiset kiusaukset (The Last Temptations), and with the success of their works other composers too developed an interest in opera. As a result, opera as a genre has surpassed the symphony in esteem, which is little short of arevolution in the land that gave birth to Jean Sibelius. The opera boom did not, of course, come out of nowhere. Founding an orchestra at the Finnish National Opera in 1963 to replace the Helsinki Philharmonic doing double duty was an important step towards more advantageous circumstances for opera. Another important event was the (re-)founding of the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 1967. Aarre Merikantos masterpiece Juha had been staged in Lahti in 1963, but it was the Finnish National Operas production in 1967 that raised the opera to its deserved status and contributed in part to the new rise of Finnish opera. At the first stage of the opera boom, the national dimension was in a way recast. Both Viimeiset kiusaukset (1975) and Sallinens Ratsumies (1974) and Punainen viiva (The Red Line, 1978) were emphatically national in their topics and traditional in their stylistic approach. They were well received not only in Finland but on foreign tours of the Finnish National Opera, culminating in performances of Viimeiset kiusaukset and Punainen viiva at the Metropolitan in New York in spring 1983. Viimeiset kiusaukset has established itself as a sort of second national opera alongside Leevi Madetojas Pohjalaisia (The Ostrobothnians), and by August 2001 it had had no fewer than 279 performances. The opera boom was also fired by the folk operas mainly by Jorma Panula and Atso Almila performed at the Ilmajoki Music Festival. Ilkka Kuusisto has also aimed to write opera for the public at large. The 1980s brought exploration of new, different and more Modernist subjects and styles to Finnish opera, for example in Olli Kortekangass Short Story (1980) and Grand Hotel (1985), Paavo Heininens Silkkirumpu (The Damask Drum, 1983) and Veitsi (The Knife, 1988) and Erik Bergmans Det sjungande trdet (The Singing Tree, 1988). The operas of Einojuhani Rautavaara, beginning with Thomas (1985) and Vincent (1987), expanded the scope of Finnish opera considerably. Kalevi Aho brought a new, consciously PostModernist dimension to Finnish opera with Hynteiselm (Insect Life, 1987). In the 1990s, Finnish opera continued to diversify. New emerging opera composers included Pekka Jalkanen, Herman Rechberger, Jukka Linkola, Tapio Tuomela and Juha T. Koskinen. It is particularly gratifying to note that composers have not been hung up with prejudices concerning the genre; they have experimented freely with subjects, ensembles
Martti Talvela and Ritva Auvinen at the premiere performance of Viimeiset kiusaukset in Savonlinna in 1977.
shackled by the operatic tradition, they have allowed content to determine form. The opera boom came to a head in 2000, the mad year of Finnish opera, with the premiere of no fewer than 15 (or 17, depending on how they are counted) new Finnish operas. This is an astounding figure in a country with only five million inhabitants; relative to population, it is the equivalent of about 240 new operas in Germany or nearly 800 in the USA. It is indicative of the rich plurality of the genre that these premieres include not only conventional operas but a comic strip opera, a sports opera and an opera trilogy written by three composers and performed in a single evening. New important composers making their first appearance in the world of opera in the year 2000 were Kaija Saariaho, Kimmo Hakola, Mikko Heini and the somewhat younger Tuomas Kantelinen. The opera boom has involved not only the creative aspect but the performing aspect too. The inauguration of the new Opera House of the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki in 1993 was a milestone. The Savonlinna Opera Festival, held in the Medieval castle of Olavinlinna each summer, is the countrys number-two opera venue of high international quality. Regional operas all around Finland also play an important role, the Tampere Opera being chief among them. There are also minor alternative-approach opera companies operating mainly in the Helsinki area, including Ooppera Skaala, the Finnish Chamber Opera and the Taite Group.
and dramaturgical designs. Instead of being

Music all year round A land of symphony orchestras and music festivals
The orchestra institution plays a vital role in Finnish music. The concert calendar of the Association of Finnish Symphony Orchestras for autumn 2006 lists 29 orchestras, of which 15 are professional symphony orchestras, eight are chamber orchestras and semi-professional orchestras, and six are other orchestras. The total number is extremely high for a country with a population of only five million; in relative terms, it must be one of the highest in the world. The orchestras are quite well distributed across the country; each major city has aregularly performing professional orchestra, which often doubles as the orchestra for the regional opera in the city. There is a further considerable body of amateur orchestras. The normal concert season for orchestras runs from early September to late May. The summer gap is filled by a wide variety of music festivals. The famous Sibelius Week launched in1951 was discontinued in 1965 and replaced in 1968 with the Helsinki Festival, today Finlands largest generic music festival. The Sibelian tradition has also been maintained through the Sibelius Violin Competition, organized every five years since 1965. Other important international competitions held in Finland are the Mirjam Helin Singing Competition (since 1984), the Paulo Cello Competition (since 1991) and the Sibelius Conductors Competition (since 1995). The venerable national Maj Lind Piano Competition, founded in 1945, was opened to international participants for the first time in 2002. The Jyvskyl Culture Festival, founded in 1956, is one of the most venerable music festivals in Finland, closely followed by the Turku Music Festival, which is four years younger. Since the late 1960s, music festivals have sprung up at an increasing rate, and today they cover the entire country and the vast majority of musical genres. Some festivals organize concerts during the normal concert season too. The flagship of Finlands summer festivals is the Savonlinna Opera Festival, founded in 1967 on the foundation of the opera performances organized by Aino Ackt in Olavinlinna Castle in the 1910s. Other major concert music festivals are the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (founded in 1970), the Lahti Organ Festival (1973), the Ilmajoki Music Festival (1975), theNaantali Music Festival (1980), the Lieksa Brass Week (1980), Musica nova Helsinki (19972007 replacing the Helsinki Biennale founded in 1981; the festival will continue again as a biennale in 2009), the Crusell Week in Uusikaupunki (1982), the Korsholma Music Festival (1983), the Avanti! Suvisoitto festival in Porvoo (1986), the Tampere Biennale (1986) and the Mikkeli Music Festival (1992). There are dozens of further minor music festivals all around Finland.
X In the Post-Modernist Hall of Mirrors
Composers caught in the crossfire

The collapse of Modernism left the art world in a confused and querulous state. It seemed difficult to find anything genuinely new and unprecedented any more. For many, art without the potential to explore new things was no longer feasible. Of course, new media and new tools have emerged such as video in fine arts and computers in film, music and architecture but the question of whether art produced with these tools is Modernist and new in the same sense as the most blistering avant-garde of the early 1960s remains unanswered. It was in this state of confusion that the concept of Post-Modernism was introduced into the art world sometime in the 1970s. It has been used to describe the state of culture and philosophy in general and a more specific artistic trend or style in particular. French philosopher Jean Franois Lyotard has described the Post-Modern culture as an era where faith in coherent great stories has been lost and replaced with an incoherent culture of often conflicting fragments or component cultures where there are no universal and immortal truths, and no historical continuity either. In the arts, the belief in a constantly progressive Modernism has perhaps been the greatest of all great stories. The Post-Modern incoherence and fragmentation that has replaced it has manifested itself most pointedly as extra-artistic references, allusions, irony, a plurality of styles and pouring different historical layers into a single work. The classical Modernist ascetic declaration less is more coined by architect Mies van der Rohe was countered with Post-Modernist Robert Venturis quip less is a bore.
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According to artist Kimmo Sarje, Post-Modernism is anattempt to conceptualize and localize the state of culture after the modern era. Modernism is not a monolithic entity, and Post-Modernism, which is a reaction to it, most certainly is not a monolithic entity. In fact, Post-Modernism can be seen as a critical reaction within Modernism. The complicated relationship between Modernism and Post-Modernism has also been explored by Mikko Heini, the most distinguished participant in the PostModernism debate in the field of music in Finland. He says that Post-Modern music can be seen as a reaction to and a continuation of European Modernism in particular. It occupies middle ground between the traditional and the Modernist musical idioms, in the tension between the two and in a polemical relationship with both. Heini mentions reflectivity and narrativity as characteristics of Post-Modernist music. Reflectivity appears in practice as allusions to other music, more generally to different styles or more specifically to particular other works. It is this referential technique that brings a strong meta-musical element to Post-Modernist works; they are not just music but music about music, commenting on other music or, like meta-fiction in literature, commenting on themselves in some unspecified manner. Narrativity appears as asense of story-telling in the music. Kalevi Aho has often used the term abstract plot in describing the overall dramaturgy of his works, explaining that this can be sensed as the form of the work develops by turns in apositive or a negative direction. The Post-Modern characteristics defined by Heini can be found as early as in the works of the young composers of the nursery concerts, who expanded their Modernist idiom with quotes and collage technique. Herman Rechberger is a composer who has progressed to a pluralist approach from a Modernist basis; for this reason, he is discussed below together with other Modernists. Composers whose music includes Post-Modern features or who can otherwise be considered to occupy middle ground between the traditional and the Modernist idioms include Einojuhani Rautavaara, Leif Segerstam, Pehr Henrik Nordgren, Kalevi Aho and Mikko Heini. 146 inventing finnish music
Einojuhani Rautavaara: A composer of many personas

The output of Einojuhani Rautavaara (b. 1928) as a whole is almost a textbook case of Post-Modernism. He has gone through several stylistic periods in his career: Neo-Classicism, dodecaphony up to and including Serialist experiments, Neo-Romanticism and a synthesis period bringing together the various facets of his output. What is more important from the Post-Modernist point of view, however, is that consecutive works in his output may differ violently from one another and that many of his works combine a variety of different elements.
X In the Post-Modernist Hall of Mirrors 147
The extremes of Rautavaaras profile as a composer are marked by Modernism and Romanticism, or by Constructivism and mysticism. He himself likes to emphasize the Romantic and mystical side of his profile: instead of alluding to the unconscious workings of the creative process, he quotes Thomas Mann in describing compositions as having a sort of metaphysical mind of their own. He sees himself as a mediator in the creative process, a midwife rather than someone giving birth. Alluding to his fundamental Romantic nature and acknowledging a PostModernist absence of history he has said: A Romantic has no coordinates. In time, he is yesterday or tomorrow, never today. In space, he is over there or over yonder, never here. Rautavaara demonstrated his expansive approach even in his Neo-Classical period. Of his early piano works, for example, Kolme symmetrist preludia (Three Symmetrical Preludes, 1949), was Constructivist; Pelimannit (Fiddlers, 1952) was folklorish; and Ikonit (Icons, 1955) stemmed from Orthodox mysticism. Rautavaara made his breakthrough with A Requiem in Our Time (1953), aclassic in the Finnish brass band repertoire which won first prize in the Thor Johnson composition competition in the USA in 1954. Rautavaara began his series of symphonies in his Neo-Classical period too. The First Symphony (1956/88) is closely related to Shostakovich and Prokofiev, whereas the sharper and more Modernist Second Symphony (1957/84) approaches Stravinsky, particularly in its fast movements. The chromatic writing in the Second Symphony paved the way for the logical step to dodecaphony. In 1957, Rautavaara went to Ascona in Switzerland to study dodecaphony with Wladimir Vogel. He applied the technique in two orchestral works completed in that year, Praevariata and Modificata. Praevariata in particular is highly Constructivist, with the row governing rhythms and certain formal aspects. Rautavaara went even further in his Fourth Symphony, Arabescata (1962), which to this day remains the only Serialist symphony written in Finland. Its row governs not only pitches but also rhythms, dynamics and orchestration. Its concluding movement, however, also incorporates aleatorics. 148 inventing finnish music
Although dodecaphony is a Constructivist composition method, Rautavaaras dodecaphonic music also has an emotional, even Late Romantic dimension. This is particularly apparent in the Second String Quartet (1958), following in the tradition of Alban Berg; thebeautiful song cycle Die Liebenden (1959) to poems by Rautavaaras favourite poet Rainer Maria Rilke; and above all the Third Symphony (1961), where Rautavaara deliberately filtered Bruckners symphonic style into his own idiom. All of these works are among the best and most popular in his entire output. His principal work of the dodecaphonic period is the opera Kaivos (The Mine, 195763), which also has a Romantic dimension that becomes stronger as the work progresses, foreshadowing the composers later development. Rautavaara abandoned dodecaphony in the late 1960s and turned to a free-tonal style often described as Neo-Romantic in Itsenisyyskantaatti (Independence Cantata, 1967). Although he had already written overtly Romantic works such as the Third Symphony, this new period brought a more traditional idiom characterized by colourful and sonorous textures. Triads became animportant element, freely combined and sometimes superimposed; in places, Rautavaara used aleatoric structures, buteven here the overall sound remained rather soft. An important new melodic element was the use of a symmetrical scale of alternating whole tones and semitones the second of Messiaens modes with limited transposition. Rautavaara is a prolific composer who has experimented with a wide variety of genres and approaches. He has written a comic opera bordering on a musical, Apollo contra Marsyas (1970) and a profound exploration of Orthodox mysticism, the Vigilia (All-Night Vigil, 1972) for mixed choir. His most popular choral work is the Suite de Lorca (1973). Rautavaara began his extensive series of concertos with the Cello Concerto (1968), followed by the First Piano Concerto (1969), written as a vehicle for the composers own rather idiosyncratic keyboard technique. He has since then written the Second (1989) and Third (Gift of Dreams, 1998) Piano Concertos and concertos for flute (Dances with the Winds, 1975), organ (Annunciations, 1976), violin (1977), double bass (Angel of Dusk,
1980) and harp (2000). He has further written a considerable body of orchestral music, works for string orchestra, chamber music, soloinstrumental works and vocal music for a variety of ensembles. Towards the end of the 1970s, Rautavaara began to seek asynthesis of composition methods. Twelve-tone rows made areappearance in his work, albeit in very free applications. His revised sharper yet still Romantically abundant idiom is apparent for example in the fine orchestral work Angels and Visitations (1978), a sort of poem of beauty and terror travelling between luscious string textures reminiscent of Sibeliuss Sixth Symphony and violent brass outbursts. The same idiom continues into the Fifth Symphony (1986), a single-movement work that comes across as a journey through changing musical landscapes; it is the most colourful and most effective of Rautavaaras symphonies. This new pluralist approach proved to be a fruitful basis for opera. After Kaivos, Rautavaara had written two Kalevala-based choir operas the rather short Marjatta, matala neiti (Marjatta, Lowly Maiden, 1975) and the somewhat more extensive Runo 42 Sammon ryst (Myth of the Sampo, 1974/81) but it was Thomas (1985) that properly began his opera period. Its title character is the English-born Thomas, Bishop of Finland in the 13th century (an actual person of whom very little is known), pitted against the ancient Finnish shaman pagan culture. Rautavaaras later operas are Vincent (1987), inspired by the life of Vincent van Gogh; Auringon talo (The House of the Sun, 1990), showing two Russian emigres in a changing world; the Christmas tale Tietjien lahja (The Gift of the Magi, 1994), written for TV; Aleksis Kivi (1996), a compelling portrait of the tragic fate of one of the earliest and most ingenious authors in the Finnish language; and Rasputin (2003), whose title character is the mysterious monk Grigori Rasputin who exerted considerable influence over the last Tsar of Russia and his wife. Rautavaaras operas often view events through the consciousness of the main character, filtered by his or her memories, hopes, fears or even hallucinations. Although many of his characters are modelled on actual people from history, the operas are not chronicles of real events. In Thomas, Vincent and Aleksis Kivi, thetitle characters are exceptional (one might almost say deviant) 150 inventing finnish music
individuals; in Auringon talo, the main characters are misfits on the fringe of society two elderly Russian emigrant ladies who well into the 1980s persist in living in seclusion, upholding their old ways dating back to the time of the Tsars, even though the world around them has changed irrevocably. Layers of time intermingle, time becomes irrelevant, and memory comes to the fore in an almost Proustian manner. Although Rautavaaras characters often suffer asad or cruel fate, they always have their memories and fantasies to escape into. The most obvious exception to this is Rasputin, whose dramaturgy is more traditional and objective. Many of Rautavaaras works in the 1990s have shown a return to a more coherent and overtly Romantic style. A case in point is his Seventh Symphony, Angel of Light (1994), his international breakthrough work. It was Rautavaaras newly-found international reputation that led the Philadelphia Orchestra to include him in
Angel of Light and the path to success

Einojuhani Rautavaaras Seventh Symphony, Angel of Light (1994), is one of the greatest success stories in contemporary Finnish music; it was his international breakthrough work. Although its soft sonorities and warm atmosphere seem to spell a recipe for success with no further effort, the astonishing popularity of the work was no accident. In his book on Rautavaara, Unien lahja (The Gift of Dreams, 2000), Pekka Hako explains in detail how Rautavaara has been methodically marketed to international audiences. When the Symphony was premiered in Bloomington in the USA in March 1995, it was sub-titled The Bloomington Symphony. The revised version was performed in Helsinki in August in the same year with the same sub-title. At this point, Reijo Kiilunen, managing director of the Ondine record company and an active promoter of Rautavaaras music, suggested that the work should be marketed under the title Angel of Light. This was not simply a marketing ploy, since Rautavaaras output already included works with the angel theme in the title (Angels and Visitations, Angel of Dusk, Playgrounds for Angels). The carefully planned advertising campaign resulted in sales of nearly 30,000 copies for the recording of Angel of Light, a respectable achievement for a recording of contemporary concert music. The disc also received several international awards and award nominations. Although Rautavaara had already enjoyed an international reputation, it was Angel of Light that really opened the floodgates, and today Rautavaara is probably the most frequently performed Finnish composer in the world after Sibelius.
thelist of composers from whom they commissioned works for the orchestras centenary. This commission resulted in the glorious Eighth Symphony, The Journey (1999). Autumn Gardens (1999) and Book of Visions (2005) are also major later orchestral works. Along with operas and major orchestral works, Rautavaaras principal works in his later period also include the elegantly melodic String Quintet Les cieux inconnus (1997), a polished and purebred example of his Romantic style.
Leif Segerstam: A musical stream of consciousness

Feelings and Visions is the title given to his Sixth Violin Concerto (1986) by Leif Segerstam (b. 1944). Those two words encapsulate the essence of his personality as a composer. He is indeed a composer of feelings and visions grand, overflowing feelings and immeasurably broad visions. Segerstam is an easily inspired shaman-like composer who can write a 20-minute orchestral piece in a few days. His output has reached Baroque proportions, and not even his active career as a conductor has slowed him down. Indeed, Segerstam emulates Mahler in that he divides his time between conducting in winter and composing in summer. Segerstam made his dbut in the early 1960s in no fewer than four different capacities: a violinist, a pianist, a conductor and a composer. The two latter have since developed into full careers. Segerstams early compositions, such as the first four String Quartets (196266) and the miniature ballet Pandora (1967) are usually described as Post-Expressionist. Once he discovered his current style, which he describes as free-pulsative, in his Fifth String Quartet, Sopuli (Lemming, 1970), this did not mean abandoning the intensive emotional charge of his early works ifanything, the reverse happened. Free-pulsative refers to a manner of writing that leaves the synchronization between individual musicians or groups of musicians partly indeterminate. This results in the slowly undulating freedom of rhythm that characterizes his works. Clear pulses and rapid tempos are rarities. Sometimes the music even allows the musicians to choose their own dynamics. Segerstam has for a long time developed a Utopian concept of an organic musical kaleidoscope 152 inventing finnish music
where a group of dedicated musicians could assume his musical idiom so profoundly that they could ultimately perform Segerstam music without any written notes. He has taken a step towards this concept in the orchestral works he has written since 1994, designed to be performed without a conductor; the overall form is determined by signals played by different instruments in turn. The free-pulsative technique lends an aleatoric Modernist element to Segerstams music. His melodic writing is also Modernist in that it is usually free-floating and chromatic; his harmonies extend from triads to dense clusters. Nevertheless, the dominant aesthetic in his music is Late Romantic and Expressionist, a sort of pursuit of constant climax and ecstasy, thenow-moment the importance of which he never fails to emphasize. From the 1980s onwards, however, his music has also allowed room for delicate feelings and quiet meditation. Segerstams colossal output is exceptionally coherent in style and expression. Mikko Heini has said, that Segerstam does not so much create independent works as strands from the same musical flow of consciousness. This is evident in the series of works with the same title; such cases in chamber music are the 28 String Quartets or the numerous works titled Nom or Episode. In orchestral music, Segerstam has written numerous Orchestral Diary Sheets and Thoughts. Confusingly, Segerstam has adapted many of his works into versions for different instruments. His most extensive series of works consists of his Symphonies, which, however, in no way differ from his other orchestral works in expression or structure. As of January 2007, he had completed astaggering 173 Symphonies. In recent years, he has been writing a dozen Symphonies a year, completing a record-breaking 15 Symphonies in the summer of 2000.
leif segerstam
Pehr Henrik Nordgren: The depth of life

Music is not an isolated, made phenomenon, and thus composing cannot be separated from life, from everything that one sees and experiences and feels. I see composition as a manifestation of aneed to express, broader than speech, a mode of communicating with my fellow men.
pehr henrik nordgren
This quote from Pehr Henrik Nordgren (b. 1944) from 1976 is a suitable manifesto for him as a composer. His music is not an abstract play of notes; it is full of a strong need for expression that seems to well up from the deepest and most tragic abysses of life. Nordgren has used a variety of techniques to convey these feelings dodecaphony, Ligetian field technique, aleatoric counterpoint, free-tonality, Minimalism, and Finnish and Japanese folk music. Sometimes the shifts between elements are deliberately abrupt; at other times, the elements are blended into one another. Thedramaturgy of his works follows directly from his desire to communicate: ...they are free in form, and their pattern is a narrative one. The form of the music is wholly based on the logic of the expression, the same logic that one would employ in telling astory or describing something, Nordgren has said. When Nordgren emerged in the late 1960s, his music was dominated by complex textures and an overall Modernist flavour. In his early works, such as Euphonie II (1967) for orchestra, the pollution passion Agnus Dei (1970) and above all The Turning Point (1972) for orchestra, Nordgren used a technique that he describes a melodic-polyphonic cluster technique. At about the same time, he developed an interest in folk tunes, but his music was not particularly folklorist; the folk music element was subsumed into the dense texture. The most obviously folklorist work from this period is the popular Pelimannimuotokuvia (Fiddler Portraits, 1976), which inaugurated Nordgrens highly important collaboration with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra and its conductor Juha Kangas. This collaboration has resulted in a great many works for string orchestra and concertos scored for strings only. Nordgrens composing career did not begin conventionally. He never studied composition at the Sibelius Academy; instead, he studied privately with Joonas Kokkonen. He also never went to Central Europe or the USA to study further as other Finnish composers generally did; instead, he went to Japan and stayed there from 1970 to 1973, studying composition and traditional Japanese music. His use of Japanese elements, however, are limited to the use of traditional instruments in works such as Autumnal Concerto (1974) and the two Quartets for Japanese instruments, the latter 154 inventing finnish music
sub-titled Seita (1974, 1978). Nordgren has also used Finnish folk instruments separated from their folklore context in Equivocations (1981), the Kantele Concerto (1985) and the extensive vocal work Taivaanvalot (The Lights of Heaven, 1985). In the late 1970s, Nordgren began to turn towards a more reduced and simpler idiom. Pure triads appeared in his music, andthe sense of introvert meditation and resignation increased. This transition period produced the Piano Quintet (1978), the Second Violin Concerto (1979) and the Piano Trio (1980). Hecontinued the reduction process further in TRANSE-CHORAL (1985) for strings, a Minimalist work distantly related to Arvo Prt, and in his Fourth (1983) and particularly in his Fifth (1986) String Quartet. However, Nordgren has retained quite a broad palette even in this later period; Minimalist textures are simply one element in it, forming an efficient contrast to culminations characterized by jarring dissonances and pounding rhythms. Nordgrens 30 concertos form the most extensive series of works in his output. Their solo parts are not virtuoso writing in the traditional sense; though technically demanding, they focus on narrative intensity. The soloist often comes across as the main character in an abstract drama, with the orchestra providing the set and a few supporting characters. The intense melodic potential of string instruments seems particularly well suited to Nordgrens aspirations: he has written a dozen concertos for various string instruments. He has also written a Piano Concerto (1975) and, in the 1990s, several concertos for various wind instruments. Nordgrens recent concertos include the Second Piano Concerto (2001), the Guitar Concerto (2003/2005), the Concerto for Piano Left Hand (2004), the Fifth Cello Concerto (2005) and the Accordion Concerto (2005). Nordgren has also written a substantial body of chamber music, most significantly the nine String Quartets and the related String Quintet (2000). After his First Symphony (1974), Nordgren maintained a respectful distance from the genre, and even Sinfonia jousille (Symphony for Strings, 1978) only touches on the issue of symphonic composition. From the Second Symphony (1989) onwards, however, the symphony has held an important position in his
output, and today his Symphonies constitute one of his most impressive series of works. Instead of working with Sibelian coherent motif processing and metamorphosis, he employs an approach with free narrative and sombre sentiments in his Symphonies too. The most unusual of these in terms of form is the six-movement Third Symphony (1993), where two of the movements are piano solos. In the Fourth (1997) and Fifth (1998) Symphonies, Nordgren used ancient Finnish laments and herdsmens tunes to generate a fascinating archaic flavour. In the Sixth Symphony (2000), Nordgren expanded his ensemble by adding soloists and a choir; the text focuses on the mutual dependence of human beings and the natural environment. In his Seventh Symphony (2003), Nordgren returned to a purely instrumental form. Nordgren has not written very much vocal music, but this category nevertheless includes some of his most substantial works. In the early 1980s, he wrote two operas: Den svarte munken (The Black Monk, 1981), based on the story by Anton Chekhov; and Alex (1983), a TV opera about a factory managers son who becomes a terrorist. The story of Alex is a piercing commentary on the perversions of the Western way of life. Topical in a different way is Beaivi, hc z an (The Sun, My Father, 198790) for soloists, choir and orchestra, focusing on the fate of the Smi minority in Lapland but equally applicable to oppressed minorities anywhere. Nordgrens later vocal works include, apart from the Sixth Symphony, the Te Deum (2000) and Tuuri (200203), both for soloists, choir and orchestra.
theoverall shape of his composition I hear his attitude towards life, his ideology, his view of the world his message. Aho employs a wide variety of means for implementing his musical view of the world. He has coined phrases such as theaesthetics of impurity, and he allows different emotional states and stylistic elements collide, forcefully if need be. He also likes to use established genres such as waltzes, marches or fanfares, and his music is rich in other allusions too. His expressive palette ranges from grotesque brashness to tragic nobleness and beauty in the traditional sense. Aho has used the term abstract plot to describe the form of his works, highlighting their free narrative structure. He is an expansive epic storyteller who favours large forms and monumental characters; his culminations are long, often crushingly heavy and at their most intensive akin to a decisive battle. The core of Ahos output is in his eleven Symphonies; he is Finlands most significant living symphonic composer. Ahos musical roots go back to Neo-Classicism tempered with Shostakovich. He made his breakthrough with his First Symphony (1969), whose flanking movements show the contrapuntal writing that dominated his early works, most significantly in the Second Symphony (1970), which is shaped into an extensive triple fugue. Another important category consists of his extensive chamber music works, the earliest examples of which are the Second (1970) and Third (1971) String Quartets. A concertante dimension entered his output in the solo violin part of the Third Symphony, sub-titled Sinfonia concertante no. 1 (1973). The virtuoso element has remained important for Aho and appears in a number of his solo works, such as the Solo Violin Sonata (1973) and Solo I (1975) for solo violin, the opening of an extensive series of solo works for various instruments. There is also a touch of virtuoso technique in the Oboe Quintet (1973) and the Bassoon Quintet (1977), and, in his series of sonatas, in the Piano Sonata (1980) and the two Accordion Sonatas (198489, 1990). In the Third and Fourth Symphonies (1973), Ahos early Shostakovich-influenced Neo-Classicism began to crumble and transform into a broader, rougher and more pluralist idiom. His
Kalevi Aho: A monumental symphonic composer

Like Nordgren, Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) also seeks to express the surrounding reality through musical means and to take a stand with regard to what he sees. He emphasizes the ethical responsibility of the composer, explaining that music should arouse listeners and make them aware of the world in a new way. He also underlines the capacity of music for communicating: Music, great music at least, is for me a manifestation of movements of the mind and of emotions. In music, I hear a person speaking to another his joy, his sorrow, his happiness, his despair. And in 156 inventing finnish music
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practice of combining different emotional states and styles reached a culmination in the monolithic Fifth Symphony (1976), whose texture consists for the most part of two or even more simultaneous musical levels; in a way, Ahos earlier polyphony of melodies has here given way to a kind of super-polyphony of independent and stylistically shifting structures. The aural impact of the Fifth Symphony was quite complex and dissonantly Modernist because of its multiple levels, and Aho progressed even further towards Modernism in his Sixth Symphony (1980), which contains massive cluster-like sound blocks, severe Expressionist melodies, static sound fields and Webernesque fragility. The Neo-Classicism of the First Symphony and the Modernism of the Sixth are the extremes between which Ahos stylistic range lies. In his later works, he has moved freely along this range. Therough Modernist style prevails in the Cello Concerto (1984) and in the vocal work Pergamon (1990), dominated by curious petrified cluster sounds, whereas the Violin Concerto (1981) is more traditional, even recalling the lyrical expressive melodic writing of Alban Berg and concluding in a beautiful lullaby. Aho made versatile use of vocal expression in his first work for the stage, the monologue chamber opera Avain (The Key, 1979). His next opera, Hynteiselm (Insect Life, 1987), was by contrast apek, it is an extensive work. Based on a play by Karel and Josef C described by the composer as a comic opera with a tragic ending, about narcissism, selfish hedonism and self-interest. Musically, itis Ahos perhaps most pluralist work and one of the leading works of Finnish Post-Modernism. Aho adapted the orchestral part of the opera into his Seventh Symphony, Hynteissinfonia (Insect Symphony, 1988), a six-movement suite-like work. From the 1990s onwards, Aho seems to have been aiming at a more coherent free-tonal style. The Second Chamber Symphony (1992), for example, is quite a uniform work, closer in style to Expressionism than Ahos characteristic Neo-Classicism. Themonumental Eighth Symphony (1993) has a substantial organ part, as witness its sub-title, Urkusinfonia (Organ Symphony). It is a synthesis of disparate stylistic elements, recalling composers such as late Hindemith, late Bartk or early Lutoslawski as in his 158 inventing finnish music
Concerto for Orchestra. The monumental approach continues in the Tenth Symphony (1996), the first of Ahos symphonies to use the traditional four-movement format: opening allegro, scherzo, Brucknerian slow movement and energetic finale. Ahos Twelfth Symphony, sub-titled Luosto-sinfonia (Luosto Symphony, 2003), was written specifically to be performed in a curious natural setting on Luosto Fell in Lapland. The titles of its four movements also refer to inspiration derived from the natural environment of Lapland and the Smi culture. It is scored for a large symphony orchestra, two vocal soloists and aseparate chamber orchestra placed at a distance from the main orchestra. Ahos Thirteenth Symphony, Sinfonisia luonnekuvia (Symphonic characters, 2003), was written for the fifth anniversary of the new Sibelius Hall in Lahti in 2005. It is a two-movement work with a peculiar dramaturgy, describing a series of characters. Thesymphonic structure is built up of fragments of these characters. Sinfonisia tansseja (Symphonic dances, 2001) is substantial enough to be considered on a par with Ahos symphonies; it was conceived as Act III of the unfinished ballet Pyrteit (Whirls) by Uuno Klami. The Ninth (1994) and Eleventh (1998) Symphonies continue the solo symphony concept featured in the Third and Eighth Symphonies. The Ninth has a trombone solo, while the Eleventh features five percussionists. However, the Ninth is a departure from the coherence of its successors, being consciously pluralist and twisting abruptly between Neo-Classicism and stylized Baroque. The Third Chamber Symphony (1996) also has a solo part, for alto saxophone. Aho also continued to write concertos proper for piano (1989), tuba (2001), piano and strings (2002), flute (2002), two cellos (2003), bassoon (2004), double bass (2005), double bassoon (2005) and clarinet (2006). In chamber music, his recent works inlucde the Quintet (1994) for alto saxophone, bassoon, viola, cello and double bass, the Clarinet Quintet (1998), the Flute Quintet (2000) and the Wind Quintet (2006). Ahos principal works of the 1990s also include two operas. Salaisuuksien kirja (The Book of Secrets, 1998) is the third part of the unique opera trilogy Aika ja uni (The Age of Dreams)
commissioned by the Savonlinna Opera Festival. The other two works in the trilogy are ...nunc et semper... by Herman Rechberger and Marian rakkaus (Marias Love) by Olli Kortekangas. The trilogy in general and Ahos opera in particular addresses the significance of 2000 years of Christian culture. Ahos second recent opera, Ennen kuin me kaikki olemme hukkuneet (Before We All Have Drowned, 199599), focuses by contrast on a topical subject, theburnout of an individual under the pressures of modern life. Itis set in a hospital, whose borderline placement between life and death turns the story into an impressive metaphor about life in general. Aho has only written a handful of extensive vocal works in addition to his operas; these include Kiinalaisia lauluja (Chinese songs, 1997) for soprano and orchestra and Kysymysten kirja (Book of questions, 2006) for mezzosoprano and chamber orchestra.
Mikko Heini: Post-Modern features

Contemporary music can, in theory, use just about any material, but not in just about any way, said Mikko Heini (b. 1948), summarizing the freedom of the Post-Modern composer and the responsibility that comes with this freedom. Heini has implemented this freedom by incorporating a variety of stylistic elements up to and including quotes in his works, and by juxtaposing contrasting emotional states. On the other hand, Heinis works are strongly constructed entities where the plurality of the surface level is compensated by the use of concentrated and highly regulated musical material. Heinis Post-Modern idiom derives an interesting further dimension from the fact that he is also a distinguished scholar in the field; as a scholar and longstanding Professor of Musicology at the University of Turku, he has been the most notable musical participant in the aesthetic debate on Post-Modernism in Finland. We should also note that he prefers to speak of Post-Modern features in music rather than of PostModernism as a definable style. For Heini, Post-Modernism was not so much a prefabricated stylistic framework as a logical consequence of his development as a composer. The works he wrote while studying with Joonas Kokkonen in the early 1970s are largely free-tonal and Neo160 inventing finnish music
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Classical, and Heini has later withdrawn many of them. From 1975 to 1977, Heini studied with Witold Szalonek in what was then West Berlin and became interested in Modernist techniques. He began to seek new harmonies based on particular constructions such as the overtone series, symmetry or the Fibonacci sequence. This sequence (1:1:2:3:5:8:13:21, etc.), which approximates theGolden Section the more accurately the further one goes, is thegoverning principle behind the structure of Heinis orchestral work Tredicia (1976). He also began to use aleatoric counterpoint, for instance in the Bassoon Concerto (1977) and the Horn Concerto (1978), and dodecaphony. These can appear together, as in the song cycle Framtidens skugga (The Shadow of the Future, 1980) and theThird Piano Concerto (1981). Heini also expanded row technique into a limited form of Serialism in the divertimento-like suite Champignons lhermneutique (1979) for flute and guitar. Heinis tendency to combine different stylistic elements in one work first appeared in the Horn Concerto. The first significant manifestation of Post-Modern pluralism in his output was the Concerto for Orchestra (1982), which contains allusions to familiar marches, can-can and the opening fanfare of Richard Strausss Also sprach Zarathustra. The Minimalist texture of the third movement and the unreal fairy-tale mood of the ending are features that recur later in Heinis output too. Similarly wide-ranging was the song cycle Vuelo de alambre (1983) for soprano and orchestra, a setting of anonymous poems written in the prison camps of Chile in the 1970s, and the First Symphony, Possible Worlds (1987), whose range of expression extends from modern sound worlds to Romantic richness, from Minimalism and ragtime rhythms to soaring melodies, and from genuine sentiment to acidic irony. The Piano Trio (1988) and the Fifth Piano Concerto (1989) are both related to Possible Worlds in their core material. The concerto, however, shows a turn towards a more coherent and solid idiom, and Heini has in fact said that the goal is no longer the juxtaposition of disparate stylistic elements but their integration. This trend has continued in many of his later works, while the Romantic dimension has at the same time gained in strength. Two of Heinis most important extensive works form a case inpoint:
the vocal work Tuulenkuvia (Wind Pictures, 1991), whose texts on the subject of the wind open up fascinating philosophical perspectives on eternity, and the Second Symphony, Yn ja rakkauden lauluja (Songs of Night and Love, 1997) for baritone and orchestra, which falls somewhere between symphonic and vocal music. Heini describes it as a programme symphony whose programme is sung; a symphony where the singer comments on the story of the music. The Second Symphony is a good example of Heinis exploration of the boundaries of and similarities between established genres. In the Piano Quintet (1993), he expands the sound world of the ensemble by having the musicians recite extracts from Lewis Carrolls Through the Looking-Glass. It is in the Piano Concertos, however, that he has gone farthest in this respect. Considering the Piano Concertos of his mature period, the Third and Fifth are conventional works for piano and orchestra, while the Fourth, subtitled Genom kvllen (Through the Evening, 1986), has an extensive part for choir; the Sixth, sub-titled Hermes (1994) includes a part for soprano soloist; and the Seventh, sub-titled Khora (2001), is written for piano and five percussionists and also introduces African rhythms for the first time in Heinis output. Opera is a natural consequence of the fusion of various forms of expression. Heinis first opera, Riddaren och draken (The Knight and the Dragon, 1999) was commissioned for performance in Turku Cathedral. It is a church opera whose central struggle between good and evil can be seen both from a religious and from a universal human viewpoint. Musically, the opera is in Heinis rich and opulent style albeit with archaic undertones prompted by the subject and the original venue, a Medieval cathedral. Heinis second opera, Krmeen hetki (The Hour of the Serpent, 2002 2005), was premiered at the Finnish National Opera in autumn 2006. Based on a libretto by Juha Siltanen, it is a period drama set in late 19th-century Helsinki, delving into the hopes and fears of acentral female character and the men surrounding her. Its music is colourful and reacts sensitively to the text and to changes in mood, differing quite clearly from the ritualistic conception of Riddaren och draken. 162 inventing finnish music
XI Towards New Sound Worlds

The new wave of Finnish Modernism in the 1980s
At the turn of the 1980s, it became evident that the reports of the death of Modernism had been premature and exaggerated. Modernism had indeed been upstaged by free-tonality from the late 1960s onwards, but it had survived in the work of Bergman, Merilinen and Heininen. Some further composers had joined the Modernist camp in the 1970s, such as Erkki Jokinen, Jarmo Sermil and Jukka Tiensuu, and the pluralist transboundary idiom of Herman Rechberger also ultimately stemmed from a Modernist foundation. For the generation of composers who emerged in the early 1980s, Modernism became once more a real and significant option. Whereas Post-Modernist theoreticians referred to Jean Franois Lyotards conception of the disappearance of great stories, the Modernists followed a line of thought similar to that of German social philosopher Jrgen Habermas, who described Modernism as an unfinished project, true to his Enlightenment-spirited belief in progress. Many young composers in the 1980s similarly saw Modernism as a book that still had empty pages in it. What followed was the third wave of Modernism in Finnish music. A leading role was taken by the composers of the Korvat auki! (Ears Open!) Society, foremost among them Kaija Saariaho and Magnus Lindberg, but older Modernists benefited from the rising tide too. It is indicative of the change in public opinion that such initially free-tonal Neo-Classical composers as Kalevi Aho and Mikko Heini did their most modern writing at the turn of the 1980s. A new generation of free-tonal composers emerged at the same time as the Ears Open! composers, but they were doomed to beovershadowed by the young Modernists, at least initially.
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However, something in Modernism had changed. It no longer involved a search for something new and unheard of; it was more of an application and deepening of things that had been discovered in the pioneering stages of Modernism in the 1950s and 1960s. Thenew Modernists did not so much invent new things as find justified uses for a number of modern phenomena. It was not enough to use modern material; how this material was used was also important. With this more profound and mature artistic approach to the language of Modernism, the style inevitably lost something of its new-seeking ideology and turned into a stylistic framework determined through a selection of more or less definable means of expression. In architecture, where the debate on Modernism and PostModernism has been particularly lively, the concept of Late Modern has evolved. This is an in-depth extreme form of Modernism involving for example the emphasizing of new technological and structural elements high tech architecture. Aparallel in music would be not only electronic music but computer-aided composition, which has been explored in Finland by Jukka Tiensuu, Kaija Saariaho and Magnus Lindberg. Spectral harmonies, based on the analysis and manipulation of overtone series, were another new thing in Finnish music in the 1980s. Computers are an enormous help in constructing such harmonies, for example in studying the properties of sound and tonal colour. On the other hand, spectral harmonies have also served to turn themusic of some composers towards a more traditional, softer sound ideal. The wave of Modernism in the 1980s, like similar waves before it, was heavy on internationalization. Young composers frequently went abroad to study, to experience current trends and to distance themselves from the Finnish cultural environment, which they felt was stuffy. The craving for new technology led a number of composers to Paris; Tiensuu, Saariaho and Lindberg found an artistic home at Ircam. Saariaho settled permanently in Paris in 1982, and Lindberg too stayed in the city for extended periods in the 1980s. The EMS studio in Stockholm was an important centre of electronic music for Finnish composers, in addition to Ircam. 164 inventing finnish music
Fertile ground for new music developed in Finland too. An early boost was gained from the sharing of the ISCM festival between Stockholm and Helsinki in 1978. The year 1981 saw the founding of the Helsinki Biennale, an international festival of contemporary music that had a crucial impact on the development of Finnish Modernism and was of central importance in showcasing modern repertoire. In 19972007, the festival was renamed Musica nova Helsinki, and it was held annually. After 2007 the festival will adapt again the biennale form. In 1982, the Time of Music festival or academy of new music in Viitasaari in central Finland was founded, the brainchild of Jukka Tiensuu. The Tampere Biennale, which in contrast to the international approach of the Helsinki Biennale focuses on new Finnish music, was founded in 1986. More recently, the Aboa musica festival was organized in Turku for the first time in 2001. Since the 1980s, performers specializing in new music have also played an important role, such as the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra (founded in 1983) and the Toimii Ensemble, asort of laboratory for young composers. The new wave of Modernism split the domain of Finnish music into camps, and the operas of Kokkonen and Sallinen in particular having national subjects and being written in a free-tonal style drew heavy fire from the young Modernists, who disparagingly called them fur hat operas. Their severe attitude was not even softened by the huge international success of the operas on the Finnish National Operas tours abroad. Kokkonens and Sallinens operas somewhat unfairly became the scapegoat that bore the brunt of the young Modernists hostility towards the traditional musical vocabulary. However, Modernism soon embraced opera too: Paavo Heininens opera Silkkirumpu (The Damask Drum) was premiered at the Finnish National Opera in 1984, and soon Olli Kortekangas and Erik Bergman began to explore the genre. In all, in the 1980s Modernism was assimilated surprisingly quickly into the normal flow of things in Finnish music institutions. One of the advantages of the young Modernists in the abovementioned trench warfare in Finnish music was their high rate of success in international composition reviews. Particularly at the UNESCO composer rostrum held in Paris annually, Finnish
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composers have had a wholly disproportionate number of works voted most popular. These vote-winners include: in the category of composers under 30, Jouni Kaipainen (Trois morceaux de laube ) in 1981, Magnus Lindberg (...de Tartuffe, je crois ) in 1982, Kimmo Hakola (First String Quartet) in 1987, Jukka Koskinen (String Quartet) in 1989, and Tommi Krkkinen (Seven Miniatures ) in 1998; and in the general category (including composers under 30), Magnus Lindberg (Kraft ) in 1986, Jukka Tiensuu (Tokko ) in 1988, Esa-Pekka Salonen (Floof ) in 1992, Kimmo Hakola (Capriole ) in 1993, Eero Hmeenniemi (Nattuvanar) in 1994, and Uljas Pulkkis (Enchanted Garden ) in 2001. The radiophonic category in the Prix Italia competition has also yielded a number of first prizes, to Magnus Lindberg (Faust ) in 1986, Kaija Saariaho (Stilleben ) in 1988, and Veli-Matti Puumala (Rajamailla ) in 2001. It is noteworthy that the younger generation emerging in the 1990s has enjoyed its share of this success. The flourishing of Modernism coincided with a general boom in Finnish music. New concert halls were built and new music festivals founded all around the country. Finlandia Records was founded in 1979 and another important label, Ondine, in 1985. In addition to the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, another new high-quality orchestra appeared on the scene with the founding of theTapiola Sinfonietta in 1987. The Sixth Floor Orchestra, Finlands leading period-instrument ensemble, was founded two years later. The quality of performances improved by leaps and bounds, and by the end of the decade the international press was beginning to refer to the Finnish musical wonder, meaning both the creative and the performing aspects.
New Modernists in the 1970s

Jarmo Sermil: A shift to a more lyrical sound world
Jarmo Sermil (b. 1939) began his career as a composer of concert music at an older age than most of his colleagues. Like Jukka Linkola, he arrived at concert music through jazz, and to this day he occasionally performs jazz, playing the trumpet and the flugelhorn. Sermils concert music hardly ever displays jazz influences, 166 inventing finnish music
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however. Improvisation does play an important role in his work, but this is related more to the avant-garde aesthetic of Vinko Globokar than to jazz. Sermils work is characterized by a free sort of exploration of the Modernist vocabulary and the avoidance of strictly controlled systems. Sermils early output in the early 1970s was largely inspired by Edgard Varse, to whom the title of Homage to EV (1971) for brass ensemble refers. Tonal colour and texture were key factors in Sermils idiom in the 1970s. He often created aleatoric, rhythmically free static textures, sometimes combined with sections written in conventional measure-based notation. A case in point is Aikakone (Time Machine, 1978) for brass band, one of the key works of his early period. His major orchestral works also include LABOR! (1982) and the series of works for chamber orchestra entitled Quattro Rilievi (198889). In the 1980s, Sermil introduced a Minimalist repetitiveness into his idiom in The Mythic Man (1982) for percussion ensemble. His Minimalist, often diatonic textures are usually juxtaposed with chromatic and rhythmically free sections deriving from his earlier output. He has continued to expand his idiom, so much so that his music can in many cases no longer be described as purely Modernist. For example Otteita Kilgore Troutin pivkirjasta 3 (Extracts from the Diary of Kilgore Trout 3, 1996) for string quartet contains not only Modernist sections but also stylized popular music, ragtime and tango rhythms recalling Piazzolla. Thus, while Sermils style has progressed from early Varse-influenced Modernism to a more pluralist and relaxed idiom, his expression has clearly developed too. He himself summarized this development thus in 1996: Probably the most profound change between my early and later works is the shift from harsh dissonance and power to a more lyrical, often also softer sound world. Chamber music has always occupied an important position in Sermils output, and with time its importance seems to have increased. He has favoured descriptive titles and free forms; he has not written any works at all with traditional generic titles (sonata, symphony, concerto, etc.). He also likes to experiment with unusual ensembles, varying from work to work; he favours
wind instruments. Sermil has also created electroacoustic music, including the 50-minute ballet Sudenmorsian (The Wolfs Bride, 1980). Many of his chamber music and solo instrumental works include a tape background.
aconcerto for violin and chamber orchestra, a rarity in Jokinens output in its expansive, soaring melodic writing, and Voyage 2 (1991) for chamber orchestra.
Herman Rechberger: A versatile storyteller Erkki Jokinen: Harmony, tonal colour and textures
Chamber music is important also to Erkki Jokinen (b. 1941). He is ahighly self-critical composer, and his output consists of only about 40 works. He has written very little since the 1990s. The main elements in Jokinens music are harmony, tonal colour and texture. His earlier works are often based on abrupt shifts and juxtaposition of different texture, such as alternation between static moments, aleatoric counterpoint and aggressive rhythmic outbursts. The Cello Concerto (1970) is written in traditional notation, but in the 1970s and early 1980s Jokinen employed freer notation, including the space-time notation or second notation familiar from the works of Erik Bergman. When Jokinen returned to traditional measure-based notation in the late 1980s, his idiom changed too: radical shifts gave way to dramaturgical development. Although Jokinen has favoured different, colourful ensembles in his chamber music work, the core of his output consists of his four String Quartets (1971, 1976, 1988, 1994). True to his holistic approach, Jokinen usually uses the ensemble as an indivisible super-instrument rather than as four separate instruments. The Second String Quartet is the most extensive and the broadest in expression, containing surprisingly simple diatonic textures as a contrast to aleatoric sections. In the Fourth String Quartet, one of the strongest works of his later period, Jokinen touches upon PostSerialist multithreading. Among his significant chamber music works is also Face (1983) for flute, harp, harpsichord and string trio, a good example of Jokinens colourful ensembles. Reflections (1983) for two accordions began a series of fine works involving the accordion, culminating in the Concerto for Accordion and Chamber Orchestra (1987), one of Jokinens principal works. It also marked a return to larger ensembles, and since this work he has written Voyage (1990), 168 inventing finnish music Herman Rechberger (b. 1947) was born in Austria but settled in Finland in 1970. He is the most colourful and uninhibited of the recent Modernists, so much so that he transcends the boundaries of strict Modernism. He often combines elements from early music, particularly the Renaissance, with a variety of modern sound worlds. Although the overall effect is eclectic and even PostModernist, his work was firmly rooted in Modernism at least in theearly part of his career. Later, he has combined elements more in the manner of a Post-Modernist synthesis than a Modernist collage. Minimalist features entered his music in the late 1980s, and in the late 1990s he developed an interest in classical Arabian music and the culture of Central Asia. In the early 2000s, he has further expanded his range of influences with Azerbaidzhani and African music. In his transboundary versatility, Rechberger is more like a court jester at a carnival than a meditative recluse. Nevertheless, his works contain a contemplative conceptual-art dimension too. His output is extensive and extremely varied. He has tirelessly explored various Modernist techniques, though not Serialism or other strictly Constructivist methods. His palette includes approaches allowing the performers varying degrees of freedom: aleatoric or improvised textures, graphic notation and even alternate instrumentations. Another important element is his aim to expand the colour dimension through new modes of performance and new playing techniques, and through electronic music. Rechbergers works usually consist of juxtaposed distinct blocklike elements rather than dynamic development spans. Rechberger often works with extra-musical inspiration. For example, theidiosyncratic paintings of Hieronymus Bosch have inspired several of his works, beginning with Himojen puutarha (The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1977) for orchestra. He also typically uses unique, piece-specific ensembles. Amazonas (1999) is scored
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for 6 flutes, oboe, 2 clarinets, 2 trumpets, 4 saxophones, piano, 5to 6 percussionists, 8 violins, double bass and tape. Tob Hany (2004), which draws on texts and music from the Mahi tribe of western Africa, is scored for orchestra and an ensemble consisting of electric guitar, soprano, alto sax, trombone and double bass. This work emerged during Rechbergers stay at the Finnish-African culture centre, Villa Karo, in Benin. Influences derived from early music appear in Rechbergers output in a variety of ways. He has applied composition techniques of early music to modern material, employed period instruments in Modernist works, imitated or quoted early music motifs and used combinations of all of the above. Such cases are Cantiones eroticae (1974) for choir and Renaissance instruments, Consort Music I (1976) for recorder, instrumental ensemble and tape, Venezia (1985) for orchestra and the opera Die Nonnen (198795). He has also written realizations of the music of antiquity, as far back as ancient Greece. Rechberger is also a storyteller. His radiophonic works Pekka Mikkosen nousu (The Rise of Mr. Jonathan Smith, 1978) and Magnus Cordius (1985) are structured around a plot much like aradio play. Magnus Cordius is a comical-cum-serious documentary on a fictitious 16th-century Finnish lutenist, a misunderstood genius who wanders around Europe. The sound background consists of both genuine Renaissance tunes and pieces supposedly written by Cordius (actually written by Rechberger, of course). Rechbergers church opera Laurentius (1991), on the other hand, tells the story of an actual person, St. Lawrence, who was martyred in the 3rd century AD. One of Rechbergers principal and most substantial works is the opera ...nunc et semper... (1998). It is the opening work in the unique opera trilogy Aika ja uni (The Age of Dreams) commissioned for the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 2000. The other two works in the trilogy are Marian rakkaus (Marias Love) by Olli Kortekangas and Salaisuuksien kirja (The Book of Secrets) by Kalevi Aho. Rechbergers contribution is an introduction to the trilogy and has no actual plot; instead, it is a free-form choral fresco focusing on some of the core issues of the 2000-year-old 170 inventing finnish music
Christian culture. The work is an impressive blend of a wide variety of stylistic elements, including direct quotes. Earlier, Rechberger sought to avoid generic titles such as symphony, but recently he has relented on this taboo too. The first of his three symphonies, From Dusk to Dawn (2001), draws on Azerbaidzhani music. In the Second Symphony, Hawwa (2003), the orchestra is joined by soprano, contralto and baritone soloists performing settings of texts by Seyyid Imadeddin Nesim, a famous 14th-century Sufi philosopher and poet, and north African Nawba poetry. The Third Symphony, Slavijanka (2005), includes an Orthodox hymn among its many materials.
Jukka Tiensuu: A Modernist musical polymath

Jukka Tiensuu (b. 1948) is almost as much of a musical polymath as Rechberger, though in a completely different way. Unlike Rechberger, he has confined his compositional approach wholly to Modernism and rarely indulges in quotes or Post-Modernist pluralism. His uncompromising Modernism foreshadowed that of the Ears Open! composers, who revolutionized Finnish music in the 1980s. Tiensuu studied with Paavo Heininen, as did most of the Ears Open! composers. Tiensuu studied further with Klaus Huber in Freiburg and with Brian Ferneyhough. He also spent time in the worlds leading electronic music studios, which also influenced his musical thinking to a large extent. Tiensuu has been an important figure in Finnish Modernism through his participation in the founding of the Helsinki Biennale in 1981 and his launching of the Time of Music festival in Viitasaari in thefollowing year. Tiensuu has said: I do not write music because of a composers perceived duty to add to the concert repertoire continuously. In our age, every single work has to have a specific reason for being created. In practice, this manifesto has led him to change his position and problem-setting from one piece to the next, and it is difficult to see an overall style or linear development in his output. Linking factors have to be sought on a more general level, in the belief in the potential of a variety of Modernist means of expression. The enigma of Tiensuus composer profile is further complicated
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by the fact that he has refused to comment on his music since the early 1980s, writing no programme notes and giving no interviews. Tiensuus musical language is Modernist in the broad sense, extending from aleatorics to strict Serialism and electronics. A few examples from his output may suffice. Rubato (1975) is written for any ensemble and consists of a single part used by all performers according to the instructions provided. Aspro (1975) for chamber ensemble includes an instrumental theatre dimension, as the performers are at times called upon to mime playing without producing any sound. In Prlude non-mesur (1976), Tiensuu himself a skilled harpsichordist and performer of early music applies the concept of free-rhythm preludes found in the work of certain 17th-century lute and harpsichord composers. In the flanking sections, only the pitches are given; the performer is required to decide on tempo, durations, dynamics, articulation and so on. In the middle of the piece is a group of sections that may be performed in any order. Sinistro (1977) for guitar and accordion contains a piece within a piece: most of the guitar part constitutes a solo work entitled Dolce amoroso, while most of the accordion part constitutes a solo work entitled Aufschwung. The strictly Serialist pieces Yang 1 and Yang 2 (197879) for chamber ensemble can be performed separately or simultaneously. Microintervals play an important part in Tiensuus output. He first used them in Largo (1971) for string orchestra. In M (1980) for harpsichord, strings and percussion, microintervals create afascinating sense of space and sound. The work also involves an element of improvisation, not only for the harpsichord soloists and the other players, but for the conductor too, who has the entire string section to improvise with. Although microintervals are usually associated in Tiensuus output with the influence of French spectral music, in the harpsichord work FanTango (1984) and its chamber ensemble version Tango lunaire (1985) they are combined with a stylized tango, creating a surreal effect that is quite surprising in the context of Tiensuus work. Since FanTango, Tiensuus music has expanded to take in amore relaxed approach and simpler textures. Tokko (1987), for example, an exciting and evocative work for male voice choir and 172 inventing finnish music
tape, touches upon Minimalism. Puro (Brook, 1989) for clarinet and orchestra, one of the most popular works of contemporary Finnish music, is a brilliant and spectrally scintillating virtuoso piece where the clarinettist is allowed to improvise a cadenza. Anaccessible idiom and an almost Neo-Classical treatment of rhythm dominate the chamber ensemble works Le Tombeau de Mozart (1990), Arsenic and Old Lace (1990) and Plus (1992). The principal work in Tiensuus later chamber music output is Musica ambigua (1997), written for period instruments but in a modern style. The ensemble consists of a recorder (or Baroque flute), Baroque violin, viol and harpsichord. The first movement can be performed as a viol solo or as a duo for viol and harpsichord; the concluding movement can be performed as instrumental solos or as duos, trios or quartets for various combinations of instruments. Tri (2001) for three pianos is another fine work, creating the illusion of a single super-piano. The work has three movements, the final one of which is particularly dazzling in its keyboard sonorities. One of the most powerful works in Tiensuus early output is MXPZKL (1977) for orchestra, a work containing eruptions of massive waves of sound, Xenakis-like glissandos and fragile sound fields. It was over fifteen years before Tiensuu returned to orchestral music, but once he did so in the 1990s, it became the focus of his output. His new orchestral period began with Lume (1991), anaustere, restrained and mysterious piece. It was followed by the more colourful Halo (1994), which contains glissandos, scherzando fields, Orientally tinted wind figures and powerful outbursts; it also makes use of the spatial dimension by dividing the orchestra into three groups. The most significant work in Tiensuus orchestral output of the 1990s is the extensive trilogy Alma IIII (1995, 1996, 1998) consisting of three independent works. The first of these, sub-titled Himo (Lust), includes a tape part; the two others, Lumo (Charm) and Soma (Pretty), use a sampler instead. Tiensuus orchestral period continued with Koi (2000), subtitled prelude for orchestra. It was written as the compulsory piece for the second international Sibelius Conductors Competition. Umori (2004) is written for big band. This is not to say that it represents a shift towards jazz; the music is purely in Tiensuus own
style, with only the briefest of nods to jazz. Its range of expression extends from the placid meditation of the third movement to the wild rhythmic outbursts of the final, fourth movement. Umori was awarded the distinguished Teosto prize in 2004. Alongside orchestral works, Tiensuu has also written a number of concertos and solo works, including Luo for MIDI clarinet and chamber orchestra (2000) and the piano concerto Mind (2000). The latter is in four movements, each with a two-part title reflecting the nature of the music. The work opens with Earth Reflection, which is more extensive and diverse than the rest. It is followed by the brief, scherzo-like Air Play, the meditative Water Dream and the flamboyant, energetic Fire Passion, which brings the work to an effective conclusion. Tiensuu characteristically enriches his palette with spectral sounds and unequally tempered tunings in the piano. In the meditative third movement, an additional touch of colour is provided by notes played directly on the strings inside thepiano. The accordion concerto Spiriti (20002005) and the guitar concerto Aim (2005) also have a structure differing from the conventional three-movement concerto form. Both have five movements, each with their own individual mood, texture and character much like in the piano concerto.
recalled resulted in the musicians performing rather less glamorously for one man and his dog. Unofficial communications between the composers in the core group was just as important as the Societys public profile. As Kaija Saariaho said in an interview in 1988: ...wehad this circle that included Esa-Pekka Salonen, Eero Hmeenniemi and Jouni Kaipainen. Everyone was active and interested. If someone found an interesting recording, everyone would listen to it. We held seminars among ourselves and things like that. Then we all began attending contemporary music events abroad, singly and together. Because of the close personal connections between the Ears Open! composers, it is easy to discuss them as a group, but we should remember that from the very first the group was highly heterogeneous; the composers differed greatly from one another in their stylistic and aesthetic ideals. They shared a desire to make thepublic opinion more favourable to contemporary music, and in this they indeed had success, probably far more than they could ever have dared hope for. At the same time, they established themselves firmly on the scene of Finnish music in the 1980s and thus became part of the very establishment that they had set out to undermine afew years earlier. Their status has become so unassailable and their artistic merits so impressive that younger composers have in fact been in danger of being overshadowed by them. As their careers have progressed, the Ears Open! composers have clearly moderated their earlier ardent stance on Modernism. As early as in the 1970s, Olli Kortekangas questioned the feasibility of certain extreme phenomena in Modernism, and in the early 1980s Eero Hmeenniemi turned to a far more tradition-conscious style. During the 1990s, Magnus Lindberg, Jouni Kaipainen, Kaija Saariaho and Esa-Pekka Salonen have also softened their stylistic approach, even though their idiom is still firmly grounded in Modernism. The Ears Open! Society still exists, though the original core group left it in the 1980s. The Society has provided an excellent forum for young Finnish composers; its membership today is not as unanimously dedicated to the cause of Modernism as was the case in the late 1970s and early 1980s, however.
The Ears Open! group

The Korvat auki! (Ears Open!) Society founded in 1977 acquired a legendary fame as the primus motor of Finnish Modernism in the 1980s. Its original purpose was simply to promote and publicize contemporary music, but quite rapidly a group of young Modernist composers in its membership rose to prominence. The Society included a number of older composers and other professional musicians, but today the Ears Open! group is understood to refer to the core group of founding members, including Eero Hmeenniemi, Kaija Saariaho, Olli Kortekangas, Tapani Lnsi, Jouni Kaipainen, Magnus Lindberg and Esa-Pekka Salonen. The Ears Open! Society organized concerts, seminars and panels. Some of these attracted a fair amount of attention, while others as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Magnus Lindberg have 174 inventing finnish music
Eero Hmeenniemi: The Expressionist fundament with Indian elements

Eero Hmeenniemi (b. 1951) was the first chairman of the Ears Open! Society and has often been seen as its leading figure in its early years. It is ironic that he became the first Ears Open! composer to abandon Modernism, turning to a more traditional Neo-Expressionist style in the early 1980s. He soon became avirtual antithesis to the earlier experimental Hmeenniemi: atradition-conscious composer who had written a Symphony and a ballet based on a purely national subject. He has later expanded his musical idiom through applying influences from the classical music of southern India and by taking his Expressionist language towards a softer, even Neo-Romantic sound ideal. Hmeenniemis early work was characterized by an eager exploration of Modernist potential, rounded out in his studies with Boguslaw Schffer in Poland and Franco Donatoni in Siena. He rapidly progressed from the dodecaphonic Symphony for Strings (1977) through the gesture studies of Dedicato (1977) for chamber ensemble to experiments in aleatorics and open form in the late 1970s. His works from this period are usually short and have ahigh event density. A decisive turn in Hmeenniemis development as a composer came in 198081, when he was studying with Joseph Schwantner in Rochester in the USA. After my year in the USA, I vividly felt myself liberated from the chains of the academic European avant-garde, Hmeenniemi himself said. This transition began with the brief orchestral work ...vain maa ja vuoret (...only the earth and themountains, 1981), completed in the USA, featuring both expansive melodies and softer sounds than before. Hmeenniemi consolidated his Neo-Expressionist style in his First Symphony (1983). In contrast to its lucidity, almost like chamber music, theSecond Symphony (1988) is more orchestral, more substantial and also more extensive. In addition to orchestral works, Hmeenniemi also wrote chamber music in the 1980s, such as the flowing melodic Clarinet Sonata (1984) and the richly textured First String Quartet (1989). His solo works from this period include a complementary pair, 176 inventing finnish music
eero hmeenniemi
Efisaes (1983) for piano and strings and Dialogue (1985) for piano and orchestra. The concertante aspect continued in Darshan (1990) for flute and strings and the Violin Concerto (1991). Hmeenniemi later wrote a Chamber Concerto for violin and strings (1997), whose solo part gives the soloist freedom to improvise. His later chamber music output includes Valkalam (1996) for two viols and harpsichord, a nod to the 1990s trend of writing new music for period instruments. Hmeenniemi was one of the first Finnish composers since Usko Merilinen to take a serious interest in dance. His first dance work, and his best-known work of the 1980s, was the full-length ballet Loviisa (1986) commissioned by the Finnish National Opera. As if to defy all the international aspirations of the Ears Open! composers, the ballet is set in a traditional Finnish rural environment, being based on the popular play Niskavuoren nuori emnt (The Young Mistress of Niskavuori, 1940) by Hella Wuolijoki. Hmeenniemis second full-length ballet, Leonardo (1992), pits the Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci against another historical character, the fiery Dominican monk Girolamo Savonarola who ended up burned at the stake. In the ballet Kolmetoista (Thirteen, 2001), he reduced the musical scale to achamber ensemble of only four players. Since the early 1990s, Hmeenniemi has incorporated influences from classical Indian music into his idiom; these may appear both on the surface level, as in rhythm or melody, and in deep structures. For example, Nattuvanar (1993) for male voice choir uses rhythm patterns from the classical music of southern India. In Lintu ja tuuli (The Bird and the Wind, 1994), the Indian dimension is heightened by the two Indian temple dancers joining the soprano soloist and string orchestra. In the orchestral work Layapriya (1996), the Western orchestra is augmented with a group of four percussionists whose improvised sections alternate with the orchestra. Hmeenniemi has also written works for jazz ensembles and founded his own Nada ensemble, where he plays piano. One of the few works where jazz elements have found their way into his concert music is DaDaDiDi (1997) for string quartet and jazz percussionist.
Some of Hmeenniemis works incorporate improvisation. Hmeenniemi has said that he feels that improvisation is [...] anessential part of any healthy musical culture. In Layapriya, he gave scope for improvisation by the four percussionists. His Chamber Concerto for violin and strings also features improvised passages, most frequently in the first of its four movements, where the soloist meditates on the materials, as it were. Later, the same materials are presented in a more definite form. Hmeenniemi has stressed that the improvised elements are not intended as distributed cadenzas, in the manner of a Western concerto; they are intended to promote musical dialogue. Improvisation also plays a part in The Snake in the Rope. The two-movement work specifies four improvised solos for the bass clarinet, and the musicians of the orchestra and the conductor participate in the improvisation too. The Expressionist fundament has remained important even in Hmeenniemis later works, sometimes blended with Indian elements, which have become an organic and inseparable part of his language. On the other hand, his style has also acquired new, softer and Romantic tones that colour the Second String Quartet (1994) and grow even deeper in the Third Symphony (1999) and the Viola Concerto (2001), expanding into flowing melodic arcs. Hmeenniemis recent orchestral works include the Chamber Symphony (2000) and Prashna (2001), written in India, with melodic writing as a central feature. In musical terms, it is amelody weaving its way through harmonic tensions, he has said. Hmeenniemi completed his Fourth Symphony in 2004.
Kaija Saariaho: Tonal colours with fantastic images

Kaija Saariaho (b. 1952) is one of Finlands internationally most successful composers, and she also leads an international lifestyle. She first studied with Paavo Heininen at the Sibelius Academy and went on to study with Brian Ferneyhough and Klaus Huber in Freiburg. She settled in Paris in 1982 and has lived there ever since, only a stones throw away from the famous studios of Ircam, animportant base for her career. Encountering the spectral music of Tristan Murail and Grard Grisey in Paris was an important experience for Saariaho. Rich 178 inventing finnish music tonal colour, textures and harmonies and balancing between tone and noise are at the very core of her music. She has not gone through abrupt stylistic changes in her career; instead, she has slowly but methodically expanded her domain and progressed from the static dreamlike atmospheres of her output of the early 1980s towards a more powerful and transfigured style in the 1990s, including the appearance of the melodic element in her writing. The titles of Saariahos works conjure up fantastic poetic images: dazzlement (Verblendungen ), secret gardens (the Jardin
secret series), Northern lights (Lichtbogen ), a crystal shattering into smoke (the orchestral diptych Du cristal ... la fume ) or acastle of the soul (Chteau de lme ). Saariaho often works visual or otherwise extra-musical inspirations into breathtaking colourist musical images, demonstrating an exceptionally delicate sense for sound. She frequently makes use of new technology, such as computers or electronic music, in working with her elegant musical language. Lyrical melody made brief appearances in Saariahos early vocal works from the late 1970s, but as early as in Im Traume (1980) for cello and piano she began to focus on tonal colour. She also took up electronic music at an early stage. Her first tape composition Cartolina per Siena dates from 1979, and she first used live electronics in the vocal work Sah den Vgeln (1981). After settling in Paris, Saariaho began to work at Ircam, where she completed her first computer-generated tape work Vers le blanc (1982). It is an extremely static work where one three-part chord is gradually changed over 15 minutes to another. Such slow processes of change found their most significant manifestation in Verblendungen (1984) for 35-member orchestra and tape, which is structured as a single Big Bang followed by a richly coloured diminuendo. Computers have proved a fruitful tool for Saariaho. Lichtbogen (1986) for nine musicians and live electronics is a good example of how she uses a computer. The original nucleus for the work came from cello harmonics that disintegrate into noise when pressure is applied on the bow. The computer analysis of this musical phenomenon and its expansion to a larger scale generated the sound and harmony of the work. Lichtbogen is sensitive and colourful; in her following works, such as Jardin secret II (1986) for harpsichord and tape, Nymphea (Jardin secret III) (1987) for string quartet and live electronics, and Io (1987) for chamber orchestra, her language began to gain power and acquire sharper transitions. Since her early period, Saariaho has participated in a variety of cross-discipline projects. A dramatic, though not narrative, dimension is involved in her radiophonic work Stilleben (1988), whose richly treated subject focuses on travel and communication between people who are separated from one another. The work 180 inventing finnish music
combines a variety of materials, including speech in three languages (German, French and Finnish), singing, instrumental music and concrete soundscapes. The dance work Maa (Earth, 1991) commissioned by the Finnish National Ballet is a similar work combining concrete material and music and progressing more through free association than as a narrative. Saariahos first works for large orchestra were Du cristal (1990) and ... la fume (1990). They are heavy in hidden power, with great swirling masses of sound; the latter is spiced with electronically amplified alto flute and cello solos. The flute and cello have been important instruments for Saariaho throughout her career. In her cello works, she has evolved an original string playing style focusing on colours, particularly minutely specified nuances in bowing. In Amers (1992) for cello and chamber orchestra, this is heightened by the optional use of a microphone to amplify each string of the cello separately. Her best-known work featuring a string instrument is the Violin Concerto Graal thtre (1994), written for Gidon Kremer; unlike Amers, it does not use electronics at all. Although instrumental music has tended to dominate over vocal works in Saariahos output, she has never really stopped writing vocal music. Her early output in this category includes Grammaire des rves (1988), where the soprano and alto soloists are merged into a chamber ensemble, and Nuits, adieux (1991) for four singers and electronics. The emerging melodic dimension in her language was foreshadowed in Graal thtre, but it reached a wholly new level in the song cycle Chteau de lme (1995) for soprano, eight female voices and orchestra. Its breathtaking beauty and consciously translucent yet sensitively coloured orchestration make it one of the finest works in the entire history of Finnish vocal music. Since then, Saariaho has written Lonh (1996) for soprano and electronics and Oltra Mar (1999) for choir and orchestra, to a commission from the New York Philharmonic. Saariahos first opera Lamour de loin (2000), which was premiered to great acclaim from audiences and critics alike at the Salzburg Music Festival in summer 2000. The opera ties together several strands of Saariahos earlier output. The story is a fictitious account of the life of an actual person, the 12th-century troubadour
Jaufr Rudel of Provence, featuring his love from afar for the Countess of Tripoli. Saariaho had touched on the subject in Lonh, asetting of a text by Rudel in Occitan. In the sense of exploring distance between people, Lamour de loin is related to the radiophonic work Stilleben. Even further, the theme of love and death associates with Wagners Tristan und Isolde. Lamour de loin is slowly paced and meditative in its staging, continuing in the expansive melodic vein and simplified yet highly nuanced idiom of Chteau de lme. Saariahos first major work written after the Lamour de loin is the Flute Concerto Aile du Songe (2001). The melodic element is here quite as important as before, but here yet another new element enters Saariahos musical profile, the dance rhythm of the second movement. Despite this new addition, the composers voice remains highly recognizable. In her recent orchestral work Orion (2002), Saariaho has returned to the textural conception of her earlier orchestral works. One of her finest works is the song cycle Quatre instants (2002) written for soprano Karita Mattila; it exists in both a piano version and an orchestral version. Saariahos second opera, Adriana Mater (2005), is substantially different from her first. Although her librettist is again Amin Maalouf, the story is very different. Set in a modern country at war, the narrative hinges on the main character, Adriana, being raped by a man of her own people. Appropriately for the disturbing subject, the music in the opera is discordant and incisive, a far cry from the lucid beauty of Lamour de loin.
Magnus Lindberg: Fast, rhythmic and massive music

Magnus Lindberg (b. 1958) is, like Saariaho, one of the internationally best-known Finnish composers of his generation. For him too Paris is an important location, and both have used new technology in their work. This is where the similarities end, however: whereas Saariahos work is dominated by slow processes of change and dreamlike atmospheres, Lindberg works with aggressive rhythms and massive outbursts. Saariahos music recalls Ligeti and Grisey, while Lindberg has been compared with Xenakis, Berio and Boulez. Lindbergs composer persona is dualist in a fruitful way: on one hand, he is a rationalist who uses new technology; on the other 182 inventing finnish music
hand, he is a hands-on musician a pianist and participated in many premieres of new works in the early stages of his career. As a result of these two facets, his music is usually highly complex yet is full of effective vim and verve. Harmony, tonal colour, texture and rhythm are the chief components of Lindbergs music, and in his earlier works in particular the use of melody is non-existent. He went through a transition in the late 1980s with his language evolving into a softer, harmonically more polished and rhythmically clarified direction. He never left the domain of Modernism, however, but he did give it a more human face, as it were. Lindberg is predominantly a composer of instrumental music, above all orchestral music.
Lindbergs early works written in the late 1970s were strictly Serialist. In Arabesques (1978) for wind quintet, he began to distance himself from Serialism, although the aesthetics of Serialism continued to influence his later works and his musical thinking in general. Conceptually, we might describe Quintetto dellestate (1979) as Lindbergs opus 1, even though he does not use opus numbers. A new kind of freedom appeared, not only in expression but in structure, such as in the open form of Play I (1979) for two pianos and the orchestral work Drama (1981). These works coincide with Lindbergs studies with Brian Ferneyhough in Darmstadt and with Franco Donatoni in Siena. Having completed his composition diploma with Paavo Heininen at the Sibelius Academy in 1981, Lindberg went to Paris to study with Grard Grisey and Vinko Globokar. In the early 1980s, Lindberg experimented with a wide variety of new techniques. He reached one sort of extreme in the orchestral work Sculpture 2 (1981), whose textures and rhythms are so complex and multi-layered that two conductors are required for its performance. In the chamber music works ...de Tartuffe, je crois (1981) and Linea dombra (1981), the instrumental sound world is extended by having the musicians utter words and noises. In Action Situation Signification (1982), a tape background and thereby aconcrete music dimension is added to the chamber ensemble. The consciously Primitivist chamber orchestra work Tendenza (1982) and the virtuoso work Zona (1983/90) for cello and chamber ensemble reflect the influence of Globokar, while the chamber orchestra work Ritratto (197983), which required a long gestation period, is more suave and polished. In Ritratto, I discovered the Magnus Lindberg that essentially still exists today, the composer said in 1991. The magnum opus of Lindbergs early period is Kraft (198385) for orchestra and five electronically amplified soloists. It incorporates the tendencies that Lindberg summarized at the time as combining the hyper-complex with the primitive and described by saying that only the extreme is interesting. Kraft is a work of crushingly overwhelming masses of sound and earthshattering rhythmic explosions, but it also contains moments of quietness and even of beauty. Lindberg relied heavily on a computer 184 inventing finnish music
in the composition process, using it to calculate the shifting of enormous piled harmonies that could have as many as 72 notes. The extremism of Kraft continued in the rough-edged UR (1986) for chamber ensemble and live electronics and in the radiophonic work Faust (1986), but after that Lindberg felt that he had reached the end of one particular journey. A turn towards new things began with the minor piano piece Twine (1988), written after a creative pause of eighteen months, but more significantly Lindbergs new approach emerged in the trilogy of orchestral works entitled Kinetics (1989), Marea (1990) and Joy (1990). In Twine, Lindberg was focusing, in his own words, on Webernesque symmetrical harmonies, where the bass function is actually in the middle of the chord. The trilogy is based on what Lindberg was already doing in Twine, that is, ...reflecting a tightly structured harmonic model against a natural way of hearing and organizing harmony deriving from the overtone series, which French composers Tristan Murail and Grard Grisey, among others, have studied. I wanted to take two very different models and allow them to collide... This new harmonic approach manifested itself in Lindbergs later works as richer, softer and more radiant sonorities. At the same time, his textures and rhythms have become simpler; but he has never abandoned the dynamism, power and textural richness of his early works. An exception to his overall development is Engine (1996) for chamber orchestra, an incisive work that harks back to the violence of his works of the 1980s. With Kinetics, Marea and Joy, the orchestra rose to a dominant position in Lindbergs output. His later orchestral works include Corrente II (1992), Aura (In memoriam Witold Lutoslawski) (1994), Arena (1995), Feria (1997), Fresco (1998), Cantigas (1999) and Parada (2001). Feria, Parada and Cantigas form a series that the composer calls a symphonic triptych. Some of Lindbergs orchestral works exist as arrangements or adaptations for other ensembles. For example, Corrente II is an expanded orchestral version of an earlier work, Corrente (1992) for chamber orchestra; it also exists as a version for chamber ensemble, Decorrente (1992) and a newer version for chamber orchestra, Ricorrente (2000).
Steamboat Bill Jr. (1992) for clarinet and cello found a new life in Duo concertante (1992) for clarinet, cello and chamber ensemble. The most substantial and extensive of Lindbergs later orchestral works is Aura, a retrospective compendium much like what Kraft was like for his output of the 1980s. It has four movements which are played without a break but which are clearly distinguishable a rapid opening movement, a ruggedly solid slow movement, an ostinato-laden scherzo and a culminating finale creating analmost symphonic structure lasting 40 minutes. However, thecomposer has stressed that the work is not a symphony. Besides orchestral music, Lindberg has written solo works such as the Piano Concerto (199094), the Cello Concerto (1999) and the Violin Concerto (2006), and significant chamber music works such as the Clarinet Quintet (1992) and Related Rocks (1997) for two pianos, two percussionists and live electronics. Lindbergs later works are quite uniform in style, and they share quite a few dramaturgical and expressive properties. On the other hand, they also have distinctive features that give each work a voice and identity of its own. Also, Lindbergs stylistic palette has quite clearly expanded. Many of his works, such as Corrente, Arena and Aura, contain Minimalist-like sections whose Stravinskian rhythms are only one aspect of their rich rhythmic profile. Another dimension is the Romantic glowing sound found at the culminations of Arena and Feria and the Sibelian string texture concluding Aura. Melody has also increased in importance, and in the culminations of Arena and Feria mentioned above we find an expansive melody much like that at the culmination of Lutoslawskis Third Symphony. The Clarinet Concerto (2002) represents perhaps the most overtly melodic writing in Lindbergs output; the pentatonic motto figure that opens the work plays acentral role. Unobtrusive stylized quotes and allusions are also a new feature in Lindbergs music. These such as the fleeting glimpse of Monteverdis madrigal Lasciatemi morire in Feria seem to emerge from the harmonic processes of the material rather than being pasted into the music as in a collage. Lindbergs orchestral works frequently contain demanding passages of a concertante nature for single instruments or groups 186 inventing finnish music
of instruments. He has also written a Concerto for Orchestra (2003). Here, too, the concertante element appears in a number of guises, assigned to small chamber-music groups or to the orchestra as a whole. This work is based on two concepts of sound, the first being sharper and rougher, and the second softer. A recent work is Sculpture for large orchestra (2005), premiered in Los Angeles in autumn 2005.
Kraft: A monument in Finnish Modernism

Magnus Lindbergs Kraft has evolved into a symbol of Finnish 1980s Modernism. Its premiere at the Helsinki Festival in 1985 was a resounding success and marked Lindbergs breakthrough. It has been well received abroad too, and even internationally it is considered one of the major works of late 20th century Modernism. Kraft is a fascinating and effective synthesis of a variety of styles. The very basis of the work, combining the hyper-complex with the primitive, as Lindberg himself said, links the work to the long tradition of Modernism seeking inspiration in the primitive, beginning with Picasso and Stravinsky. However, the primitive source here is the primeval punk-rock of Einstrzende Neubauten and other similar bands that Lindberg heard in the clubs of what was then West Berlin while he was writing thepiece. These influences can be heard in thethundering outbursts of electric drums and more generally in the Brutalist aesthetics of the entire piece. Lindberg used a computer to manage the complex harmonies and textures of the work; the hyper-complexity is thus related through both expression and use of rational calculations to composers such as Xenakis. Computer assistance and the electronic amplification of soloists bring a high tech element to Kraft. Both hyper-complexity and high tech can be considered manifestations of Late Modernism in music. Other styles make an appearance too. For example, the expansion of the percussion kit with objects found in scrapyards car springs, steel pipes, and so on parallels the concept of arte povera in fine arts, with cheap and everyday materials being deliberately used in the creation of art. Certain details, such as theelectronically amplified bubbling of water, are phenomena typical of concrete music. It is through such connections that the significance of Kraft continues to grow. It is asummary not just of Lindbergs early period but more generally of the various dimensions of Modernism.
Jouni Kaipainen: Sonorous and lyrical Classicalization

Like Lindberg, Jouni Kaipainen (b. 1956) has also progressed from his spiky Modernism of the 1980s to a clearer, harmonically and sonorously softer language. His musical roots are in a brand of Expressionism going back to Alban Berg; in his early output, his music had rather acerbic tones, paralleling the expression and Post-Serialism of such composers as Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Pierre Boulez and Luciano Berio. In Kaipainens later output, he has introduced a Classical clarity into his Expressionist writing while also incorporating a French-style colourist element which is scarcely surprising considering his professed admiration for Debussy, Ravel and Henri Dutilleux. Kaipainen was one of the few Ears Open! composers to study only in Finland; his teachers were Aulis Sallinen and Paavo Heininen. He emerged as a composer of vocal works while still studying in the 1970s, and he was at first branded a lyricist. The most significant of these early works is Cinq pomes de Ren Char (197880) for soprano and orchestra, a work of finely sculpted dodecaphonic melodies. At the same time, however, he was already writing works that showed a much more Modernist approach. Ladders to Fire (1979) for two pianos is a multi-faceted pyrotechnical and dramatic piece that incorporates colourist elements such as playing the piano directly on the strings and includes a concluding movement experimenting with open form and aleatorics. The colourist element became even stronger in Trois morceaux de laube (1981) for cello and piano, elegantly taking in quotes from Mahlers song Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen and Wagners Siegfried Idyll in its first movement. Kaipainen never used quotes again, though, and his use of electronics is likewise restricted to a single work, Altaforte (1982) for electric trumpet and tape. Kaipainens output in the 1980s was predominantly chamber music. In addition to works with descriptive titles Far from Home (1981), Parcours (1983), Piping Down the Valleys Wild (1984), Tombeau de Rabelais (1987/95/98) and Remous (1990) he also wrote works of absolute music in traditional genres, most significantly the dramatic and technically demanding Third String Quartet (1984) and Trio III (1987) for piano trio, a symmetrical 188 inventing finnish music
jouni kaipainen
five-movement work with an impressive pivotal Marcia funebre. One of Kaipainens principal early works is the First Symphony (198085). Its characteristics include sharp transitions and incisive textures, with extensive sound fields, Xenakis-like glissandos and translucency almost in the manner of chamber music. The work is played without a break and is intentionally ambiguous in form; according to the composer, it can be construed to have either one, two or three movements, depending on the viewpoint. The Clarinet Concerto Carpe diem! (1990) represents a turn towards a new kind of expression. It is a sort of mediator between Kaipainens 1980s output and his 1990s output. The Concerto is a fleeting and energetic work with virtuoso writing, described by the composer as an antithesis to the Weltschmerz and Angst that dominates much of contemporary art. The stylistic transition continued in Kaipainens following works, and he himself spoke of a Classicalization of his style in several interviews at the time. Astatement recorded in 1993 summarizes his new attitude: It used to be the case that the less a composer was understood, the better. Things have changed, and elitism for its own sake is no longer a relevant value. I do pay attention to the surface level of themusic and try to make it more attractive. The Second Symphony (1994) is one of the most impressive works of Kaipainens new period. It is a soaring and coherent work with an arching dramaturgy and a clearly defined form, reminiscent of composers such as Gustav Mahler, Alban Berg, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Henri Dutilleux or even Joonas Kokkonen. Itis completely different from the First Symphony, highlighting the extent of the transition in Kaipainens output. Following the line of absolute music in his new period are the relatively restrained Fourth String Quartet (1994), the Sextet (1997), cast in three movements but played without a break, and the Clarinet Quintet (2000), which at 40 minutes is exceptionally extensive but firmly controlled. Although Kaipainen has described his stylistic development as Classicalization, his style cannot be described as Neo-Classicism; it is more like a synthesis of Expressionism and Classicism.
Thewell-balanced Oboe Concerto (1994) is perhaps the most Neo-Classical of Kaipainens later works. His use of the sonata form could also be cited as a classical feature, most particularly in the first movement of the Piano Concerto (1997), which features aProkofievian vivacious main subject and an almost Rakhmaninovlike second subject, and the traditional cadenza at the end of the movement. Carpe diem! foreshadowed not only a stylistic change but a shift of focus to concertos. In addition to Carpe diem! and the Oboe and Piano Concertos mentioned above, Kaipainen has written aconcerto for saxophone quartet, Vernal Concerto, From Equinox to Solstice (1996), a Viola Concerto (1997) and a Horn Concerto (2001). Accende lumen sensibus (1996) is a concerto for chamber orchestra that falls somewhere between concertante and symphonic writing; its overall form and to some extent its Expressionist idiom recall the First Chamber Symphony of Schnberg. Kaipainen has continued to write concertos at a rapid pace in the early 2000s. His most recent works in the genre are the Horn Concerto (2001), theFirst Cello Concerto (2002), the Trumpet Concerto (2003), theBassoon Concerto (2005) and the Violin Concerto (2006). Vocal music is also an important category in Kaipainens output. Stjrnenatten (Starry Night, 1989), a fascinating and somewhat mysterious work for the curious ensemble of soprano, piano, percussion, six cellos and four double basses, is one of his finest vocal works. Other significant works in this category are Runopolku (Rune Walk, 1995) for soprano and piano and Glhende Blumen des Leichtsinns (1995) for soprano and string quartet. The German text and ensemble of the latter, echoing Schnbergs Second String Quartet, add to the Expressionist dimension. Kaipainen has been working on an opera, Konstanzin ihme (The Miracle at Constance) since the late 1980s; to date, he has released three arias from the opera (198797). He has also explored music on stage in Hmrnmaassa (In the land of twilight, 2004), a music play for children based on a text by beloved Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. He has written numerous choral works too: Lacrimosa (1989), Antiphona SATB (1992), Jauchzet! (1993), Matkalla (On the Road, 1995) and Des Flusses Stimme (1996). 190 inventing finnish music
Olli Kortekangas: A philosopher with translucent textures

Olli Kortekangas (b. 1955) is often considered the philosopher of the Ears Open! group. He has addressed various issues of life philosophy and world view in his works, and he has focused on thecombination and interaction of music and text. For him, the content of a text is an essential component of a piece of music, not just phonetic material for the singers. Vocal works and operas form the majority of his output, although he has written a considerable body of instrumental music too. The philosophical stance appeared in Kortekangass early works as a critical, polemic and often humorous approach. He was very eclectic in this sense: as a contrast to the parody of tonality in the Organ Sonata (1979), he also dared question the Modernism hallowed by the Ears Open! composers, as in Fingerprints (1980) forpiano. In his brief chamber opera Short Story (1980), he presented an alternative view of opera, the most esteemed genre in Finnish music at the time; however, the opera also represented a shift towards a more substantial musical idiom. Although Kortekangas did not abandon his critical attitude, he began to seek for more positive solutions, alternative modes of hearing and experiencing things, as he himself has explained. Kortekangas has used very different stylistic and technical means in his works, although within each individual work the material is usually very restricted. His music typically includes static sound surfaces formed of long notes, simple and translucent textures, a reduced musical language and a reliance on theexpressiveness of small gestures. Kortekangas often extends his musical expression into visual or theatrical elements. After atransition period in the 1990s, his sound ideal has grown richer, his emotional scale has become more powerful, and his dramaturgical approach more expansive. Kortekangas has widely explored the potential of vocal expression in his choral works. For example, in the Kalevala soundscape Lumen valo (The Glow of Snow, 1984), the vocal parts consists solely of vowels to colour the slowly shifting sound surfaces of the music. Verbum (1987) for double mixed choir employs glissandos, unspecified highest and lowest possible notes,
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and normal singing ranging through Sprechgesang to speech and whispers. Kortekangass collaboration with the Tapiola Choir forms an important strand in his work. The first work he wrote for the famous childrens choir was MAA (Earth, 1985), consisting of static and somewhat Minimalist sound surfaces augmented with Primitivist sound sources such as a five-string kantele, clay ocarinas and stones struck against one another. A (1988) is the water-based sister work to MAA ; most of its texts were written by the choir members. A also makes use of the spatial dimension, with the choir being placed around the audience. The visualization by Raija Malka was an important component in the original production. In Kajo (1996), five male soloists, an orchestra and live electronics are added to the childrens choir. The Tapiola Choir also played an important role in the radiophonic work Memoria (1989), where the children recited texts from the Etruscan graves of the distant past, poignantly superimposing the hope for the future vested in children and the melancholy related to the transitoriness of life. From the late 1980s onwards, Kortekangas has been writing alot for solo voice. These works include works with orchestra such as Amores (1989) and the cantata Sanat (Words, 1992), Lied-like works such as Syv ilo (Profound Joy, 1996), and chamber music works such as Tm hetki (This Moment, 2000) for soprano and piano trio, Ecrit sur le vent et leau (2000) for soprano, mezzosoprano and chamber ensemble, and Four Images from the Book of Changes (2001) for mezzosoprano and chamber ensemble. His major vocal works also include the cantata Iloveisulla (With Songs of Gladness, 2000) for baritone, boys choir and orchestra, consisting of settings of texts from the Finnish Old Hymnal of 1701. Although Kortekangass early opera Short Story came across as an ironic comment on the Finnish opera boom of the time, opera has since become an important genre for him. Short Story was followed by the TV opera Grand Hotel (1985). The libretto by poet Arto Melleri is set in a period before the First World War and after the Third. The work is not narrative; instead, it is an Absurdist mysterious and ambiguous drama of tableaux focusing on the opposites of man and woman, travel and stagnation, dreams and 192 inventing finnish music
reality. His following opera, Joonan kirja (The Book of Jonah, 1995), is a traditional staged opera and also has a clear narrative. The story is based on the central incident in the Book of Jonah in the Old Testament, Jonah being swallowed by a whale and praying to God in the whales belly. Woven together with this are other strands somehow touching on the subject, most significantly the monomaniac Captain Ahab from Herman Melvilles novel Moby Dick. In the 1980s and as late in the early 1990s, instrumental music was a peripheral category in Kortekangass output, or, as he put it, a second subject or countersubject to the main theme. In the 1980s, he wrote the orchestral works kologie 1: Vorspiel (1983) and kologie 2: Konzert (1987), one of his most Modernist works. The Concert Piece (1993) for clarinet, cello and orchestra and the sensitively lyrical Arabesken der Nacht (1995) for guitar and chamber ensemble represent a more fragile dimension in Kortekangass output. Mukka-sarja (Mukka Suite, 1996) for chamber orchestra and the Organ Concerto (1997), written in the spirit though not the style of a Baroque concerto, date from the same period. Kortekangass career took a decisive turn when he was appointed composer-in-residence to the Oulu City Orchestra in 1997. The first work he wrote for Oulu, Ark (1988), paved the way for a more versatile and flowing idiom. This new period continued with Charms (1998) for piano trio and orchestra, the overture-like Talvimusiikki (Winter Music, 1999) and the Cello Concerto (2000). Kortekangas has continued to pursue his deepening interest in opera. Marian rakkaus (Marias Love, 199699) was one of the three operas in the unique opera trilogy Aika ja uni (The Age of Dreams) commissioned by the Savonlinna Opera Festival for summer 2000. The two other composers of the trilogy were Kalevi Aho and Herman Rechberger. Marian rakkaus is a love story set in a totalitarian state; it is the most clearly plot-driven of Kortekangass operas, and it incorporates a questioning, ethical dimension in addition to its love story. It is written in Kortekangass recent powerful idiom that in its melodic flow comes close to a sort of Romantic aesthetic unlike his earlier writing. The next opera Kortekangas wrote was Messenius ja Lucia (Messenius and Lucia, 2005), a blend of fact and fiction illustrating
the life and fractious personality of the Finnish 17th-century historian Johannes Messenius. Kortekangas was commissioned to write a new opera for the Savonlinna Opera Festival in summer 2007, Isn tytt (Daddys girl, 2006). Set in Finlands recent past, it aims to reflect changes and ideological clashes in Finnish society.
Esa-Pekka Salonen: Scintillating brilliance and caressing smoothness

Esa-Pekka Salonen (b. 1958) is better known as a conductor than as a composer, and his composing has for a long time been subordinate to his conducting career. This is curious when we consider that he originally began to study conducting to be able to conduct his own music. Although Salonen has gone through an enormous body of music as a conductor including a considerable amount of contemporary music he has been able to cultivate avoice of his own as a composer. It is indicative of how important he considers composing that he took the whole of the year 2000 off from conducting in order to focus on composition. Salonens earliest works date from the mid-1970s, although he has withdrawn most of these Neo-Classical and Neo-Romantic works. The first surviving work in his catalogue is Nachtlieder (1978) for clarinet and piano, a set of dodecaphonic miniatures written in the spirit of the Second Viennese School. He subsequently went to study with Franco Donatoni in Siena in summer 1979 and with Niccol Castiglioni in Milan in 198081. Salonens first extensive work was the elegant Saxophone Concerto (1981/83). The influence of Italian Modernism was expectable considering that he had studied in Siena and Milan in the meantime. Salonen also cited Debussy, Ravel, Sibeliuss Seventh Symphony and American Minimalism as influences. His broad range of expression is demonstrated by the complete contrast to the elegance of the concerto in the radiophonic work Baalal (1982), which is full of defiant roughness and grotesque humour. The theme of communication, expression and understanding comes to a climax in the supranational outburst of the totalitarian leader: Aria camera proust musique rock michelangelo cognac volkswagen appetit. Love musil stop radio. Yes prosit joyce on 194 inventing finnish music
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goethe jeans!... On futuro shakespeare si. Materiale disco deus spaghetti off! Salonen wrote very little music in the 1980s, due mainly to his conducting career, which took off rapidly after he had conducted a performance of Mahlers Third Symphony in London at short notice and with great success in 1983. The solo works Yta I (1982) for alto flute, Yta II (1985) for piano (or harpsichord) and Yta III (1987) for cello and live electronics are mercurial, nervous works; the performance indication of the first of these, Presto, meccanico nervoso, says a lot. The same mechanistic nervous approach appears in the vocal virtuoso work Floof (1988) for soprano and chamber ensemble; its humour recalls the rough edges of Baalal. More elegant but rhythmically incisive is Mimo II (1992) for oboe and orchestra. After Mimo II, there followed a pause of several years as Salonen took up his post as Chief Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. When he finally got around to composing again, he first wrote L.A. Variations (1996/97) for his new orchestra. The work is a set of variations in an almost concertante virtuoso idiom, a portrait of Salonens orchestra and its multicultural home city. It opened a wholly new and more relaxed stylistic approach for Salonen, dominated by rich sonorities, energetic dancelike rhythms and an almost Neo-Romantic melodic flow. Comparisons with composers as diverse as Stravinsky, Witold Lutoslawski, John Adams and Magnus Lindberg suggest themselves. Orchestral music has been of central importance in Salonens output since L.A. Variations. His orchestral writing is exceptionally rich, ranging from scintillating brilliance to caressing smoothness. His orchestral works include a new version (1997) of his early Giro (1981); Gambit (1998), written as a birthday present for composer colleague Magnus Lindberg; and the grandiose, rhythmically effective Foreign Bodies (2001), which according to Salonen is asort of imaginary ballet scene. His later period also includes theClassical (up to and including its subject) and smoothly shaped Five Sappho Fragments (1999) for soprano and chamber orchestra, and the intensive Cello Concerto Mania (2000/01) for cello and chamber orchestra.
Another major orchestral work is Insomnia (2002), a depiction of a sleepless night. It is darker than its predecessors, and we may note that the orchestra has here been further augmented with asection of four Wagner tubas. Salonen describes the structure of Insomnia as a set of variations based on a harmonic formula, separated by ritornello sections on a pedal point of E. Wing on Wing (2004) is Salonens most extensive orchestral work to date, clocking in at 26 minutes. It was written for the inauguration of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the new home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic designed by Frank O. Gehry, in summer 2004. Two vocalizing sopranos join the orchestra here, and there are also brief extracts of a speech by Gehry and the sound of afish known as the Plainfin Midshipman, played on a sampler. Thesoprano melodies in particular lend a lucid added dimension to this expansive, arching work. After Wing on Wing, Salonen turned again to smaller orchestral works, such as Stockholm Diary for strings (2004) and Helix (2005), premiered at the London Proms.
Tapani Lnsi: Technical self-control and conciseness of form

Tapani Lnsi (b. 1953) divides his time between composing and performing. He was conductor of the Polytechnic Male Choir from 1984 to 2004 and raised the choir into the most significant Finnish male voice choir performing contemporary music. Lnsis limited output also focuses on choral music, with more or less equal numbers of works for mixed choir and male voice choir, and a few childrens choir pieces. The most significant of his instrumental works is the String Quartet (1995). Lnsis music is characterized by a high degree of technical self-control, a severity of expression and a conciseness of form to the point of aphoristic writing. Even he himself invites comparison with Anton Webern and Gyrgy Kurtg. The choice of texts in Lnsis vocal works is an essential dimension. The most curious in this respect are Kolme koraalia (Three Chorales, 197592) for mixed choir, which consists of settings of fragments from Ludwig Wittgensteins Vermischte Bemerkungen, and Suomen hakemus EY:n jseneksi (Finlands Application to Join the EC, 1992) for mixed choir. Traum(a) 196 inventing finnish music
(1989), for tape and male voice choir singing bocca chiusa, has no text at all. Lnsis main source of literary inspiration is Paavo Haavikko, one of Finlands foremost living poets. Among the finest of Lnsis several settings of Haavikkos texts is 17 laulua kesst (17Songs of Summer, 1992), whose extremely brief and restrained movements form an elegant and varied whole. Puut (Trees, 1991) for chamber choir and Lnsis major solo vocal works, Nelj lyyrist laulua (Four Lyrical Songs, 1995) for mezzosoprano and piano and Yhdeksn laulua (Nine Songs, 1998) for mezzosoprano and orchestra, are also Haavikko settings. Lnsis principal work to date is the opera Sulka (The Quill, 2000), also a setting of Haavikko. This was Lnsis first extensive work of any kind. The basic features of his style removing everything inessential, self-discipline, severity continue to dominate, however. The orchestral writing is quite austere, resembling chamber music, leaving space for the singers to communicate the text. Another of his major works is Me (2004) for male voice choir and orchestra, written for the centenary of the Polytechnic Male Choir. In three movements and lasting half an hour, its granite solidity and grand gestures place it well apart from Lnsis other choral works and indeed make it a special case in his output as awhole.
Contemporaries of the Ears Open! composers: Modernism and free twelve-tone music
Together with the Ears Open! composers, a number of other composers with a Modernist frame of reference or otherwise detached from free-tonality emerged. The most notable among these are Kimmo Hakola and Harri Vuori; for both, Modernism was a natural starting point, although Hakola has since expanded his language so far as to make it pluralist. Olli Koskelin is also acomposer who emerged in the 1980s; his early works are closely related to Modernism, but in his later works he has sought softer, even Neo-Impressionist ideals. Tapio Tuomela has progressed in the opposite direction, from the Neo-Classicism of his early works towards a more Modernist style.
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Kimmo Hakola: Music as drama

Kimmo Hakola (b. 1958) is one of the most original composers of his generation, and premieres of his works usually attract exceptional interest. The dramatic power, instrumental dexterity, carefully polished details and capricious, even humorous idiom of his music appeal to audiences and critics alike. Hakola says that he sees music as drama. His dramas explore almost Shakespearean extremes, from moments of raging sound and fury and violent battles to quiet moments of meditation and heart-rending monologues. Hakolas output can be analyzed into various stages, but his development is more about expanding a style rather than evolving it. He has never abandoned the elements on which his early works are based; instead, he has introduced new elements into his idiom. The severe Modernism of his output of the 1980s was joined in the 1990s by features such as Romantic flowing melodies, the exoticism of Oriental music or the strange fascination of Klezmer music. It would be easy to see Hakola as a Post-Modernist, but as composer colleague Juhani Nuorvala has pointed out, Hakolas Post-Modernism is not intellectually-ironically reflective; instead, he embraces his Oriental dances and Hollywood-like string themes with warmth and love. Hakola made his breakthrough with the First String Quartet (1986). It was squarely in the mainstream of the Finnish Modernism of its day, and its expressive passion is akin to that of Magnus Lindberg. By way of contrast, it also contains pools of tranquillity and moments of silence. Although the work is dissonantly Modernist in its harmonies, it contains plenty of thirds to give it richness and sonority. The flamboyant intensity and virtuoso writing of the Quartet continued into a number of solo works A mme les chos I and II (both written in 1988) for violin, Thrust (1989) for double bass but apart from these, Hakola was occupied for the rest of the 1980s in struggling with his Second String Quartet, which remained unfinished at that time. A turning point in Hakolas musical thinking came with Capriole (1991) for clarinet and cello or, to be quite precise, somewhere about halfway through the piece. The Modernist 198 inventing finnish music
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virtuoso writing of the opening half of the piece suddenly yields to an extended section of Mongolian folk music. The encounter of two worlds wholly alien to one another is as surprising as it is effective; this ushered in a new, stylistically more relaxed stage in Hakolas career. Like the First String Quartet, however, Capriole too was followed by several unproductive years. A new spark of creativity came with loco (1995) for clarinet (and pedal bass drum), where Hakola worked with stylized Oriental features, and Und hher, die Sterne (1995) for flute and piano, sub-titled Seven Rilke fragments, a set of tightly controlled miniatures. The completion of the Piano Concerto (1996) was delayed by several years, and as a result there were high expectations when it was finally premiered. It not only met these expectations but exceeded them, utterly surprising the audience. The Concerto is in nine movements and lasts 55 minutes, a monumental work whose expansive and grandiosely sketched music contains both virtuoso writing and stability, both power and glitter, both deep feeling and humour. The humour and stylistic compass of the work are well exhibited in the cadenza, which is like a portrait of the pianist walking into a hall of mirrors: the music skips along a C major scale, gets itself involved in jazz and finally parodically shreds itself on the barbed wire of Serialist music. The Piano Concerto seems to have liberated Hakolas creative energies. Since then, he has written an output that is impressive in both quality and quantity. It has become increasingly apparent that he has no formulae or standard solutions; he can work with highly different materials and strategies, depending on the work at hand. He avoids the traditional ideals of symmetry and integrity, preferring to seek imbalance, surprise and plurality. In the Second String Quartet (1997), this approach generated a peculiar overall form: the work consists of five Allegro movements of different characters. In terms of material, it is related to the First String Quartet, and its style is quite purebred Modernism. Also related is the Sinfonietta (2000), a single-movement violently passionate and relentlessly rhythmic virtuoso piece for orchestra. Hakola has written two further wonderful works for clarinet besides Capriole and loco. In the Clarinet Quintet (1997),
thesavagely Modernist opening movement is followed by abroader concluding movement that draws on Romantic moods and Klezmer. In the Clarinet Concerto (2001), which was a resounding success at its premiere, the combination of different musical worlds is even more pluralist. The opening movement incorporates harsh, punching rhythms and playful tonal elements in the cadenza. Theother movements include meditation, Romantic sentiment and Klezmer tones that are by turns dreamy and flurried. Vocal music has been constantly increasing in importance in Hakolas later output. The cantata Hymyilev Apollo (Smiling Apollo, 1997) for soloists, choir and ensemble, was consciously written for a specific purpose; it was followed by two chamber operas, Marsin mestarilaulajat (The Mastersingers of Mars, 2000) and Sinapinsiemen (The Mustard Seed, 2000). These two operas form an almost complete contrast. The only link between them is that they are written for a small body of performers and that they last a little over an hour, as befits a chamber opera. Marsin mestarilaulajat is based on the strange world and aesthetics of the comic strips of Finnish cartoonist Matti Hagelberg, and its absurd setting recalls Ligetis Le Grand Macabre. Its music contains Modernist ruggedness, Minimalist repetition, Oriental tones and avariety of stylistic and direct quotes from Bach, Mozart, Donizetti and Puccini. Sinapinsiemen, on the other hand, is a serious story based on the life of Jaakko Krmki, a Finnish religious dissenter who lived in the 18th century. The music is stylistically and expressively coherent, with the exception of a beautiful tonal hymn tune written by Hakola himself. Despite its religious subject, theopera can be seen as a universal debate on the issues of life and ideology in general. Sacrifice (2002/05), commissioned by IRCAM and premiered by the Ensemble InterContemporain in Paris, is a rich synthesis of the broad range of genres, styles, approaches and idioms in Hakolas output, and as such one of his principal works. It is unusually scored for soprano, solo violin, orchestra and electronics. Its initial impulse came from the film Le Sacrifice by Russian master director Andrei Tarkovski. Hakolas recent output also includes the Chamber Concerto (2001), a concerto for electric kantele 200 inventing finnish music
and chamber orchestra entitled Riite (2003), the Oboe Concerto (2005/06), Maro (2006) for orchestra and the extensive oratorio Song of Songs (2006) for baritone, vocal ensemble, choir and orchestra.
Olli Koskelin: Music with self-nuanced spectral harmonies

Olli Koskelin (b. 1955) emerged as a Modernist in the early 1980s, but even some of his early works already show his attraction to traditional values of beauty. His music has since progressed towards a soft nuanced idiom sometimes described as NeoImpressionism, with spectral harmonies and overtone series playing an important part. In addition to writing instrumental and vocal works, Koskelin has shown an interest in cross-discipline projects. He has written several dance works such as Kylmnthti (Coldstar, 1992), Ynvartija (The Nightwatchman, 1992), Min olen ruumiini (I Am My Body, 1994) and Puutarhuri (The Gardener, 1995); film music, for example for Jaakko Pyhls Armon aika (Time for Mercy, 1999); music for the stage, for example for Juha Siltanens Strip-tease (1991); and the radiophonic work To whom it may concern (1990), where he exceptionally uses quotes as material. Koskelins breakthrough work was Musiikkia jousikvartetille (Music for String Quartet, 1981). It is dodecaphonic music that contains both aggressive Post-Serialist structures and a fragile beauty. Both dimensions continued to maintain a presence in Koskelins output. The aggressive side is dominant in Act I (1982) for solo cello and the extremely demanding virtuoso piece Exalt (1985/91) for solo clarinet. Koskelin later adapted Exalt into the duo Pas de deux (1991) and the trio Pas de trois (1991). The more delicate and lyrical side initially appeared in the vocal works Kolme laulua (Three Songs, 1982), the Ligetian ...with flowers (1986), and the dreamy and touching Sweet Dreams (1987); this dimension then spread to instrumental works too. A case in point is Tutte le corde (1989) for guitar and tape and the Neo-Impressionist Courbures (1989) for piano, a lucid, sensitive and rich Neo-Impressionist work whose closest comparison might be the nocturnes of Merilinen. Beginning with the orchestral works For the time being (1991) and ...kuin planeetta hiljaa hengittv (...like a planet
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silently breathing, 1993), Koskelins output has acquired soft harmonies, tranquil arching melodies, a leisurely rhythmical pulse and a coherence of mood. He often uses the overtone series like the French spectral composers. Koskelin avoids dramatic culminations, and he has also not sought the traditional conflict between soloist and orchestra in his concertante works, such as the Piano Concerto (1994), the Clarinet Concerto (1996) and Seitsemn sinisen varjoa (Seven Shades of Blue, 2000) for flute and orchestra. Koskelins instrumental output also includes the richly lyrical Uurre (Groove, 1997) for chamber ensemble, Miniatures (1997) for string quartet, Circles within (1999) for string orchestra and Grounds (2000) for two viols.
Tapio Tuomela: Modernism combined with national dimensions

Tapio Tuomela (b. 1958) has followed a stylistic development that is the diametrical opposite of Koskelins. He began his career in atraditional Neo-Classical style. He wrote the Piano Concerto (1981) as a virtuoso vehicle for himself. In the mid-1980s, he turned towards a Modernist ideal. Despite this change, however, Tuomela has always approached composition from the practical musicians point of view, emphasizing the importance of the performer in the communication chain of music. His best-known works are his two operas, but he has also written a considerably body of orchestral music, chamber music and vocal music. Tuomelas transition period in the 1980s produced Pendulum (1985) for solo cello, Focus (1986) for string orchestra and the Quintet (1987). These introduced new elements into his music sound fields in Focus and the style of Schnberg and Webern in the Quintet and distanced him from his early Neo-Classicism. Tuomelas Modernist period proper began with the rapid-fire Lchelle de lvasion (1989) for chamber ensemble, recalling Ritratto by Magnus Lindberg, who was Tuomelas composition teacher and a considerable influence. Tuomela progressed to Modernism at a time when some of the Ears Open! composers his contemporaries were turning towards a more traditional idiom. Tuomelas music is quick on its 202 inventing finnish music
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feet, rich in melodic and harmonic invention and often features tonal colour as an independent element. For example, Transition (1989) for two keyboard players, two percussionists and tape focuses on transitions from pure notes to noise on one hand and from acoustic sounds to synthetic taped sounds on the other. His choral work Papiermusik (1990) also contains sections of noise. The most substantial and extensive of Tuomelas instrumental works is his Symphony (1991/93). It is a single-movement work built on the tension of two types of material, a wedge-shaped melody and a more fragmented chamber music texture. This was followed by Quasi Herzstck (1994/99) for string orchestra and JOKK (1997), which is more colourful than the Symphony. At the same time, Tuomela wrote chamber music and solo works, such as Foliant Perspectives for two pianos (1991), a pedagogical work, Virvatulia (Will-o-wisps, 1996) for accordion, and Kangastus (Mirage, 1997) for two kanteles. Tuomelas two chamber operas are his best-known works. Theearlier one, Korvan tarina (The Story of the Ear, 199193), is highly experimental in form and content. The production team described it as a conceptual soap opera and an amodern metaopera, exploring opera as a musical event and a social event. Here, Tuomela used techniques such as open form and quotes. His later opera, idit ja tyttret (Mothers and Daughters, 199899), is more traditional in form and narrative and also more genuinely emotional in its music. The main character is Lemminkinen, a colourful hero in the Kalevala, who in this libretto by Paavo Haavikko is treated in a refreshingly irreverent way. As befits thesubject, the Modernist music incorporates intensive, archaic echoes of folk songs. idit ja tyttret generated a number of spinoffs such as the vocal works Tuli tuuli, tuli aalto (Lamentation, 1998), Lamentation I (1999) and Lamentation II (1998/2001). The orchestral work Lemminkinen (2000) was also based on material from the opera but evolved into an independent tone poem. These works show that a national dimension has appeared in the subjects and instrumentation of Tuomelas works; other cases in point are Lemmin Loitsu (Lemmi Spell, 2000) for kantele orchestra (orfour
kanteles), the textless soundscape Liekut ja Loitsut (Images de Kanteletar, 2000) for ten singers, clarinet and percussionist, inspired by the Kanteletar, and Vuohenki Luohti (2001) for mezzosoprano and orchestra, a setting of a text by Nils-Aslak Valkeap, the most significant proponent of Finlands minority Smi culture. The most important orchestral work in Tuomelas recent output is his Second Symphony (2005). He began work on it in the early 2000s but had to start over when material meant for the symphony ended up as the concise and powerfully throbbing orchestral work Nordan (2003). The symphony is more expansive, with a broader sweep. It is about 30 minutes long and in a single movement, progressing in a seamless process from one situation to the next.
Harri Vuori: Spectral music with carefully shaped details

Like Tuomela, Harri Vuori (b. 1957) went through a Neo-Classical phase in his early period in the late 1970s. During his studies at the Sibelius Academy (197889), he began to embrace a Modernist idiom, and in the late 1980s he discovered his own style, characterized by carefully shaped details, rich tonal colours and textures, and harmonies derived from the overtone series as in French spectral music. Orchestral music is perhaps Vuoris most important category, but he has also written chamber music, solo instrumental music, vocal music and tape music. He is a careful composer who spends much time polishing his works, giving time to the creative process, and as a result his output is not very extensive. Vuori first attracted attention with the Zen-Buddhist chamber opera Kuin linnun jalanjljet taivaalla (Like a Birds Footprints in the Sky, 1983), written while he was still a student. This curious work, which incorporates ritual elements, is written for two singers and two pianos (played by four pianists). Vuori was progressing towards a Modernist idiom at the time; this coalesced into PostSerialist complexity in Mysticae metamorphoses nocturnae II (1985) for two sopranos and chamber ensemble and the tape work Nagual (1986). The orchestral work Kri (1988), written for Vuoris composition diploma, was one of his first mature works. It is full of rich tonal 204 inventing finnish music
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colour and spectral harmonies, but unlike spectral music proper it is active instead of statically exploring the nature of sound. Thesame rich orchestral style with resonances, echoes and reflections continues in S-wt (1991), a piece more rapid and dynamic than Kri. Slightly less extensive but equally scintillating is the orchestral work Mandelbrotin kaiut (Mandelbrot Echoes, 1995), inspired in part by the chaos and fractal theory of mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot. Vuori began to write vocal music again in the early 1990s: Unen ja kuoleman laulut (Songs of Sleep and Death, 1990) for soprano and cello, a song cycle with a highly dense atmosphere, and Lultima di x (1990) for soprano and chamber ensemble, described by the composer as a final scene from an opera. Thevocal element is also included in Lopetetut liikkeet (Interrupted Movements, 1991), where the vocalizing soprano is integrated into the chamber ensemble. After a quieter period in the early 1990s, chamber music has come to the fore again in Vuoris output. He has written works for various colourful ensembles, such as Niin yll kuin alla (Above as well as Under, 1995), Beyond (1997) and Hmrn laulajat (Singers of Twilight, 2000), and for duos, such as the Violin Sonata Towards the Azure (1996), Didgeridoo (1997) for tuba and piano, and Galdr (2000) for bass clarinet and horn. Although Vuoris broad tonal colour palette finds its finest expression in his orchestral works, it also colours his chamber music works, which can be considered minor relatives of his orchestral works. His duo works focus on various modern playing techniques on the instruments in question. In Didgeridoo, which derives its title and its musical inspiration from the traditional instrument of the aboriginals of Australia, Vuori uses the potential of the tuba to great effect to create a magical atmosphere: glissandos, various vibratos and tongueings, harmonics and whispering over playing the instrument. Kutsu yn tanssiin (Invitation to the Nocturnal Dance, 1997) for two viols and harpsichord follows in the recent trend of commissioning new music for period instruments; Pivst uneen pin (From Day to Dream, 1999) for tenor and viol goes even further into the concept, being a setting of four Shakespeare sonnets.
Vuoris productivity has increased with his series of chamber music works in the late 1990s. He has also returned to larger ensembles in Ylitse kuun, alitse pivn (Over Moon, Under Day, 1999) for orchestra, Herv maa (The Earth Awaking, 2000) for choir and orchestra, the Concerto for Bass Clarinet and Orchestra (2001) and Myyttisi kuvia (Mythic Images, 2002) for chamber orchestra. The two movements of the Concerto have unusual descriptive titles: Outoja laivoja (Strange Ships) and Ikuisuuksiin sytytetyt (Enflamed to Eternity). The relationship between soloist and orchestra is also not traditional: instead of being cast in a heroic role, the bass clarinet draws outlines against the colourful, fresco-like textures of the orchestra. Myyttisi kuvia is a sort of sinfonietta, with a more dynamic, texturally crisp approach and ajoy of music-making. The cautious turn from freeform colourist music towards amore structured approach that began in Myyttisi kuvia continued in Vuoris First Symphony (2003). Before the premiere, the composer noted: My earlier orchestral works were not conceived as symphonies. Here, on the other hand, everything is based on two simple ideas. This is my notion of what is symphonic, and in this sense I freely admit I am more Sibelian than Mahlerian. In terms of its overall form, the four-movement 40-minute symphony continues in the symphonic tradition, even if its structure is not entirely unambiguous. Although the symphony is rich in sonorities, as is typical for Vuori, tonal colour does not here play as central a role as in most of his other works. The symphony was a special case, largely because of the genre and the tradition it embodies; in the Saxophone Concerto (2004), tonal colour once again became the principal element.
are his guiding ideals. His rational though not peremptorily Constructivist approach is enriched by a subtle sense of poetry. Nevanlinna is first and foremost an instrumental composer; he has written no vocal music since the mid-1980s. His output is rather limited, and especially since the early 1990s he has written very little. Nevanlinnas first notable work was Jousipiirros (String Drawing, 1983) for string orchestra. Its pizzicato-and-glissando opening demonstrates the importance of texture shapes and sound shapes in his language. He often chooses titles referring to visual phenomena, as in Zoom (1987) for orchestra, Foto (1987) for clarinet and accordion, and Foto 2 (1997) for vibraphone and kantele. In his orchestral works, such as Vignettes (1985), Lumikannel (Snow Kantele, 1989) and Lasikirja (The Glass Book, 1991), he has favoured rich translucent structures often expanding into sound fields, and his chamber music too contains field-like textures, as in Spin (1989) for flute, clarinet, vibraphone and viola, and Ladut (Trails, 1991) for string quartet. By contrast, Cirrus (1998) for string quartet has a more complex Post-Serialist dimension. Nevanlinnas most significant solo work is the crystalline Piano Sonata Lasikaktus (Glass Cactus, 1984).
Harri Suilamo: Brief, polished and rapid

Harri Suilamo (b. 1954) is also a committed Modernist, but he differs from Vuori and Nevanlinna in that he writes in a more PostSerialist vein and with Webernesque conciseness. His works are brief, concentrated and rapidly moving, and polished to the utmost in their melodic and harmonic details. Tonal colour, including modern playing techniques, play an important role in his works, and on occasion he makes use of microintervals. Suilamo writes above all chamber music. His only orchestral work Aiva (1991) is also written much like chamber music, favouring solo lines and small alternating instrumental groups. Suilamo has a penchant for using polychromatic ensembles consisting of members of different instrument families, introducing a colour element into Post-Serialist complexity. Typical Suilamo ensembles may be found in Synes (1988) for clarinet
Other new composers of the 1980s

Tapio Nevanlinna: Colours, fields, fragments
Tapio Nevanlinna (b. 1954) has created an output that is stylistically quite coherent. He is a sensitive explorer of tonal colour who constructs fields from melodic fragments. Clarity and brightness 206 inventing finnish music
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(alsobass clarinet), guitar, cello and percussion, Kotva (1992) for flute, bass clarinet, horn, percussion and string trio, and Naala (1993) for clarinet (also bass clarinet), cello, accordion, piano and percussion. The most extensive of his solo works is Unohduksen pisara (Una goccia doblio, 2001) for kantele. He has also written guitar works, including Noun a fretwork circle (1990) and Eidola weiland Gitarrenspieler (1999). Post-Serialism in a manner similar to Suilamo is also used by Timo Laiho (b. 1957), whose output also focuses on chamber music. Keira Hltt (b. 1956), who emigrated to Sweden in the early 1990s, combines Post-Serialist complexity with aleatoric counterpoint in his output, which mainly consists of instrumental music. Anneli Arho (b. 1951) has written a number of Modernist works, among them Minos (1978) for harpsichord, written for her husband Jukka Tiensuu. In Once upon a time (1980) for wind quintet and AikAika (TimTime, 1987) for three cellos, Arho explored the philosophy of time in music by contrasting completely static moments with frenzied virtuoso eruptions. Vesa Valkama (b. 1963) wrote several chamber music works and concertos in a Modernist style in the 1980s but has been unheard of since then. Petri Hiidenkari (b.1957) has likewise remained quiet since the 1990s. In the 1980s, he followed a style more traditional than that of Valkama. For example, his best-known work Hommage C.D. (1985) for violin and piano can be best described as Neo-Impressionist. Many composers writing free twelve-tone music emerged in the 1980s. They were closely related to the Modernist movement and derived influences from it but never embraced it completely. Neither did they experiment with stylistic quotes like the PostModernists. vladimir agopov Vladimir Agopov (b. 1953), who was born in Armenia but settled in Finland in 1978, has experimented both with traditional melodic atonality as in his Clarinet Sonata (1981) and Second String Quartet (1988) and with an idiom depending on tonal colour and textures as in his First String Quartet (1982/89) and his best208 inventing finnish music
known work, the Cello Concerto Tres viae (1984). Agopovs later works include Decimetto for small chamber orchestra (1997) and Settembre for large orchestra (2004). German-born Oliver Kohlenberg (b. 1957) is also a free twelve-tone composer, and his music has been compared to Alban Berg and Hans Werner Henze. He has written several extensive, unusually long works; for example, his Second Piano Sonata Umanak (1983) lasts about 50 minutes; his Second String Quartet (1997), dedicated to Henze, is almost as long; and his Third Symphony (1998) lasts an hour. The symphonic and the concertante come together in Kohlenbergs Fourth Symphony, Concertante (2000), which features a solo flute part. However, the work is not symphonic in the traditional sense; instead, it is more like a suite with seven movements, each with a descriptive title. A similar multi-part form can be found in the Piano Concerto (2001), which has ten movements or sections. Kohlenbergs principal works also include the operas Sina ja kookospuu (Sina and the Coconut Tree, 1987), Sipirjan lapsi (The Child of Siberia, 1998) and Magdalena (2000). The output of Harri Viitanen (b. 1954) reflects his work as a church organist in a number of ways. Organ works form an important part of his output, and he has written over 100 organ chorales for practical everyday use. In his principal works, however, he has explored more modern sounds. His major work to date is the organ concerto Firmamentum (198588), a work of varied materials and expression whose tonal relationships were determined on the basis of distances between stars in a Constructivist manner. The solo organ work Images doiseaux (1992) is based on a deep analysis of recorded birdsong. oliver kohlenberg
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XII Broadening Horizons

The new freedom of the 1990s and the youngest generation of composers
The wave pattern of styles in the history of Finnish music continued as the Modernism of the 1980s was followed by a more traditional and pluralist period in the 1990s. Like the previous decline of Modernism that occurred a quarter of a century earlier, this too took place on a broad front, but perhaps in a more diverse fashion. In some cases, traditional means of expression joined the Modernist idiom, complementing and enriching it; in other cases, composers turned wholly to a more traditional style. At the same time, Modernist effects have lost their shock value and become part of the mainstream toolkit of Finnish music. The return of a more traditional idiom has been the most conspicuous with the Ears Open! composers, naturally because Modernism had been so important in their output in the 1980s. The transition occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s with Magnus Lindberg and Jouni Kaipainen, and in the late 1990s with Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kaija Saariaho and Olli Kortekangas. Before any of them, Eero Hmeenniemi had already turned away from radical Modernism. Olli Koskelin developed a softer style in the 1990s, whereas Kimmo Hakola augmented his palette with traditional elements without abandoning his fundamental Modernist style. The more relaxed stylistic atmosphere was also reflected in the fact that composers writing in a more traditional vein now gained more attention. How did the new emerging generation of composers react to these new challenges and opportunities? The situation was by no means easy, since the Ears Open! composers and their brilliant achievements had virtually hogged the limelight. This was almost comparable to the shadow of Sibelius that threatened to obscure many fine composers in his day. The pluralist stylistic permissiveness of the 1990s was also a problem in that young composers had 210 inventing finnish music
nothing to rebel against. Indeed, the young composers of the 1990s never made as dazzling a breakthrough as their colleagues ten years earlier, even though many of them have created a distinctive profile and established themselves in Finnish music. Young composers display quite as broad a spectrum of styles and means as their older colleagues. The scale extends from voluptuous Neo-Romanticism to severe Modernism, and no single style can be said to be the mainstream. Although the importance of the Ears Open! Society has varied since its golden era in the early 1980s, it remains an important forum for young composers and the major organizer of concerts of their music. In 1993, theSociety was involved in founding the Zagros Ensemble, which has complemented the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra in promoting the work of young composers. The more relaxed atmosphere shows in Finnish music in many ways, not only as changes within the sphere of concert music Neo-Romanticism, a broader stylistic scale, the new rise of tonality but in an interest in the music of other cultures and the eroding of boundaries between types of music. Composers increasingly find inspiration in jazz, rock, Finnish and foreign folk music and various non-European cultures. There is also a fair amount of new music being written for period instruments, especially viol and harpsichord. There are also clear indications that the Helsinki-centricity that has been something of a burden on Finnish music is now crumbling at least to some extent. New acoustically excellent concert halls have been built all around the country, and the level of quality of Finnish orchestras has risen markedly. For example, Tampere Hall, completed in 1990, has had a major impact on the musical life of the city of Tampere. Lahti has gained in importance from the international reputation of Sinfonia Lahti and the acoustically wonderful Sibelius Hall completed in 2000. Kokkola is home to the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Finlands premium chamber ensemble. A national composer-in-residence project was launched in 1997 to create closer ties between Finnish composers and orchestras. In the project, fourteen orchestras across the country chose a composer to write music for the orchestra and otherwise participate in its work.
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Considering the resources available, the development of Finnish musical life was by no means self-evident. The strong economic boom of the 1980s was followed in Finland by anexceptionally severe recession, with the unemployment rate soaring to 20 per cent by late 1993. However, Finnish musical institutions survived, and public subsidies to the cultural sector remained at an acceptable level, allowing the best composers and musicians to concentrate on their artistic pursuits. The new Opera House of the Finnish National Opera, the most significant musical construction project in post-war Finland, was completed at the bottom of the recession in 1993, although we should note that thedecision to build it had been taken during the boom period in the 1980s. Opera has continued to go from strength to strength, being performed not only by the Finnish National Opera, the Savonlinna Opera Festival and the Tampere Opera but also by regional operas all around Finland and by independent alternative small opera companies in the Helsinki area.
(1992) for flute and piano. The textural aspect is dominant in the trilogy of chamber music works consisting of Scroscio (1989), Verso (1990/91) and Ghirlande (1992). Even the genesis of these works underlines the importance of texture: the detail structure only came about after Puumala had outlined the overall shape of form and texture in drawings and sketches. At about this time, Puumala had begun to turn to a new sort of ideal. This can be sensed in two powerful orchestral works very different from each other, Line to Clash (199193) and Tutta via (199293). The transition did not properly happen until the String Quartet (1994), though, but even here the change was not so much about abandoning an earlier style as about expanding the scope of expression and adopting a broader dramaturgical approach. The String Quartet is violent, pulsating music that places enormous technical and interpretative demands on the performers. The core of Puumalas output of the late 1990s consists of agroup of four works: Chant Chains (1995) for chamber ensemble; Chains of Camenae (1996) for chamber orchestra; Soira (1996) foraccordion and chamber ensemble; and Chainsprings (1995/97) for large orchestra. Despite their differences of ensemble, they share a family resemblance. At the premiere of Chainsprings, Puumala said that the work is in aesthetics and style [...] very closely related to its predecessors it is the same music. The works of the Chains sequence continue and deepen the development that began with the String Quartet. Puumala has still not reneged on his Modernist foundation, but he has taken on board new elements such as shimmering spectral harmonies, simpler textures and clearer, even machine-like rhythms. He has also begun using stylized folk music elements, which, however, grow organically from the musical material and do not sound like a collage. Tutta via had already contained a similar allusion to jazz, and the minor cello piece Epitaph (1995) contains an almost undetectable veiled reference to a hymn tune, appropriately enough for the memorial nature of the piece. The most significant of Puumalas later chamber music works is Umstrichen vom Schreienden (1998) for six cellos, a linear and contrapuntal work; its second movement, for example, is a fugue.
XII Broadening Horizons 213
Modernism and Expressionism

Veli-Mati Puumala: Detailed complexity and rich tonal colour
The most conspicuous of the composers who emerged in the 1990s is Veli-Matti Puumala (b. 1965). He made his breakthrough with his composition concert at the Helsinki Biennale in 1993, showcasing the work of a composer firmly committed to the Modernism of the previous decade. Although he has since expanded his palette, he has not abandoned his Modernist roots; instead, the narrow confines of his early works have broadened into a more substantial and expansive dramaturgical approach. It is indicative of the appreciation he commands that he was appointed Professor of Composition at the Sibelius Academy for afive-year period from August 2005. Puumalas music contains the detailed complexity of PostSerialism, comprehensive textural processing and rich tonal colour. The Post-Serialist element is obvious in the pyrotechnics of Graces (1989) for two pianos and the radiant virtuoso work dera 212 inventing finnish music
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We might also mention Caprifoglio (dera II) (1998) for clarinet and cello and ...so lose im Raume flattern zu sehen (19982000) for flute, bassoon and harp. However, the most substantial of his more recent instrumental works is the Double Bass Concerto Taon (19982000). Puumala has said that one of his issues in writing the piece was how to liberate a low-range instrument from the confines of gravity. He avoids traditional virtuoso rhetoric, conjuring forth instead a wholly new and colourful dimension from the double bass, using microintervals and the strong harmonics of the instrument. In the extensive solo cadenza, the performer is required to lay the instrument down on the floor and kneel by its side. Although this is actually done for technical reasons, it can be seen as a wonderful theatrical gesture depicting a musician immersed in a private magical ritual. In the piano concerto Seeds of Time (2004), as in Chainsprings and the double bass concerto, Puumala treats the orchestra unconventionally. He divides the musicians into smaller ensembles and groups that always play together. As the work progresses, these groups are amalgamated into a chamber orchestra. Seeds of Time is an extensive, free-form structure that begins with fragmentary gestures condensing into a breeze of virtuoso energy. Thereafter the music subsides into a meditative conclusion hovering on the borders of silence and austerity. Seeds of Time was awarded the Teosto prize in 2005. Puumala is primarily an instrumental composer, but he is also focusing on vocal expression with his work on an opera based on the play Anna Liisa by Minna Canth. Preparatory exercises for this project, in a way, can be seen in the song cycle Korkeat illat (Solemn Evenings, 2000) for soprano and piano and in the exceptionally melodic Grave, funebre (2001) for chamber ensemble. His interest in drama showed itself in Rajamailla (Borderscapes, 2001; text by Atro Kahiluoto and the composer), which received the Prix Italia in the category of radiophonic works. This work is more free-associative than narrative and contains diverse materials from Modernist music to folk music stylizations and concrete soundscapes.
Seppo Pohjola: From Modernism to more traditional forms

Seppo Pohjola (b. 1965) is a man of speed. Not only does he favour up-tempo music and rapidly shifting events, he has also managed to cover a variety of styles in the course of his career. He has, as it were, come full circle from the strict Modernism of his early works through a more traditional idiom back to Modernism, albeit in amore relaxed and pluralist vein than in his early period. His works of the early 2000s show a new turn towards more traditional forms of expression. Pohjolas early works are dense and concise, hardly exceeding five minutes in length. Even his very first work, a Webernesque String Trio (1987), displays this conciseness. In the First String Quartet (1991), the expressive potential is stronger. The work contains a Xenakis-like roughness and vivid sound fields recalling Ligeti. Pohjola has also named Berio and Magnus Lindberg as influences in his early period, the former in connection with his piano work Splendori (1991) and the latter in reference to Pixilated (1992) for chamber ensemble. Gimla (1993) for accordion and piano and the charged, dynamic Daimonion (1994) for chamber orchestra continue in a similar Modernist style. Balletto (1994) for chamber ensemble is a transition piece. It is more fluid and coherent than Daimonion. This trend continued in the Second String Quartet (1995), whose textures and gestures are simpler than those of its predecessor. The Quartet also marked an expansion of scale to a length of approximately fifteen minutes, thelength of many others of his later works too. The Quartet rests on a kaleidoscopic dramaturgy where clearly defined sections abut on each other; Game Over (1996) for chamber ensemble is based on asimilar concept, with Pohjola further expanding his stylistic palette through an almost Minimalist repetition of motifs and jazz rhythms. Vae Victis (1997) for chamber orchestra marked a turning point in his development, being his most traditional and tonally clear-cut work to date. It shares a kinship with both the incisive rhythms of Stravinsky and the softer sound worlds of Debussy and Ravel. Pohjola has been gradually moving towards larger ensembles. His first works for large orchestra were Vinha (1998) and Taika
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(1999), which also marked a turn back towards a Modernist idiom. Taika, for instance, is a rough and relentlessly energetic work much like the Third String Quartet (2000), which, however, is more coherent, polished and bright. The driving rhythms are balanced with carefully placed quieter moments; in the most substantial of these, the music glows with an almost Romantic passion. Pohjolas more recent works include Tralala (2000) for orchestra and Liebelei (2001) for chamber orchestra, and his first vocal works, Oravan laulu (Song of the Squirrel, 2000) and Gloria (2001) for mixed choir. Pohjolas most significant orchestral work is his First Symphony (2002). It continued the process of stylistic clarification, and it is somehow reminiscent of Shostakovich and, among Finnish composers, of Kalevi Aho. Pohjola has said that he wanted to link the work to the great Western symphonic tradition. The symphony is sketched with broad gestures, often lingering long in its moods and situations, yet its material is consciously limited and reduced. Cast in a single movement, it is nevertheless divided into several sub-sections and thus distantly resembles a multi-movement symphony. Orchestral works written since the symphony have perpetuated Pohjolas new, clearer style, such as Tapiolandia (2003). It is an energetic piece recalling the American Neo-Classicism of Aaron Copland. Pohjolas recent output also includes Citius, altius, fortius for orchestra (2004) and his first soloist work, Sisu for Yoko for cello and strings (2005).
Trbojevic s stylistic extremes meet in Self-Portrait with a Song (1993). Written for solo violin and folk music ensemble, it contains of two completely different main sections. The opening half is a piercingly Modernist violin solo, which is then juxtaposed with an elegant melancholy Macedonian folk song, Jovano, Jovanke, in 7/8 time. In ORO (1994) for string quartet, Trbojevic used the rhythm of the Balkan oro folk dance, applying it to a Modernist texture. Although the drama of the work is concentrated near its beginning, it retains its tension throughout the slowly fading final section. Asimilar progression from passionate drama to fading conclusion can be found in Zuti put (Yellow Road, 1996) for chamber ensemble; in the fragile ending to this intensive work, an ancient Deus miserere melody is heard as if from behind a veil. In her vocal works, Trbojevic has made varied use of vocal techniques. For example, in Os (1996) for vocalist and live electronics, she applies perhaps inspired by the text in the Mari language various folk music singing techniques, but in such away that the end result is genuinely Modernist. Her vocal output also includes ...kada bih mogo biti drag (If I Could Just Be Loved, 1991) for mezzosoprano and chamber ensemble and Mit meist on jljell (What Is Left of Us, 2000) for soprano and piano. She has also shown an interest in cross-discipline arts projects, and she has written music for the stage and for films.
Jukka Koskinen: Clear, logical masses of sounds

Puumala, Pohjola and Trbojevic have combined other elements with Modernism. By contrast, Jukka Koskinen (b. 1965) has remained strictly within the confines of an uncompromising Modernist aesthetic. He polishes his works with care, and although his output is limited, his profile is clear and logical. Koskinens early Quintet (1984) is lyrically dodecaphonic, but the Piano Trio (1985) is already more violent, expanding in its final movement into microintervals and noise. The concise and almost painfully intensive String Quartet (1987) continues this trend further, and the tension between pure tones and a variety of noises is the driving factor. The textural principle behind this Quartet returned on a larger scale in Suoraan sanoen (Straight to the Point,
Jovanka Trbojevic and a bold sense of drama

Jovanka Trbojevic (b. 1963) was born in the former Yugoslavia but settled in Finland in 1986 and studied composition at the Sibelius Academy. She often combines Modernist Western music with influences from the folk music of the Balkans, and some of her works are based on the tragic recent history of her homeland. She has demonstrated a bold but confident sense of drama in combining a variety of materials and strong, sometimes highly disparate emotional states. Her limited output consists mainly of vocal music and chamber music. 216 inventing finnish music
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1990) for string orchestra, which consists of Xenakis-like massed sounds. Until the Deadline (1992) is also based on massed sounds and fields but is more restrained. Koskinens idiom is at its most restricted in the quiet microinterval harmonies of the Octet (1993), exploring the threshold of inertness. Koskinen continued in the field-like style of the Octet in Ululation (1994) for chamber orchestra, giving it slightly more power and textural detail. He continued the trend towards more powerful but still essentially field-based textures in the Quartet for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon and Accordion (1995), H (1995) for saxophone quartet and Nausea (1996) for chamber ensemble. The violence and jerkiness of Eclipse (1999) for cello and piano marked a departure from static sound fields. Shadows in Space (2002) for chamber orchestra contains two types of texture: fragile and static space music and the strong forte outbursts of shadow music, asthe composer has said. His idea was to write two pieces and then put them together into a single piece.
ofthe traditional soloist vs. orchestra situation, I aim to explore how the orchestra can reflect the characters of the piano (and vice versa) and its sonority potential. The solo part in the piano concerto has an obvious percussive dimension. In his next concerto, Erg/Hamda (2003), Hyvrinen advanced even further into the world of percussion by casting a percussion section in the solo role.
Hannu Pohjannoro: A composer of poetic and controlled music

Hannu Pohjannoro (b. 1963) has also kept to a Modernist style. In the programme notes for his composition concert in 2000, he said: My music is usually atonal, with complex rhythms and modern playing techniques. I like to use abstract models in planning a new work. Compared with Jukka Koskinen, Pohjannoro writes music that is more detailed and has a higher event density. The poetic titles of Pohjannoros works bring a charming added dimension to his restrained and controlled composer profile, while alluding to hidden layers of meaning in his music. Pohjannoros output consists mostly of chamber music. He writes in a Webernesque lyrical Post-Serialist idiom coloured in a variety of ways, as in the Nonet eilisen linnut (birds of yesterday, 1994) and syksyn huoneet (rooms of autumn, 1997) for string quartet. Pohjannoro has gone through no great stylistic changes, although his language has gradually grown more profound, expansive and expressive. This represents not so much a change of direction as a parallel development. A stronger dramaturgy appears in korkeina aamujen kaaret (lofty the arches of mornings, 1996) for orchestra, paluu (return, 2000) for chamber ensemble and the Chamber Concerto tuulenpolku (the wind trail, 2000). In tuulenpolku, the scale is larger, the drama broader and clearer, and the harmonies somewhat softer. Its rhythmical texture shifts between clearly defined pulsation and freer rhythmic writing. A completely new approach for Pohjannoro came with the folk opera Romu-Heikki (Scrapman Heikki, 2004), where he consciously and pragmatically aimed at a simple, traditionally oriented idiom.
Asko Hyvrinen: Complex, frenetic, uncompromising music

Like Jukka Koskinen, Asko Hyvrinen (b. 1963) makes much use of tonal colour and holistic textures. However, Hyvrinens music is more jagged, more complex and more frenetic. Indeed, Hyvrinen is one of the most uncompromising young Finnish Modernists around. His aesthetic conception shows a kinship for instance with that of Helmut Lachenmann, with whom he has studied on several occasions. Hyvrinen did not begin to study composition seriously until the 1990s, relatively late in his career. The reason for this was that he began his musical career as a rock percussionist. His early output includes several orchestral works: Viima for strings (Icywind, 1994) and Vers la lumire (1995), Dformation (1996) and Lueur (1997), all for large orchestra. His two concertos are more substantial, however. In the piano concerto The Sound of Inevitability (2000), Hyvrinen re-evaluates the relationship between piano and orchestra and enhances their interaction. He has said: Instead 218 inventing finnish music
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Juha T. Koskinen: Playful, alert, rapid and humorous

Juha T. Koskinen (b. 1972) has been the most methodical among young composers in pursuing a Modernist style. His approach is highlighted by his use of harsh and severe tones that can be deliberately rough and defiant at times. Because of its complexity and incisive lines, his idiom could be described as Expressionist and Post-Serialist. His output includes orchestral music, chamber music, vocal music and four chamber operas. In his early works, Juha T. Koskinen favoured concentrated structures with a high event density. His first significant compositions were Sapfo-sarja (Sappho cycle, 1994) for mezzosoprano and piano trio, a many-faceted rapidly shifting and highly contrastive work, and Eclysis (1994) for chamber orchestra. The excited and texturally complex orchestral works Fatalit (1995) and Narciso (1997) continue in the same dense Modernist vein. Koskinens chamber music output includes Ambra (1997), which focuses on tonal colour, and Soleil noir (1998) for string quartet, which is a restrained work consisting of Webern-like miniatures. Towards the end of the 1990s, Koskinens musical dramaturgy began to seek out more extensive forms, as in Hamlet-machine (1999) for viola and chamber ensemble. His principal works include Hehkuva graniitti (Incandescent Granite, 2001) for baritone, ten male singers and orchestra. It lasts almost half an hour and contains proportionally longer arcs. Its idiom, on the other hand, isstill as severe and uncompromising as ever. His recent extensive works include the First String Quartet (2005) and the First Symphony (2006). Juha T. Koskinens chamber operas are perhaps his most original works. They plumb the sub-conscious of the human mind. Velhosiskot (The Witch Company, 1996), for which Koskinen wrote his own libretto, is the story of a young girls waking up to adulthood, a sort of cross between Ravels Lenfant et les sortilges and Schnbergs Erwartung. Madame de Sade (1998), on the other hand, is based on the play by Yukio Mishima. The composer describes it as an endless labyrinth of metaphors, colours, fragrances and mental images combined with the psychological complexity of the main characters: every powerful expression of 220 inventing finnish music
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emotion conceals other repressed emotions. The most extensive of his chamber operas, EUKKO pidttek vainajista (The Old Woman Are You Fond of Dead People?, 1999), which lasts an hour, is a deliberately shrill and clunky setting of the fear-of-death atmosphere in the story by Russian Absurdist Daniil Harms. Koskinens fourth operatic work, described by him as an opera ritual, is Brunelda Amerikan sydn (Brunelda The Heart of America, 2002). Among his minor opera projects are the science fiction opera Scrabble vs. Komet (2004), premiered in Hamburg in 2005, and thestand-up opera Thumbs (2005) co-written with Pasi Lyytikinen and Adam Vilagi.
Perttu Haapanen: A Faustian passion of exploration

For me, composing is not just the assembling of pre-existing solutions into one work. It can involve a Faustian passion for exploration and for expanding ones view of the world, says Perttu Haapanen (b. 1972) of his approach to composition. Like a true Modernist, he has sought and explored the bounds of his idiom in diverse ways, even though his works are always carefully considered and polished. His exploration has involved his composition process itself, which is characterized by extensive rewriting. Although Haapanens works have a variety of expressions, many of them are characterized by a playful, alert, rapid and even humorous approach. In his vocal works, he focuses on the semantic content of the text and seeks to find associations in its sounds and in invented words. For example, Khoorg (2000) for male voice choir is a setting of texts in three invented languages. Its rich sonority recalls Bergman and Berio. The miniature opera Solity:d (2003) and Manaus (2004) for mezzosoprano and piano are also settings of invented languages. In addition to Solity:d, Haapanen has written a childrens opera, Onni-Gebardi ja karhu (Onni the cheetah and the bear, 2003). Haapanen has experimented with a variety of approaches in his instrumental works. Squeekrag (1999/2000) for chamber ensemble has a harsh and severe sound; its scoring is unusual as befits a Modernist (four clarinets, horn, percussion, two pianos and two cellos). Deltaic Squirm (1997/98/99/2000), also for chamber
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ensemble, is described by Haapanen as water music andas such is more flowing and coherent: the music flows, at times plunges, through changing textural landscape and softly dissonant harmonies. Trans-Portrait (2001), written for the unusual ensemble of 12 saxophones, is ...a work based on a single rapid melodic line often presented unaccompanied. Haapanen wrote his first orchestral works for chamber orchestra. These include Squee II (1999), Nostalgia (2000) and Chorale (2001). They were followed by two pieces for big band, Groove and Song (2001), before his first work for large symphony orchestra, Q-morph (2002), which is conceived as a set of 20 variations. He has also recently written new versions of a work entitled La Chute, written for Classical orchestra. The first version of the work dates from 2000, but Haapanen wrote new adaptations in 2002 and 2004. Haapanens orchestral works further include Sphinx Flowers (2002) and Refractio (2003), both for chamber orchestra. Sphinx Flowers is a diptych of two very different pieces. The first, Moon Flower, is tranquil and inquisitive. In the second, Poppy, the music erupts into a fantastic pace; at times it touches on the grotesque, only to return to punchy, rhythmic virtuoso writing. One is reminded of the early works of Magnus Lindberg. Haapanens principal works also include the Saxophone Concerto (2003). He compares his approach to its solo part to the relationship between an individual and an inexorably functioning world. This relationship is different in the different movements; in the first, the solo part reacts as per its identity to certain events in the orchestra, while in the third, the soloist plays around with the orchestra, using different phases and emphases in the shifting tempos and cyclic patterns. The greatest virtuoso demands of the solo part are in the concluding section. The middle section is different, primarily an instrumental set of variations for a lone saxophone, according to Haapanen.
significant name in the current youngest generation of composers, which emerged in the 2000s. His output so far consists almost solely of instrumental music. Haapamkis first orchestral work was Sight for wind band (2001). Style for big band (2001) led Haapamki to contemplate boundaries between genres and styles. Haapamkis most notable and most frequently performed work is Signature for chamber orchestra (2003). It was awarded the distinguished Gaudeamus Prize in Amsterdam in 2004 and the ISCM-CASH prize for young composers in Zagreb in 2005. Signature has a duration of over 10 minutes, contrasting with the 5 minutes or so of its predecessors. Its dominant feature is an energetically whirling virtuoso texture which is treated as a coherent entity. Its twists and turns are abrupt and sharp, and the texture is in a constant state of turmoil and tingling. In Fresh for chamber orchestra (2004), the timescale has further extended to 15 minutes, and the scale of events has likewise expanded. The work is caustically Modernist, its textures and gestures sometimes bordering on noise, with brief melodic fragments and motifs embedded into the whole Haapamki has continued to broaden his horizons in his recent works, introducing microintervals and spectral music. In Design (2005) for chamber orchestra, he employs quarter-tones throughout, and the harmonies they generate evolve into handsome spectral sonorities, particularly in the last movement. The bass clarinet concerto Kirjo (Spectrum, 2006) follows on the same lines. Haapamki says: The title refers to the simultaneous presence or intertwining of textures, harmonies, tempos and entire styles. The work has three movements played without a break. The contrasts between the movements and the spectral harmonies of the final movement also contribute to the spectrum of features alluded to in the title. Kirjo was awarded the Teosto prize in 2006.
Johan Tallgren: Bright and complex works Sampo Haapamki: Microintervals and spectral music
sampo haapamki The searching and exploration of Modernism is also apparent in the music of Sampo Haapamki (b. 1979). He is perhaps the most 222 inventing finnish music Johan Tallgren (b. 1971) has written a relatively small body of polished, bright and complex Modernist works. His logical and unsentimental aesthetic approach is related to that of Brian
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Ferneyhough, with whom he has studied in France and the USA. His translucent sound ideal can even be seen in the instrumental lineup of such works as ...genom det tomma rummet (...through the empty room, 1994) for soprano, oboe and vibraphone, or Asteria (1994) for flute, oboe and clarinet. A similar approach is at work in Codename Orpheus (199597) for chamber ensemble and Quatuor Royaumont (19962000) for clarinet (also bass clarinet), violin, cello and piano, a work that typically for its composer was long in the making. Tallgrens first extensive work, Tombeau pour New York (1998/200304) for a 19-piece chamber orchestra, represented a transition towards a more slowly evolving and more textural idiom. Lyrical, Expressionist melodies continue to play an important part.
making use of a variety of effects including noise. Another recent soloist work, Puun syy (Wood grain, 2005) for oboe and strings, was written as a competition piece for the oboe competition organized at the Crusell Festival in Uusikaupunki in summer 2005.
Riikka Talvitie: In favour of lyrical textures

Riikka Talvitie (b. 1970) is also a lyrical Modernist and a postExpressionist composer. Her works are characterized by an elastic mobility and a balance between a clearly defined pulse and a freer rhythmic approach. She favours lyrical, translucent textures and a clear sonority, often seeming deliberately to avoid full tutti utterances. She augments her sonorities with subtle noise effects and employs microintervals to introduce spectral harmonies. The largest categories in her catalogue are chamber music and vocal music, the latter consisting of solo works and choral works in almost equal proportion. She has also written music for orchestra, for solo instruments and for electronics, and the comic miniature opera Maestro vie (The maestro leads, 2001). Talvitie has pursued a relatively uniform style so far. The scherzando tones and lucid lyrical qualities that became hallmarks of her style can already be found in an early work, Pupilli (1996) for chamber ensemble. On the other hand, her style also admits more incisive elements, as in the explosively Expressionist Korunkaarros (Jewel arc, 1999) for cello and piano. She spent some time at IRCAM in 2002 and developed an interest in electronic music, as witness Luonnonoikku (Freak of nature, 2002) for violin and electronics and Matches (2004) for piano and tape. Talvities principal works include the concerto Tululuikku (2002) for her own instrument, the oboe. It is a translucent, rippling and vivaciously lyrical piece of music where the oboe plays an important role as per convention, even if Talvitie did not seek to explore the traditional confrontation of soloist versus orchestra. Trilemma (2003), written for use at music institutes, is written in aconsciously simpler and clearer idiom. Talvities vocal works often incorporate subtle, ironic humour and a certain edge. This is apparent both in her solo songs,
Lotta Wennkoski: A fine sense of tonal colour

The composer profile of Lotta Wennkoski (b. 1970) is also quite coherent. Her Modernism is restrained, lyrical and finely detailed instead of being brash or harsh. Her nuanced textures and moods demonstrate her fine sense of tonal colour; sometimes tonal colour appears as an independent element. Wennkoskis lyrical approach shows in the titles of her works such as Like (1994), Vaie (1995) and Veno (2000), which can be loosely translated as Ripple, Silence and Boat, respectively; they are all relatively minor works for chamber ensemble. More extensive are rva (1997) for chamber orchestra, Sade avaa (Opened by the Rain, 1999) for bass clarinet and chamber orchestra, and het waait (1999), her first work for symphony orchestra. Wennkoskis most distinguished orchestral work to date is Sakara (2003), which was commissioned by Esa-Pekka Salonen and premiered with him conducting together with two other commissioned works (by Tommi Krkkinen and Lauri Kilpi). It is lyrical and delicately coloured, typically for Wennkoski, but it also broaches new territory towards a more figurative and expansive idiom. Wennkoskis first orchestral soloist work is dalaim for violin and orchestra (2005). The work is a coherent entity in colour and mood. The violin part is enriched with modern playing techniques 224 inventing finnish music
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e.g.Manalassa (In the underworld, 2001), and in her more extensive vocal works, such as the three love situations of Mme mort (2002) for 12 voices, Tulen vrin (Flicker of fire, 2002) for tenor, solo trio and male voice choir and Kuun kirje (Moon letter, 2003) for vocal ensemble.
of his instrumental works. It explores a wider and richer range of influences than any of his earlier works and also contains elements from beyond the domain of classical music. It cannot be described as a crossover piece, however.
Markus Fagerudd: Rock, jazz and music for the stage Sebastian Fagerlund: Rich in sound, quick in movement
Emanations, the title of one of the earliest works (for clarinet and strings, 1998) in the catalogue of Sebastian Fagerlund (b. 1972), would be a fitting description of his output as a whole. His style is rich in sound and quick in its movement, multi-faceted yet averse to the severities of Modernism. His music is always sonorous, colourful and polished. His rhythms are rich at times clearcut and energetic, occasionally syncopated and whimsical, and occasionally freer. Sometimes his textures fan out into aleatoric counterpoint. He often balances his quick flow and rhythmic vivacity with fragile, lyrically sensitive sections, and indeed the transition between static and dynamic situations is one of the key elements in his music. Although Fagerlund has not gone through any radical stylistic transitions, his palette has perhaps broadened somewhat. For instance, Imaginary Landscape (2002) for chamber ensemble and Renergies (2003) for chamber orchestra introduce a Romantic glow to the texture. Fagerlund has also written vocal music; his principal works include Hga lgor, stilla vatten (High flames, still water, 2003) for three vocal soloists and chamber orchestra. Here, the texture is even further clarified, without sacrificing the rich dimension of colour. Fagerlunds two wind concertos are among his most notable works. The Saxophone Concerto (2004) is unusually cast in only two movements, but its overall shape is beautifully and carefully balanced. The opening movement, Arias, is vivacious and quick in its movements, while the second movement, Nocturne, is stationary and meditative. The movements also present two different views of the solo instrument and different types of challenges for the soloist. The Clarinet Concerto (2006) is described by Fagerlund himself as his principal work to date. It is also the most extensive 226 inventing finnish music Markus Fagerudd (b. 1961) has worked with a number of different types of music, not only concert music but also music for the stage and rock and jazz, for example as a member of the Free Okapi jazz band. His concert music does not, however, usually display rock or jazz influences. His Modernist idiom combines a rather severe form of Expressionism with a more comprehensive textural conception. By contrast, Fagerudd has deliberately employed a more conventional style in the childrens musical Reea Ruu (1992) and the childrens opera Gaia (2000). The latter incorporates elements from rock, jazz, brass band music, early music and Romantic opera. His later childrens operas include Kerjliset (Beggars, 2003) and Heinhattu, Vilttitossu ja suuri pamaus (Hayflower, Quiltshoe and the Big Bang, 2003). His interest in drama is also shown in the radiophonic work Pedro Pramo (1999), based on the novel by Juan Rulfo. The series of works entitled Ingrepp (Impression) contain three aspects of Fagerudds idiom: Ingrepp 1 (1990) for bass clarinet and piano is improvisatory; Ingrepp 2 (1992) for solo cello is intensive and aggressive; and Ingrepp 3 Bls vemodets vind, sorgedyning sjung (Blow, melancholy wind, sing, O sorrowful swells, 1995) for chamber ensemble is gentle and melancholy. Fagerudds output also includes Yksitoista kerrosta (Eleven Floors, 1992) for soprano and chamber orchestra, Fresco (1994) for chamber orchestra, and Circles of Solitude (1998) for orchestra. The narrative Tuba Concerto Iigo-iigo (1998) features a more relaxed and somewhat simplified style. Fagerudd has continued to write solo works for wind instruments, including Messenger (2006) for horn and orchestra. The career of Kimmo Nevonmaa (19601996) was cut short by a fatal illness. He wrote a very limited but deeply expressive body of work. His teacher Kalevi Aho wrote in his obituary
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that thefeelings [generated by his illness] and proximity to thethreshold of death are reflected in his compositions. His highly concentrated and dense principal works are all, in a sense, music of extreme mental states. Nevonmaas principal works are the strange ghostlike String Quartet (1990), the pain-exploring Dolor nascens et effluens (1992) for string orchestra, piano, harp and percussion, and the more confident Lux intima (1994) for orchestra. He was working on the Saxophone Concerto Heros serenatos at the time of his death.
Psiismotetti (Easter Motet, 1995) for mixed choir and organ, a setof four PiaeCantiones motets entitled In hoc natali gaudio (1996) for mixed choir, and Juhlakantaatti (Festive Cantata, 1997) for soloists, choir and organ. Osmo Honkanen (b. 1964), who works as a church organist in Helsinki, has also profiled himself as a composer of sacred vocal music; he has also written organ works and instrumental music.
Tommi Krkkinen: An interest in constructing harmonies

Tommi Krkkinen (b. 1969) first attracted wider attention when his orchestral work Seitsemn miniatyyri (Seven miniatures, 1996) won first place in the young composers category at the UNESCO composers rostrum in 1998. This also sparked Krkkinens further interest in orchestral music, and subsequently orchestral works have figured largely in his output. Seitsemn miniatyyri is constructed like a set of variations. However, it is not a theme that is being varied but the soundscape and characters of the music. The work is clearly outlined but not overtly Modernist. Subsequently, however, Krkkinen turned towards a stronger and more rugged idiom. Sarja I for orchestra (Suite I, 1997) is sharply Expressionist, cutting abruptly from one mood to the next; it has a great deal of rhythmic energy and meditative tension. Krkkinen has been interested in computer-assisted composition, particularly in constructing harmonies. This aspect found its culmination in Krkkinens next orchestral work, Lpi yn (Nocturnal journey, 1998), of which the composer said: In places the harmony constituted an event in its own right independent of other musical situation, a constant and slowly shifting sound. In Fontana obscura (2000), Krkkinen sought a smoother, more consonant kind of harmony than in earlier works. In the following year, he explored new territory in his first concerto, the Cello Concerto (2001). Apart from Seitsemn miniatyyri, Krkkinens most distinguished work to date is Somnium fraude (2003). It is one of the three works commissioned by Esa-Pekka Salonen from
Jyrki Linjama: Modernism with emotional sensitivity

Another Neo-Expressionist in the same generation is Jyrki Linjama (b. 1962). He often combines the multi-threading of Post-Serialism with an almost Romantic emotional sensitivity. This is apparent in early works such as Aufschwung (1985/90) for cello and piano and Elegie fr Streicher (1987), where the choice of language alone identifies the Expressionist roots of the music. Linjama has mostly written chamber music and solo works, but also a great deal of vocal music. His only work for large orchestra is pas de deux (1994). The most important series of works in Linjamas instrumental output consists of the three Violin Concertos, which continue and augment his Expressionist approach. In the First Violin Concerto, Serenades (1989), the role of the soloist is particularly important; in fact, Linjama wrote the violin part first and then the orchestral part to fit around it. The Second Violin Concerto (1991/96) is even more emphatically akin to the Expressionism of Alban Berg. TheThird Violin Concerto (19982001) is the most extensive, colourful and relaxed of the three. The Liturgical Concerto for organ and strings (2005) relates to the world of religion, with which Linjama has a close affinity. Its three movements have titles taken from the sections of the Mass: Kyrie, Gloria, Agnus Dei. Linjamas most extensive chamber music work is the Partita (1996) for guitar and string quartet, an almost Neo-Classical piece. Linjamas vocal music includes both solo songs and choral works. His major solo vocal work is Kolme madrigaalia (Three Madrigals, 19982001). He has written both secular and sacred choral works, the latter including Kyrie (1989) for female choir, 228 inventing finnish music
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young Finnish composers (the other two being Lotta Wennkoski and Lauri Kilpi). In Somnium fraude, Krkkinens idiom has become even more pungent. He rolls out massive effects and creates a dramaturgy of effective outbursts. The powerful rhythms of the works have been associated with Krkkinens history as a rock musician, but they could equally well have been inspired by Stravinskys Rite of Spring. The rhythmic energy is balanced by a more subdued and restrained element in the music. A similar blend of strong rhythm and lyrical restraint appears in Isafolds Eye for chamber orchestra and big band (2004).
Jan Mikael Vainio: Extra-musical inspirations

jan mikael vainio Jan Mikael Vainio (b. 1972) has mentioned that his inspiration often comes from extra-musical things. He has named scientific and cosmological issues in particular as such sources, but also architecture, visual arts, literature, or even individual words or phrases. In the case of many of his works the title has existed first and informed the composition process. However, Vainio stresses that writing programme music is not his intention. Vainios first orchestral work was Ablaze (1999) for chamber orchestra, which sets his Modernist parameters. Critical Mass (2000) and Frozen Liquid (2001), both for strings, are sister works. The former was inspired by nuclear physics, the latter by chemistry. Both feature various field-like structures and textures, although melodic fragments can also be detected. A Sweet Escapade (2002) for big band is something completely different; here, Vainio explores a stylized jazz idiom. Vainios later orchestral works include Northbound (2005). According to him, the title refers not only to a journey but also to the sound of the work, where cool, metallic percussion sounds together with shrill, ascending bursts of notes alternate with more verdant and warmer sounds.
from the countryside arriving in the capital city and of the new worlds he discovers during they journey and within himself. The composer describes the opera as tragicomic. Lyytikinen was also a co-composer with Atso Almila and Kirmo Lintinen on the miniature opera Hetkinen (Just a minute, 2004) and with Juha T. Koskinen and Adam Vilagi on the stand-up opera Thumbs (2005). Lyytikinens output consists mainly of chamber music and solo works. His principal orchestral work is Paletti (Palette, 1999), originally intended to become a ballet. It is an Expressionist work including both energetic rhythmic outbursts and more introvert moments. Another important work is the song cycle Seitsemn laulua sopraanolle ja orkesterille (Seven songs for soprano and orchestra, 2005).
Freedom of style
Juhani Nuorvala: Urban sensitivity and Minimalist approaches
The music of the composers who made their breakthrough in the 1990s involves not only Modernism and Expressionism but also freer and more traditional stylistic approaches related to NeoClassicism or Neo-Romanticism. There are also composers who combine various stylistic influences and seek inspiration beyond the sphere of concert music. The most determinedly expansive of these is Juhani Nuorvala (b. 1961). Nuorvalas first significant work was Kajauksia, vreit (Echoes, Ripples, 1985) for chamber ensemble. It weaves a Minimalist texture with rich tonal colour, incorporating an almost Romantic violin solo rising from the static background towards the end. Tonal colour is also an important element in Glissements progressifs du plaisir (1987) for chamber orchestra and Pinta ja se (Surface and Phrase, 1991) for orchestra, Nuorvalas closest approach to French spectral music. Nuorvala moved through a transition in the early 1990s to his present style. Discussing a style is slightly misleading here, since the transition actually involved more of an expansion of idiom and range than a shift in focus. Vivid quirky rhythms are a shared
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Pasi Lyytikinen: A young opera composer

pasi lyytikinen The most notable work of Pasi Lyytikinen (b. 1975) is the opera Helsinkiin (To Helsinki, 2004). Based on a novella by Juhani Aho published in 1889, it is a description of a young student 230 inventing finnish music
feature between works that are otherwise quite different from one another. Works from the transition period include Parole (1992) for baritone and chamber ensemble; in its final section, a Minimalist repetition is cast in an effective rhythmic pulse. The First String Quartet (1992) was an even clearer indication of where Nuorvala was going: the substantial middle section contains performance indications such as Slow Boogie-Woogie, like an electric guitar and a heavy riff, reflecting the influence of rock music. The most important model for Nuorvala in applying rock and jazz elements is Dutch composer Louis Andriessen, one of Nuorvalas teachers. Nuorvalas music has also become unmistakeably urban: when he got around to writing a symphony, he did not write a forest symphony or a sea symphony but Kellarisinfonia (Garage Symphony, 1995/96/2006), referring to places where rock bands rehearse. The work employs an ensemble akin to a big band, with wind instruments in the majority, and the slow movement is sensual in a jazzy way. The finale, on the other hand, is carried by the energetic punching funk rhythms on the electric bass. In the late 1990s, Nuorvala has continued to expand his stylistic palette. Notturno urbano (1996) for chamber orchestra is Romantically melodic almost in a Hollywood vein but also contains Minimalist repetition and disco fervour. The Clarinet Concerto (1998) contains an even broader range of references: Minimalism, jazz, American film music and techno. The soloist is called upon to improvise in the cadenza, a reference to either the classical or the jazz tradition. Nuorvala sometimes consciously limits his stylistic range, as in the Second String Quartet (1997), a purebred Neo-Romantic work; he later adapted the work for string orchestra under the title Sinfonietta (1998). The Second String Quartet is based on the music that Nuorvala wrote for a production of David Mamets play Cryptogram in 1996. He has written music for a number of other productions at the Finnish National Theatre, and his interest in drama is further reflected in the radiophonic work Tiksu (Mun on ikv sua, pentu) (IMiss You, Kid, 1997) to a text by Michael Baran. Nuorvalas most extensive work for the stage is the opera Flash Flash (2005), which draws on the work of American pop artist 232 inventing finnish music
Andy Warhol. It is exceptional in several respects: The libretto by Juha Siltanen is in English, unusually for a Finnish opera; the soloists and chamber ensemble are provided with electronic amplification; and while the work is in two acts with an intermission, there is music to be played during the intermission too.
Osmo Tapio Rihl and music from surprising sources

Osmo Tapio Rihl (b. 1964) is another composer who belongs to the same generation and is difficult to define. He has experimented uninhibitedly with a wide variety of styles and elements even within a single work. His output consists mostly of chamber music. Free twelve-tone music is perhaps the single dominant feature in his idiom. At his most experimental, he has employed eight electric toothbrushes, a grand piano and a gong in Dentalation (1988); elsewhere, he has employed tonal or Minimalist elements. His most extensive textures can be found in the sextet Black Watch (1996). Rihl finds his inspiration in varied and often surprising sources. For example, the String Quartet Ever-tone (1992/94) is based on the song of the supporters of the Everton football team, cast in a free-tonal environment. Everton, Rihls favourite football team, has inspired other works too, such as Hincliffe Thumper tha bloody intermezzo (1993) and Barlinnie Nine (1999), both for orchestra. In his Second String Quartet Jobima, ou menino de Ipanema (2000), the basic tension derives from the conflict between the light, breezy, almost popular music and the idiom of modern concert music, according to the composer. Damballa (2000) for chamber ensemble is more coherent. Rihls major works also include Malletkonsertto (Mallet Concerto, 1999) and the viola concerto Hkan Belgiassa (Hkan in Belgium, 2002), the latter being an ironic commentary on Harold en Italie by Berlioz. Its programme is an exercise in the avoidance of seriousness, as witness the titles of sections such as Hkan tuhannen pierussa (Hkan gets pissed big time), Hkan krapulassa (Hkan in hangover) and Hkan ptt feidata (Hkan decides to bugger off). In Vrikallio (Rock painting, 2003) for chamber orchestra, Rihl sought inspiration in the distant past, a rock painting dated
osmo tapio rihl
to some 4,500 years ago on a rock face in Suomussalmi where he was born. Ardbeg (2003) is, like Barlinnie Nine, a homage, though this one is to the isle of Islay in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, and specifically to Ardbeg single malt whisky, which is produced there.
The texture is more complex and expansive in the orchestral work Delirium Nocturnum (2002). The central dramaturgical idea is a journey or stagewise process towards density that works on the level of the texture and of the musical material. In Abeyance (2005) for chamber orchestra, Risnen uses abrupt transitions between textures to provoke uncertainty.
Patrik Vidjeskog: The basis in melody, harmony and counterpoint

patrik vidjeskog Patrik Vidjeskog (b. 1964) works more purely in a traditional framework. His music is clearly free-tonal and based on thematic processing. He himself has named melody, harmony and counterpoint as the main elements of his music. His rather limited output focuses on chamber music; significant works we may mention are the vivacious and lucid Assa (1997) for 11member chamber ensemble and Sonata in modo classico (1999) for heckelphone and piano, recalling Hindemith. Vidjeskogs principal works are the Sinfonietta for strings (1995, version for small orchestra 1999) and the Tuba Concerto (1998). The sub-title of the finale of the sinfonietta, mit Schostakovitsch und Nielsen; Bartk ist auch dabei is a paraphrase of Ligeti and reflects the sources of inspiration for the music. The Tuba Concerto is more original, although the influence of Kalevi Aho, one of Vidjeskogs teachers, can be detected. Vidjeskogs later orchestral works include a Concert Piece for accordion and small orchestra (2003) and his First Symphony (2004).
Aki Yli-Salomki: I am not averse to melody

Aki Yli-Salomki (b. 1972) has been described as a broad-minded Neo-Romantic in a Rautavaara sort of way. He himself has said: Ido not spend much time thinking what my style is. What is important in my music is a linear quality, followed by tonal colours and playful rhythms. I am not averse to melody. On the other hand, I seek contrasts and power. In the early 2000s, Yli-Salomki has written a dozen orchestral works and concertos for a variety of ensembles. His orchestral output includes works for symphony orchestra such as Vana (Wake, 2002), works for strings such as Drift (2004) and Ilmassa (In the air, 2005), works for wind band such as Lava (2003), and works for big band such as More (2002) and Rata (2005). However, it is the concertos that form the principal group of works in his catalogue. Most of them are scored for strings, although the guitar concerto Smaller and Smaller (2005) features a classical orchestra. YliSalomki has experimented with different forms in his concertos. The Clarinet Concerto (2001/04) is in a single movement, while the Violin Concerto (2002) is in four movements, and the Chamber Symphony no. 1, Alla (2005), has no fewer than seven.
aki yli-salomki
Tomi Risnen: Moving between dodecaphony and free-tonality

Tomi Risnen (b. 1976) has moved between dodecaphony and free-tonality in his music. He does not wish to pinpoint his idiom in any way. I have never had a taboo about using old composition techniques, he has said. Risnens violin concerto Nomad (1999/2000/2002) employs a broad range of expression, with frequent obvious tonal emphases. Omenapuun alla (Under the apple tree) is a suite of brief, sort of modern character pieces that exists in several versions. In Battaglia (2002) for big band, the writing is conspicuously jazzy. 234 inventing finnish music
Uljas Pulkkis: Sparkle and programmatic elements

Uljas Pulkkis (b. 1975) can be said to have already firmly established himself in Finnish music despite his young age. His breakthrough was abetted by prizes in composition competitions, beginning with the 2nd prize won by his Octet (1997) in the first Uussvel competition organized by the Association of Finnish Composers in 1997. Tears for Ludovico (1998) for piano and orchestra won 1st prize in the Queen Elisabeth competition in Brussels in 1999, and Duett fr eine (1999) for contralto and chamber orchestra received
tomi risnen
uljas pulkkis
3rd prize in the Gustav Mahler competition in Klagenfurt in the same year. Pulkkiss early works are governed by a colourful idiom making effective use of the sparkle of spectral harmonies. The language in Duett fr eine comes across as a sort of expanded tonality. Tears of Ludovico, on the other hand, combines spectral harmonies with an energetic pounding virtuoso keyboard technique. In Encanto (1999) for orchestra, the spectral harmonies are augmented with a tape background containing both synthetic and concrete sounds. Pulkkiss early spectral period culminated in the Violin Concerto Enchanted Garden (2000), sub-titled a musical fairy-tale in eight chapters. This fantastic and narratively paced work attained first place at the UNESCO composers rostrum in 2001. After Enchanted Garden, Pulkkis abandoned spectral harmonies. At the Scarlet Sage (2000) no longer contains them, although it otherwise follows on from the idiom of the Violin Concerto, colourful and richly abundant in detail. It too includes a tape background, as does Love Songs (2000) for male voice choir; the latter incorporates a new element, an allusion to Renaissance music that appears in the final section, dovetailing nicely with the rest of the material. The Renaissance dimension is also apparent in Madrigal (2001) for cello and chamber ensemble; however, its glowing passion and soaring melodic arcs betray an unabashedly Romantic aesthetic. Many of Pulkkiss works have a strong programmatic element. This can sometimes acquire quite a tangible nature, as in the orchestral work Symphonic Dal (2002) inspired by three paintings by Salvador Dal. It is sub-titled three paintings for orchestra. Asimilar concept of turning visual images into music can be found in On the Odd Boulevard (2002) for two pianos and orchestra, subtitled impressions of early 20th-century Finnish architecture. On the Crest of Waves (2003) for orchestra is another such programmatic work. Depicting the sea, it is divided into seven sections which the composer calls fantasies and whose titles illustrate the musical events with extra-musical images. The titles are Johdanto (Introduction), Rannalla (On the shore), Tuuli (Thewind), Raju meri (Rough sea), Lhestyv myrsky (Approaching storm), Tyven (The calm) and Aalloilla (On the waves). Pulkkis 236 inventing finnish music
approaches his subject with skilful, colourful and grandiose orchestration that harks back to the great early 20th-century masters of the orchestra, from Strauss to Respighi. More recently, Pulkkis has written the euphonium concerto Arion (2004); Trial (2005), written as the compulsory work in the Sibelius Conductors Competition in 2005; the clarinet concerto Tales of Joy, of Passion, ofLove (2005); the horn concerto Viima, Vitka ja Vimma (2006) and Bells (2006) for brass band.
Jani Kri, a glowing and sonorous Romantic

Romantic is an epithet that comes to mind with the emotional music of Jani Kri (b. 1969). Kri received a significant boost to his career in the form of the Einojuhani Rautavaara Prize in 1998. Kri has written works for a variety of ensembles. His chamber music output includes the Piano Quintet Hohto (Glow, 1995), the String Quartet (1996) and Zen (1996) for chamber ensemble. His first orchestral work was the luscious Your color (1999) for chamber orchestra, followed by Per-Djet (The house of eternity) (2001) for large orchestra. Kris most extensive work to date is the opera Osiris (2000), commissioned by the Finnish National Opera and premiered at the Musica nova Helsinki festival in 2003. Its curious narrative involves a pair of scientists who develop a substance that dispels inhibitions and other obstacles to ecstasy. Ancient Egyptian gods lend a mystical dimension to the story. Indeed, Kri has a special interest in the history and religion of ancient Egypt. The music of Osiris is in a glowing and sonorous Neo-Romantic style. jani kri
Tuomas Kantelinen: Flexibility and hints of Hollywood

Tuomas Kantelinen (b. 1969) is yet another Romantic composer. He has explored other paths too, towards incisive Expressionism on one hand and towards a popular musical-comedy style on the other. He is known for his flexibility at adapting to the demands of the task at hand. In addition to orchestral works, chamber music, vocal works and tape works, he has written an opera and a considerable body of music for the stage and for films. He is one of Finlands leading film music composers, best known in this genre
tuomas kantelinen
for Rukajrven tie (Ambush, 1999) by Olli Saarela, for which he received the Jussi Award, the Oscar of the Finnish film industry. He has since written the score for a number of popular Finnish films. Kantelinens flexible approach is apparent even in his early works. For example, Musiikkia korville (Music for the Ears, 1994) for guitar and chamber orchestra, is Romantically tinted, recalling John Williams, Steven Spielbergs house composer, whereas the String Quartet (1995) is more rough-edged and Expressionist. Of his later works, the most peculiar is Ghosts (2000) for an enormous wind band of over 100 players. Kantelinens bestknown work is the opera Paavo Suuri. Suuri juoksu. Suuri uni (Paavo the Great. Great Race. Great Dream., 2000) to a libretto by Paavo Haavikko, the story of the great Finnish long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi. The opera was produced at Helsinki Olympic Stadium in summer 2000 as an extraordinary open-air extravaganza. Kantelinen consciously wrote the opera with the general public in mind; its rich Neo-Romantic music recalls both Einojuhani Rautavaara and Hollywood film music.
string quartets and double bass, and the Concerto for Three Violins (1998). They explore the Neo-Baroque and Romantic dimensions more profoundly, almost in the manner of a pastiche. The Baroque elements echo Stravinskys Pulcinella or the stylizations of Martinu 0 or Respighi; these elements dominate the vivacious and rhythmic fast movements, whereas the slow movements are emphatically Romantic.
Kirmo Lintinen, a classical musician who has had a more jazzy period
Kirmo Lintinen (b. 1967) is also a stylistically independent musician-composer. His artist profile is similar to that of Jukka Linkola, since he too made a name for himself in jazz before making a breakthrough as a composer of concert music. Lintinen had studied the piano at the Sibelius Academy before his jazz career, and he describes himself as a classical musician who has had a more jazzy period. Today, he works in both jazz and concert music as amusician and a composer. Lintinen has written several jazz works for big band, but he has also imported the big band into classical music. Zerkalo (2000) employs both a symphony orchestra and a big band. Lintinen says that the dualism of the ensemble [...] came out of the perfect 11-minute palindrome structure of the piece: theorchestras swap roles once the midpoint has been passed. Lintinens works in the sphere of concert music are most closely related to the Neo-Classical tradition, albeit in the broad sense of the term and with a typically up-to-date pluralist approach. Lintinens diverse output includes several orchestral works and concertos. His orchestral works are relatively concise, however, some of them no more than miniatures. The most substantial of them is Mobile festivo (2003), which is both rhythmically incisive in a Neo-Classical way and calmly melodic in a manner reminiscent of Ravel. Indeed, Lintinen has named Ravel as one of his influences. Lintinens concertos are his most extensive orchestral works. His first was the Saxophone Concerto (2000). In the next two concertos, Lintinen chose two solo instruments for each. Concerto da camera (2000) is for flute, clarinet and strings, while Duo concertante (2002) is for clarinet, double bass and orchestra.
kirmo lintinen
Olli Mustonen: Romantic idiom with a rhythmic drive

Olli Mustonen (b. 1967) is one of the internationally best-known pianists of his generation, but he considers that composition is equally important for him as a mode of expression. His successful career as a pianist places him in a class by himself, even an outsider among Finnish composers; on the other hand, this has also enabled him to remain aloof of the various schools and styles. Mustonen emerged as a composer at the early age of twelve with his Neo-Classical and quite Ravelesque Divertimento (1979) for piano and orchestra. His most significant early work is the Fantasia (1985) for piano and strings, combining Minimalist patterns with Romantically tinted rich harmonies. Mustonens later style appeared in more or less its finished form in Toccata (1989) for piano, string quartet and double bass, combining a Romantic idiom with a rhythmic drive harking back to the Brandenburg Concertos of J.S. Bach. Mustonens principal works in his later period are the two Nonets (1995, 2000) for two 238 inventing finnish music
olli mustonen
He has also two dozen chamber music works and a number of instrumentally idiomatic piano pieces. Lintinen has also written a substantial amount of vocal music. One of his most original works is the extensive vocal work Cantata Proverbiorum (1999). It employs a mixed choir and an instrumental ensemble alluding to early music (two recorders, two bassoons, trombone, harpsichord and two percussionists). The free-tonal style shifts between Neo-Baroque or archaic Neo-Renaissance and sound fields; the archaic writing of the final movement resembles that of Stravinskys Oedipus Rex. Another of Lintinens principal works is the childrens opera Voi vietv (Oh darn!, 2000), which also uses an unusual ensemble (clarinet, double bass, harmonium and percussion). It is a miniature fairy-tale opera buffa for four soloists. His later opera projects include the miniature opera Hetkinen (Just a minute, 2004) co-written with Atso Almila and Pasi Lyytikinen and the full-length opera Fitness (2006) for six soloists, chamber choir and Baroque orchestra, commissioned by Ooppera Skaala.
(b. 1969), flautist Lauri Toivio (b. 1972) and pianists Joonas Pohjonen (b. 1973) and Lauri Kilpi (b. 1974). Savikangas is a composer with a flair for experimentation; he has collaborated with artists in other branches of the arts, particularly artist Teemu Mki. Lauri Kilpis music is closely connected to post-Serialist aesthetics, although the orchestral work Triptych (2003) commissioned by Esa-Pekka Salonen also incorporates field technique. Other composers that have made their dbut since the 1980s include Chinese-born Qin Daping (b. 1957); Mikko Kervinen (b. 1962), who writes free-tonal instrumental works; Pauliina Isomki (b. 1964), who has written vocal and chamber music in a free-tonal style; Antti Haapalainen (b. 1966), who places himself in the neighbourhood of Post-Modernism and Neo-Classicism; Sakari Raappana (b. 1966); Harri Kerko (b. 1968); Kimmo Kuitunen (b. 1968); Peter Peitsalo (b. 1970); and, in the youngest generation, Ilkka von Boehm (b. 1972); Olli Virtaperko (b. 1973); Kristian Rusila (b. 1974); Christian Holmqvist (b. 1974); Antti Auvinen (b. 1974); Juho Kangas (b. 1976); Adam Vilagi (b. 1977) and Ilari Kaila (b. 1978).
lauri kilpi
Jaakko Kuusisto: Neo-Romantic and Impressionist elements

jaakko kuusisto Jaakko Kuusisto (b. 1974) is yet another musician-composer. He combines Neo-Romantic and partly Impressionist elements in his free-tonal works. His chamber music output includes two String Quartets (1992, 1997), the Fantasia (1995) for flute, clarinet and piano, Play (1998) for clarinet and piano trio, and Loisto (2000) for violin and piano, commissioned as a compulsory piece for the Sibelius Violin Competition in 2000. He has also written a suite entitled Vlivuodenajat (Between Seasons, 1996) designed to be performed in between the concertos of Vivaldis The Four Seasons, and a number of solo songs. Jaakko Kuusistos best-known work is the childrens opera Koirien Kalevala (The Canine Kalevala, 2003), premiered with great success at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in summer 2004. It is based on the popular cartoon book by Mauri Kunnas where dogs play the parts of characters in the Kalevala. There are other young musician-composers who have followed a more or less Modernist course, such as viola player Max Savikangas 240 inventing finnish music
Index
A Aalto Alvar 61, 85, 95 Aalto Ilmari 81 Aaltoila Heikki 84 Aaltonen Erkki 83 , 92 Ackt Aino 36, 70, 144 Adams John 132, 195 Agopov Vladimir 2089 Agricola Mikael 14 Ahmas Harri 140 Aho Juhani 70, 230 Aho Kalevi 74, 143, 146, 15660, 163, 170, 193, 216, 227, 234 Alexander I (Tsar of Russia) 23 Alexander III (Tsar of Russia) 34 Almila Atso 84, 1312, 143, 213, 240 Andersn Harald 121 Andersson ke 113 Andriessen Louis 232 Arho Anneli 208 Armfelt Carl 141 Auber Daniel-Franois-Esprit 29 Auvinen Antti 241 Auvinen Ritva 142 B Bach Johann Sebastian 26, 58, 117, 121, 200, 238 Baran Michael 232 Bartk Bla 39, 73, 87, 88, 90, 91, 95, 120, 134, 138, 158, 234 Bashmakov Leonid 11921 Baudelaire Charles 65 Beethoven Ludwig van 19, 20, 24, 25, 28, 32, 117 Becker Albert 41 Beckett Samuel 123 Bellini Vincenzo 25 Bentley Andrew 113 Berg Alban 59, 62, 99, 108, 149, 158, 188, 189, 209, 228 Bergbom Kaarlo 29
Bergman Erik 38, 86, 92, 99, 1003 , 108, 114, 121, 143, 163, 165, 168, 221 Bergstrm Harry 84 Berio Luciano 99, 182, 188, 215, 221 Berlioz Hector 23, 233 Bernstein Leonard 128 Bjrling Gunnar 61 Blomberg Erik 84 Boehm Ilkka von 241 Bonaparte Napoleon 23 Bosch Hieronymus 169 Boulez Pierre 98, 99, 182, 188 Brahms Johannes 32, 43, 55, 95 Bruch Max 31 Bruckner Anton 82, 83, 118, 149, 159 Bruk Fridrich 141 Busoni Ferruccio 52 Bystrm Thomas 19 C Cage John 98, 99, 110 Cajanus Juhana 73 Calvino Italo 139 Canth Minna 214 ^ apek Karel and Josef 158 C Carlson Bengt 58 Carpelan Bo 103 Carroll Lewis 162 Castiglioni Niccol 194 Cawn Alvar 61 Ceauc ^escu Nicolae 128 Char Ren 188 Chekhov Anton 156 Cherubini Luigi 20 Chopin Frdric 28, 52, 56 Chydenius Anders 17 Clementi Muzio 19, 20 Collan Karl 27, 31 Copland Aaron 216
Corbusier Le (Jeanneret Charles-Edouard) 98 Crusell Bernhard Henrik 17, 202 D Dahlstrm Fabian 10 Dante Alighieri 118 Debussy Claude 43, 50, 54, 56, 65, 66, 117, 118, 188, 194, 215 Dewey Ken 111 Diktonius Elmer 61, 62 Donatoni Franco 176, 184, 194 Donizetti Gaetano 25, 200 Donner Henrik Otto 84, 110, 111, 112 Dutilleux Henri 188, 189 E Eerola Lasse 141 Ehrstrm Fredrik August 26 Eichendorff Joseph von 27 Eisenstein Serge 84 Enckell Magnus 61 Engelberg August 26, 31 Englund Einar 46, 84, 86, 879, 91, 93, 115, 141 Erkkil Eero 132 F Fabritius Ernst 28 Fagerlund Sebastian 2267 Fagerudd Markus 227 Falla Manuel de 72 Faltin Richard 27 Fantapi Henri-Claude 51 Ferling Erik 17 Ferneyhough Brian 171, 178, 184, 224 Fibonacci Leonardo Pisano 161 Finch A.W. (Alfred William) 61
Finno Jacob (Suomalainen Jaakko) 13 Flodin Karl 45 Fordell Erik 82 Fougstedt Nils-Eric 83, 84, 86, 92, 93 Fuchs Robert 41 Furuhjelm Erik 55 G Gallen-Kallela Akseli 75 Gallois Patrick 139 Gehry Frank O. 196 Genetz Emil 29 Gesellius Herman 34 Glass Philip 135 Globokar Vinko 167, 184 Godard Jean-Luc 98 Godzinsky George de 84 Goethe Johann Wilhelm von 138 Gogh Vincent van 150 Goldmark Karl 41 Gothni Ralf 132 Grsbeck Gottfried 99, 123 Greve Konrad 27 Grieg Edvard 52, 55 Grisey Grard 178, 182, 184, 185 Gustafsson Kaj-Erik 132 H Haapalainen Antti 241 Haapamki Sampo 2223 Haapanen Perttu 2212 Haapasalo Kreeta 136 Haavikko Paavo 128, 197, 203, 238 Habermas Jrgen 163 Hagelberg Matti 200 Hako Pekka 11, 151 Hakola Kimmo 143, 166, 197, 198201, 210
Hmeenniemi Eero 107, 166, 174, 175, 1768, 210 Hannelius Gabriel 18 Hannikainen Ilmari 34, 54, 55 Hannikainen P. J. (Pietari [Pekka] Juhani) 29 Harms Daniil 221 Hartmann Karl Amadeus 189 Hartzell Pivi 137 Hauta-aho Teppo 135 Haydn Joseph 17, 18, 20 Heine Heinrich 27 Heininen Paavo 71, 92, 99, 100, 1069, 113, 114, 143, 163, 165, 171, 178, 184, 188 Heini Mikko 10, 104, 143, 146, 153, 1602, 163 Henze Hans Werner 209 Heracleitos 89 Herder Johann Gottfried von 37, 38 Herrman Bernard 137 Hesse Herman 132 Hiidenkari Petri 208 Hindemith Paul 71, 83, 87, 95, 129, 158, 234 Holmqvist Christian 241 Hltt Keira 208 Honegger Arthur 120 Hongisto Mauri 141 Honkanen Antero 113 Honkanen Osmo 229 Huber Klaus 171, 178 Huxley Aldous 112 Hynninen Jorma 70 Hyvrinen Asko 2189 I Ikonen Lauri 55 Ilomki Tapio 84 Indy Vincent d 50 Ingelius Axel Gabriel 26, 31
Index 243
Isomki Pauliina 241 Ives Charles 111 J Jalava Lasse 139 Jalava Pertti 140 Jalkanen Hugo 79 Jalkanen Pekka 39, 115, 1356, 143 Jansson Tove 130 Jrnefelt Armas 36, 467, 84 Jobim Antonio Carlos 233 Johansson Bengt 112, 1212, 123 John (Duke of Finland) 14 Johnson Thor 148 Jokinen Erkki 163, 1689 Jolivet Andr 120 Jyrkiinen Reijo 112 K Kri Jani 237 Kahiluoto Atro 214 Kaila Ilari 241 Kaipainen Jouni 107, 166, 174, 175, 18890, 210 Kajanus Robert 2930, 34, 35, 36, 38, 41, 45, 47 Kallas Aino 81 Kangas Juha 154 Kangas Juho 241 Kant Immanuel 43, 65 Kantelinen Tuomas 84, 143, 2378 Karjalainen Ahti 82 Karjalainen Kari 141 Krkkinen Tommi 166, 224, 22930 Karlsson Lars 115, 1345 Krmki Jaakko 200 Kaski Heino 545 Katila Evert 60 Kauppi Emil 59, 84
Kerko Harri 241 Kervinen Jukka-Pekka 113 Kervinen Mikko 241 Keskinen Kari 113 Khayyam Omar 101 Kiilunen Reijo 151 Kilpinen Yrj 63, 76, 789, 86, 91 Kilpi Lauri 224, 230, 241 Kivi Aleksis 33, 59, 123, 150 Klami Uuno 38, 39, 62, 63, 724 , 75, 76, 77, 86, 140, 159 Klemetti Heikki 58, 121 Kodly Zoltn 73 Kohlenberg Oliver 209 Kokko Yrj 90 Kokkonen Joonas 86, 87, 92, 947, 115, 130, 132, 142, 154, 160, 165, 189 Kooning Willem de 98 Kortekangas Olli 113, 143, 160, 165, 170, 174, 175, 1914 , 210 Kosk Patrik 113 Koskelin Olli 84, 113, 197, 2012, 210 Koskenniemi V.A. (Veikko Antero) 79 Koskinen Juha T. 143, 2201, 231 Koskinen Jukka 166, 2178, 219 Kostiainen Pekka 39, 115, 1245 Kothen Axel von 58 Kotilainen Otto 58 Kremer Gidon 181 Krohn Ilmari 58 Kuitunen Kimmo 241 Kunnas Mauri 138, 240 Kuosmanen Kari 141 Kureniemi Erkki 112 Kurtg Gyrgy 196 Kuula Toivo 47, 50, 568 Kuusisto Ilkka 112, 1301, 143 Kuusisto Jaakko 240
Kuusisto Taneli 81, 82, 130 Kyllnen Timo-Juhani 115, 1389 L Laakso Ilari 141 Laakso Petri 113 Lachenmann Helmut 218 Lagerqvist Pr 79 Laiho Timo 208 Laitinen Arvo 55 Lng Peter 141 Lnsi Erkki 91 Lnsi Tapani 107, 174, 1967 Lasso Orlando di 15 Launis Armas 36, 39, 589, 60, 63, 84 Laurson Mikael 113 Lehto Jukka-Pekka 141 Leino Eino 57, 125 Leivisk Helvi 82, 83 Lenning Carl Petter 16 Lennon John and McCartney Paul 111 Ligeti Gyrgy 98, 99, 117, 154, 182, 200, 201, 215, 234 Liimatainen Juhani 113 Lindberg Magnus 107, 113, 163, 164, 166, 174, 175, 1827, 188, 195, 202, 210, 215, 222 Lindeman Osmo 84, 112 Lindgren Armas 34 Lindgren Astrid 190 Linjama Jouko 123 Linjama Jyrki 2289 Linko Ernst 55 Linkola Jukka 84, 115, 1368, 140, 143, 166, 239 Linna Vin 85 Linnala Eino 82 Linsn Gabriel 26 Lintinen Kirmo 231, 23940 Lithander Carl Ludvig 1920
Lithander Charlotte 20 Lithander Christophylos 20 Lithander Ernst Gabriel 20 Lithander Fredrik Emanuel 20 Liszt Franz 23, 42, 49, 52, 54 Lokka Maija 70 Lnnrot Elias 33, 37 Lorca Federico Garca 149 Luolajan-Mikkola Vilho 80 Luther Martin 14, 132 Lutos awski Witold 98, 158, 185, 186, 195 Lyotard Jean Franois 145, 163 Lyytikinen Pasi 221, 2301, 240 M Maalouf Amin 182 Maasalo Armas 58 Maasalo Kai 11 Madetoja Leevi 35, 36, 38, 47, 501, 55, 57, 60, 63, 70, 76, 86, 87, 109, 143 Mahler Gustav 35, 47, 48, 129, 152, 188, 189, 195, 206, 236 Mki Teemu 241 Malka Raija 192 Malmstn Georg 84 Mamet David 232 Mandelbrot Benois 205 Mann Thomas 148 Mntyjrvi Jaakko 125 Martinu 0 Bohuslav 239 Marttinen Tauno 38, 84, 92, 100, 115, 1189 Marvia Einari 7980 Matso Ruth 104 Mattila Karita 182 Mattsson Jack 141 McCartney Paul and Lennon John 111 Melartin Erkki 34, 36, 38, 479, 50, 60, 63, 75, 76, 80, 86, 87
Melleri Arto 192 Melville Herman 193 Mendelssohn Felix 20, 27, 28, 32 Menotti Gian Carlo 81 Meri Veijo 85 Merikanto Aarre 39, 51, 60, 62, 63, 6872, 81, 86, 109, 142 Merikanto Oskar 36, 38, 47, 556, 60, 68 Merilinen Usko 84, 87, 92, 99, 100, 1036, 112, 113, 114, 163, 177, 210 Messenius Johannes 194 Messiaen Olivier 149 Meyerbeer Giacomo 29 Mielck Ernst 312, 35 Mishima Yukio 220 Mononen Sakari 93 Monteverdi Claudio 186 Morgenstern Christian 79 Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus 17, 20, 24, 111, 173, 200 Mukka Timo K. 139, 193 Murail Tristan 178, 185 Muro Juan Antonio 141 Murto Matti 141 Musil Robert 118 Mustonen Olli 2389 N Nevanlinna Tapio 107, 113, 2067 Nevonmaa Kimmo 2278 Nicholas II (Tsar of Russia) 34 Nielsen Carl 234 Nieminen Kai 13940 Nietzsche Friedrich 65 Nono Luigi 99 Nordgren Pehr Henrik 39, 146, 1536 Nummi Lassi 120 Nummi Seppo 79, 91, 110
Nuorvala Juhani 198, 2313 Nurmi Paavo 238 O hrbom Anna Catharina 18 Orff Carl 90 P Paavolainen Olavi 61 Pacius Fredrik 23, 246, 27, 29, 38, 45, 47, 60 Padilla Alfonso 141 Palmgren Selim 34, 36, 47, 524, 55, 60, 76, 86, 88 Panula Jorma 131, 143 Paraske Larin 39 Parkkari Martti 141 Prt Arvo 135, 155 Peitsalo Peter 241 Penderecki Krzysztof 98, 111 Pesonen Olavi 82, 83 Petrarch Francesco 138 Petri Teodoricus 13 Piazzolla Astor 167 Picasso Pablo 187 Pingoud Ernest 62, 63, 645 , 68, 69, 81, 86 Pohjannoro Hannu 113, 219 Pohjola Erkki 121 Pohjola Seppo 2156, 217 Pohjonen Joonas 241 Pollock Jackson 98 Porthan Henrik Gabriel 37 Pousser Henri 99 Praetorius Michael 15 Pres Josquin des 15 Prokofiev Serge 72, 74, 84, 87, 90, 91, 125, 134, 136, 141, 148, 190 Proust Marcel 151 Puccini Giacomo 69, 80, 200 Pulkkis Uljas 166, 2357
Index 245
Puumala Veli-Matti 39, 107, 113, 166, 2124 , 217 Pyhl Jaakko 210 Pylkknen Tauno 801, 84, 92 Q Qin Daping 241 Quantz Johann Joachim 18 R Raappana Sakari 241 Rabe Folke 110 Rabelais Franois 188 Rihl Osmo Tapio 2334 Risnen Tomi 2345 Raitio Pentti 93 Raitio Vin 62, 63, 667, 68, 69, 72, 81, 86 Rakhmaninov Serge 52, 53, 54, 120, 190 Ranta Sulho 63, 81, 82 Rasputin Grigori 150, 151 Rautavaara Einojuhani 38, 87, 92, 99, 100, 114, 143, 146, 14752, 235, 237, 238 Rautio Matti 91, 110 Ravel Maurice 62, 72, 73, 74, 188, 194, 215, 220, 238, 239 Rechberger Herman 113, 143, 146, 160, 163, 16971, 193 Reger Max 69 Reich Steve 135 Respighi Ottorino 237, 239 Riley Terry 111 Rilke Rainer Maria 149, 199 Rimbaud Arthur 117 Ringbom Nils-Eric 83 , 93, 110 Robbe-Grillet Alain 98 Rohe Mies van der 98, 145 Romanowski Otto 113 Rossini Gioacchino 24 Rothko Mark 98
Rubinstein Anton and Nicholas 28 Rudel Jaufr 182 Rulfo Juan 227 Runeberg Johan Ludvig 27, 33 Ruohomki Jukka 113 Ruotsalainen Paavo 97 Rusila Kristian 241 Rydman Kari 1101 S Saarela Olli 238 Saariaho Kaija 84, 107, 113, 143, 163, 164, 166, 174, 175, 17882, 210 Saarinen Eliel 34 Saikkola Lauri 82 Sallinen Aulis 38, 92, 100, 115, 122, 12630, 142, 165, 188 Sallinen Tyko 61 Salmenhaara Erkki 10, 41, 62, 110, 111, 112, 114, 115, 1168, 135 Salonen Esa-Pekka 166, 174, 175, 1946, 210, 224, 229, 241 Salonen Sulo 86, 92, 121, 122 Sappho 195, 220 Sarje Kimmo 146 Savikangas Max 240, 241 Savonarola Girolamo 177 Schantz Filip von 28, 31, 34, 38 Schjerf beck Helene 140 Schubert Franz 27, 32 Schumann Robert 28, 32, 48, 52, 53 Schwantner Joseph 176 Schffer Boguslaw 176 Schnberg Arnold 62, 99, 190, 202, 220 Segerstam Leif 82, 146, 1523 Selassie Haile 128 Sermil Jarmo 113, 163, 1668 Seuerling Carl Gottlieb 16
Shakespeare William 128, 138, 198, 205 Shostakovich Dmitry 74, 87, 90, 91, 125, 138, 148, 157, 216, 234 Sibelius Jean 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 405 , 46, 47, 48, 50, 52, 55, 62, 63, 70, 75, 76, 78, 82, 87, 88, 95, 96, 118, 120, 129, 142, 150, 151, 194, 210 Siltanen Juha 162, 201, 233 Simil Martti 84 Sipil Eero 122, 123 Sirn Pekka 113 Sirpo Boris 77 Sirvi Ville 10 Skryabin Alexander 62 Snellman Johan Vilhelm 33 Sdergran Edith 61 Sonck Lars 34 Sonninen Ahti 84, 8990, 91 Sophocles 67 Spielberg Steven 238 Spohr Louis 21, 24 St. Lawrence 170 Stenius Torsten 80 Stiller Mauritz 46, 84 Stockhausen Karlheinz 98, 99 Stokowski Leopold 64 Strauss Richard 42, 43, 65, 161, 237 Stravinsky Igor 39, 41, 62, 67, 72, 73, 75, 87, 90, 91, 103, 104, 132, 136, 148, 186, 187, 195, 215, 230, 239, 240 Strindberg August 130 Suilamo Harri 107, 113, 2078 Sumera Lepo 135 Suolahti Heikki 82 Suomalainen Jaakko (Finno Jacob) 13 Syvinki Esko 141 Szalonek Witold 161
Szymanowski Karol 69 T Taitto Ilkka 12 Tallgren Johan 2234 Talvela Martti 142 Talvitie Riikka 225 Tarkovski Andrei 200 Taurula Tarja 78 Teiril Tuomo 141 Theile Johann 16 Thomas (Bishop of Finland) 143, 150 Tiensuu Jukka 107, 113, 163, 164, 165, 166, 1714 , 208 Tikka Kari 132 Toivio Lauri 241 Tolkien J.R.R. (John Ronald Reuel) 130 Tolonen Jouko 90, 91 Topelius Zacharias 27, 49, 130 Torenberg Johan 16 Trmnen V.E. (Vilho Edvard) 79 Tormis Veljo 124, 135 Trne Bengt von 82 Trbojevic Jovanka 84, 113, 2167 Tulindberg Erik 189 Tuomela Tapio 38, 39, 107, 113, 143, 197, 2024 Tuominen Harri 125 Turunen Martti 79 Tuukkanen Kalervo 823 V Vainikka Sakari 141 Vainio Jan Mikael 230 Vakkilainen Ari 141 Valkama Vesa 208 Valkeap Nils-Aslak 204 Valpola Heikki 141 Varse Edgard 167
Vasa Gustavus (King of Sweden) 14 Venturi Robert 145 Verdi Giuseppe 25, 29 Victoria Toms Luis de (Tears of Ludovico ) 235, 236 Vidjeskog Patrik 234 Viitala Mauri 141 Viitanen Harri 209 Vilagi Adam 241 Viln Asko 141 Vinci Leonardo da 177 Virtaperko Olli 241 Vivaldi Antonio 240 Vogel Wladimir 92, 101, 118, 148 Vuorenjuuri Martti 112 Vuori Harri 107, 113, 197, 2046, 207 W Wagner Richard 29, 30, 31, 42, 46, 49, 53, 59, 60, 182, 188 Waltari Mika 85 Warhol Andy 2323 Wasbohm Isaac 15 Weber Carl Maria von 20, 21, 24, 25 Webern Anton 62, 93, 99, 106, 123, 158, 185, 196, 202, 207, 215, 219, 220 Wegelius Martin 2930, 77 Wennkoski Lotta 2245 , 230 Williams John 238 Wirkkala Tapio 85 Wistuba-Alvarez Vladimir 141 Wessman Harri 115, 1334 Wolf Hugo 79 Wright Frank Lloyd 98 Wuolijoki Hella 177
X Xenakis Iannis 98, 173, 182, 187, 189, 215, 218 Y Yagling Victoria 141 Yli-Salomki Aki 235 Z Zimmermann Bernd Alois 188
Index 247
Fimic online publications

Kimmo Korhonen : Inventing Finnish Music. Contemporary Composers from Medieval to Modern (2nd edition 2007) www.fimic.fi/inventing Samuli Tiikkaja (ed.): Conductors Edition. Finnish works for chamber orchestra (2006) www.fimic.fi/conductorsedition Kimmo Korhonen : Finnish Orchestral Music and Concertos 19952005 (2006) www.fimic.fi/ orchestra&concertos Pekka Hako : Finnish Opera (2002) www.fimic.fi/opera version in Finnish: www.fimic.fi/ooppera Kimmo Korhonen : Finnish Chamber Music (2001) www.fimic.fi/chambermusic version in Finnish: www.fimic.fi/kamarimusiikki Kimmo Korhonen : Finnish Piano Music (1997) www.fimic.fi/pianomusic version in Finnish: www.fimic.fi/pianomusiikki
Photos
fimic a) archive:
Crusell, Johansson, Kajanus, Kilpinen, Klami, Kuula, Launis, Lindeman, Madetoja, Melartin, Merikanto A., Pacius, Palmgren, Pingoud, Pylkknen, Raitio, Sibelius and Tulindberg
other sources
Finnish National Gallery Central Art Archives/ Antti Kuivalainen (p. 75) Finnish National Opera (p. 60) Finnish National Opera/ Stefan Bremer (p. 25) Manu Marttinen: Marttinen Savonlinna Opera Festival (p. 70, 142) Nicho Sdling: E-P Salonen Teosto/Jakke Nikkarinen: Tiensuu Heikki Tuuli: Hmeenniemi, Lnsi, Mustonen SKS KRA (Finnish Literature Society)/Timo Setl (p. 37); A.O. Visnen (p. 39) Society of Finnish Composers: Hauta-aho, Jokinen, MerikantoO.
b) maarit kytharju:
Aho, Almila, Bashmakov, Bergman, Englund, Fagerudd, Haapamki, Heini, Hyvrinen, Jalava P., Jalkanen, Kaipainen, Krkkinen, Karlsson, Kokkonen, Kortekangas, Koskelin, KoskinenJuha T., Koskinen Jukka, Kyllnen, Linjama, Lintinen, Mntyjrvi, Merilinen, Nevanlinna, Nordgren, Panula, Pohjannoro, Pohjola, Rihl, Rautavaara, Rechberger, Saariaho, Sallinen, Salmenhaara, Segerstam, Sermil, Suilamo, Trbojevic , Tallgren, Talvitie, Tuomela, Vuori, Wennkoski, Wessman and Yli-Salomki
c) johanna manninen:
Kostiainen
d) saara vuorjoki:
Fagerlund, Haapanen, Hakola, Heininen, Kilpi, Kuusisto I., Lindberg, Linkola, Nuorvala, Pulkkis, Puumala and Risnen

Inventing Finnish Music Kimmo Korhonen

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Inventing Finnish Music Kimmo Korhonen

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Inventing Finnish Music

Contemporary Composers from Medieval to Modern

Inventing Finnish Music

Finnish Music Information Centre

I Church and City .

The early days of Finnish music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

II Officers and Gentlemen

Composers in the Classical period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The first-generation composers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Bernhard Henrik Crusell: Composer and clarinettist . . . . . . . . . . 20

III Romancing the Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Shaping the structures of musical life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

IV The Mighty Spring Tide of Finnish Music .

National Romanticism and Late Romanticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Jean Sibelius: The symphonic master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

The shadow of Sibelius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Erkki Melartin: An eclectic Late Romantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 The elegance of Leevi Madetoja . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Selim Palmgren, the Nordic Chopin and Schumann . . . . . . . . . . . 52

IX That Which Was Old . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V Windows Open Towards Europe!

Uuno Klami: On the trail of Stravinsky and Ravel . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

VI Sheltered by the Kalevala, Overshadowed by War .

VII Rising from the Ashes of War .

The turn to dodecaphony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Joonas Kokkonen: A passion for quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

VIII Rows, Colours and Nursery Noise

The second wave of Modernism in Finnish music . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

X In the Post-Modernist Hall of Mirrors

XII Broadening Horizons

XI Towards New Sound Worlds

I Church and City

I Church and City 15

II Officers and Gentlemen

The first-generation composers

carl ludvig lithander

Bernhard Henrik Crusell: Composer and clarinettist

bernhard henrik crusell

III Romancing the Tone

22 inventing finnish music

The first Finnish opera

Fredrik Pacius and the road to Romanticism

III Romancing the Tone 25

konrad greve richard faltin

Shaping the structures of musical life

martin wegelius robert kajanus

IV The Mighty Spring Tide of Finnish Music

The language issue

32 inventing finnish music

helsinki music institute and orchestras

the choral movement

The Kalevala, Finlands national epic

36 inventing finnish music

IV The Mighty Spring Tide of Finnish Music 37

Finnish folk music

38 inventing finnish music

IV The Mighty Spring Tide of Finnish Music 39

Jean Sibelius: The symphonic master

Sibeliuss Second Symphony is it just music or a portrait of the independence struggle?

44 inventing finnish music

IV The Mighty Spring Tide of Finnish Music 45

The shadow of Sibelius

Erkki Melartin: An eclectic Late Romantic

The elegance of Leevi Madetoja

Selim Palmgren, the Nordic Chopin and Schumann

Oskar Merikanto, a composer between high culture and public at large

Toivo Kuula: Music with pathos and sentiment