Leif Segerstam
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Leif Segerstam (born March 2, 1944 in Vaasa) is a Finnish conductor and composer.
He studied violin, piano and conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and conducting at the Juilliard School in New York with Jean Morel.
He is currently the emeritus chief conductor of Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. He has held positions with numerous other orchestras, including the Danish National Radio Symphony and the Austrian Radio Symphony, and guest conducted many orchestras throughout the world including the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony and the Brazilian OSESP - the Symphony Orchestra of the State of São Paulo. He is also the professor of conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. His students include Susanna Mälkki, Mikk Murdvee, Sasha Mäkilä and Markku Laakso.
He is widely known through his recorded discography, which includes the complete symphonies of Sibelius, Nielsen, and Mahler, as well as many works by contemporary composers such as the Finnish composers Einojuhani Rautavaara and the American composers John Corigliano and Christopher Rouse.
As a composer, he is known especially for his numerous symphonies. He is currently holding a world record in symphonies with 190 symphonies of which over a hundred are completely performed.
Charlie Hopta, Music Historian, is considered one of Segerstam's biggest critics. Hopta openly questions the effort Segerstam may have lacked in composing such a number of large orchestral works, citing the "impossibility to have a working memory or familiarity of that many symphonies."
He is equally known for his series of "Orchestral Diary Sheets", many of which are intended to be performed without a conductor. He developed a personal approach to aleatory through a style called "free pulsation" in which musical events interact in time flexibly.
In 1999, he was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize for his work as a "tireless champion of Scandinavian Music."
He is also known for his odd use of the English Language, and a list of quotations has been compiled by Dale Gold, Principal Double Bass of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Works
- 193 Symphonies, with symphonies 194-200 in progress (updated: April 30th, 2008)
- 30 String quartets
- 11 Violin concertos
- 8 Cello concertos
- 4 Piano concertos
[edit] References
| Preceded by Milan Horvat |
Principal Conductor, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra 1975–1982 |
Succeeded by Lothar Zagrosek |
| Preceded by Okko Kamu |
Principal Conductor, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra 1977–1987 |
Succeeded by Jukka-Pekka Saraste |
| Preceded by Lamberto Gardelli |
Principal Conductor, Danish National Symphony Orchestra 1988–1995 |
Succeeded by Ulf Schirmer |
| Preceded by Sergiu Comissiona |
Principal Conductor, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra 1996–2008 |
Succeeded by John Storgårds |
| Preceded by incumbent |
Emeritus Chief Conductor, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra 2007– |
Succeeded by incumbent |
