Leevi Madetoja
Leevi Antti Madetoja (17 February 1887, Oulu – 6 October 1947, Helsinki)[1] was a Finnish composer.
Life and career
Madetoja was born in Oulu to Antti Madetoja and Anna Hyttinen. His father emigrated to the United States to earn money for the family but died of tuberculosis by the Mississippi River, never having seen his son.[2]
Madetoja studied music in Helsinki with Jean Sibelius (1906–1910), Paris with Vincent d'Indy (1910–1911) and Vienna and Berlin with Robert Fuchs (1911–1912).[1] In 1913, he married writer Hilja Onerva Lehtinen (1882–1972).
His music is strongly influenced by the traditional music of his home region, Ostrobothnia. His three symphonies are based on the legacy of Sibelian and Russian romanticism, Gallic clarity and folk elements.
The sombre Symphony No. 2 was written during the civil war and could be described as a war symphony. Another popular work written in the same year is the elegant piano piece Kuoleman Puutarha (Garden of Death), dedicated to his brother, who had died during the war. His finest works are the opera The Ostrobothnians, the Third Symphony, Comedy Overture, the ballet Okon Fuoko, and his songs for male choir. His inspiration slowly dried up, though a fully scored fourth symphony was reportedly lost when his briefcase was stolen at a Paris railway station in 1938. He was planning a violin concerto when he died, aged 60, from exhaustion, overwork and heart disease.
Selected works
A list of Madetoja's compositions:[3]
- Op. 4 – Symphonic Suite (1909–10)
- Op. 5 – Chess, suite of incidental music from the homonymous play (1910)
- Op. 6 – Alcibiades, incidental music (1910)
- Op. 7 – Concert Overture (1911)
- Op. 8 – Nine Songs for male voice choir (1908–14)
- Op. 11 – Dance Vision (originally titled "Öinen karkelokuva" ["Night Revels"]) (1911)
- Op. 12 - Kuusi Pianokappaletta [Six Pieces for Piano] (1912)
- Op. 13 – Six songs for mixed choir (1910)
- Op. 15 – Kullervo, symphonic poem (1913)
- Op. 17 - Pianosävellyksiä [Three Pieces for Piano](1912)
- Op. 18 – Sonatina for violin & piano, Op. 18 (1913)
- Op. 21 - Pienoiskuvia pianolle [Miniatures for Piano] (1914)
- Op. 23 – Nine Songs for male voice choir (1912–16)
- Op. 29 – Symphony No. 1 (1914–16)
- Op. 31 - Pieniä Pianokappaleita [Four Small Pieces for Piano](1915)
- Op. 33 – Eight Songs for male voice choir (1916–19)
- Op. 34 – Pastoral Suite (1916)
- Op. 35 – Symphony No. 2 (1916–18)
- Op. 36 - Romance sans paroles [Romance Without Words] for voice & piano
- Op. 37 – Aslak Smaukka, symphonic poem (1917)
- Op. 39 – Five Songs for male voice choir (1919–21)
- Op. 41 – Kuoleman puutarha [The Garden of Death], suite for piano (1918–21)
- Op. 44 – Four Songs (1919)
- Op. 45 – The Ostrobothnians, opera in three acts (1918–23)
- Op. 46 – Väinämöisen kylvö [Väinämöisen Sows the Wilderness], symphonic poem for voice & orchestra (1920)
- Op. 49 – Five Songs (1920)
- Op. 50 - Hopes & Dreams for chorus
- Op. 51 – Lyric Suite for cello & piano (1922)
- Op. 52 – Ostrobothnian Suite (1923)
- Op. 53 – Comedy Overture (1923)
- Op. 55 – Symphony No. 3 in A major (1922–26)
- Op. 56 – De Profundis for male voice choir (1925)
- Op. 57 - Three Folk Songs for chorus
- Op. 58 – Okon Fuoko, ballet in one act (1925–27)
- Op. 65 - Pianosävellyksiä [Piano Pieces] (1931)
- Op. 67 – Three Pieces for brass septet (1929)
- Op. 68 – Autumn, song cycle to poems by L. Oneva (1930)
- Op. 69 – Overture Fantasy for brass (1930)
- Op. 73 - Karitsan lippu, cantata for chorus & organ (1934)
- Op. 74 – Juha, opera in six tableaux (1934)
- Op. 77 – Rustic Scenes, Suite from the film score "Taistelu Heikkilän talosta" ("The Struggle for the Homestead") (1936)
- Op. 78 – A Wreath of Songs, cantata (1938)
- Op. 81 – Seven Choral Songs (1945–46)
- Op. 82 – Two Songs for mixed choir (1946)
In popular culture
Excerpts from the third and fourth movements of Madetoja's Symphony No. 3 are heard in the Finnish movie The Man Without a Past.
References
- 1 2 Korhonen, Kimmo (2000). "Leevi Madetoja in Profile". Translated by Sinisalo, Susan. Composers & Repertoire - Music Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ↑ Lappalainen, Seija; Salmenhaara, Erkki (1987). Leevi Madetojan teokset [The Works of Leevi Madetoja]. Helsinki: Suomen Säveltäjät ry. ISBN 951998514X.
- ↑ Korhonen, Kimmo (2000). "Orchestral Works of Leevi Madetoja". Translated by Sinisalo, Susan. Composers & Repertoire - Music Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
External links
Media related to Leevi Madetoja at Wikimedia Commons
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