Erkki Aaltonen

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Erkki Werner Aaltonen (born August 17, 1910 in Hämeenlinna ; † March 8, 1990 in Helsinki ) was a Finnish violinist , conductor , composer and teacher.

Life

Erkki Aaltonen

His parents were the tenant Nestor Aaltonen and his wife Ida. Nestor could build simple musical instruments and passed this skill on to Erkki. At the age of 13 he started playing the violin and then played in the Hämenlinna youth orchestra. There he also attended the trade school. From 1929 to 1939 he studied violin, piano and organ at the Helsinki Music Conservatory, which was renamed the Sibelius Academy in 1939 . He also took private composition lessons, from 1930 to 1940 with Väinö Raitio and two semesters in 1940 with Selim Palmgren . In 1934 he married the writer Annikki Marunan, whose real name was Ilta Annikki Tyyne Virtasen. She also wrote the lyrics for many of his songs. As a violinist he worked from 1935 to 1945 with the Orchestra of the Helsinki Theater and from 1945 to 1947 with the Radio Symphony Orchestra. As a violist he played in the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra from 1945 to 1966 . In 1947 he completed a conducting course at the Sibelius Academy. From 1956 to 1963 he directed the Kullervo Choir, the orchestra of the Polytechnic Institute from 1959 to 1961, the Lohjan Orchestra from 1964 to 1966 and as a guest conductor numerous foreign orchestras and choirs. From 1966 to 1973 he headed the Kemi Music Institute . His choice of music was often current.

His best-known work is the 2nd symphony, nicknamed Hiroshima . He completed it in 1949. The premiere took place in Helsinki in 1949. He himself directed the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra . Performances followed in 1950 in Prague, 1952 in Warsaw, 1953 in Bucharest, 1955 in Krakow and 1960 in Tallinn. On August 15, 1955, ten years after the fall of the atomic bomb , it was performed by the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, today's Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra under Takashi Asahina in Hiroshima. On July 8, 2014, the original score was shown to the public again in the Hiroshima Municipal Archives. The work stands in the spirit of peace and the peace movement played a major role in his life. He often traveled to neighboring countries and was interested in the folk music of these countries. He had a closer relationship with Romania. He was even vice-president of Suomi Romania-seuran [Finnish-Romanian Society].

Aaltonen's compositional work began at a time when Finnish music, after years of modernity, was again moving towards a national, romantic style. This is evident in Aaltonen's work. The later works also show features of Finnish post-war music.

Works (selection)

The National Library of Finland in Helsinki has published a list of their extensive manuscript collection of Aaltonen's works.

The Finnish Music Information Center also performs a number of his works.

Orchestral works

Symphonies

  • No. 1 in C; He completed the symphony in 1938 and revised it again in 1947.
  • No. 2 Hiroshima - Symphony for large orchestra (1949); I. Introduzione: Andante sostenuto, II. Allegro, III. Scherzo vivace, IV. Fuga, V. Culminazione, VI. Epitafio, VII. Finale; Duration: 37 min
  • No. 3 (1952)
  • No. 4 (1959) " La faccia del huomo "
  • No. 5 (1964)

Further works for orchestra

  • Hämeenlinna ; Orchestral suite; 1951
  • Macbeth , music for a radio play
  • Marching humor for small orchestra
  • Overtura ballabile; 1958
  • Polca sinfonica
  • Sparenharmonie
  • Sinfonia " Runoilijan kuolema " [Death of the Poet]
  • " Hämäläinen kansanpel "; Finnish rhapsody for orchestra
  • Dance interlude
  • Valssi improvisation

Ballet music

  • Ballet suites from Laponia (1956) and 1959
  • Kimmon kosto [Kimmon's Revenge], 1958
  • Nummisuutarit [The Heideschuster], 1963

Works for soloists with orchestra

  • Piano Concerto No. 1 (1948) I. Largamente, ben tenuto II. Incominciare grave sostenuto III. Non troppo duration: 25 min
  • Piano Concerto No. 2 (1954)
  • Violin Concerto (1966)
  • Nummisuutarit , concert suite for vocal soloists, solo violin and orchestra

Chamber music

  • Nine string quartets ; created from 1932 to 1937
  • Sonata grande in F major for oboe and piano (1946)
  • Prelude and Allegro in G minor and G major; Versions for violin or viola and piano; 1948
  • Il flauto d'argento ; Una fantasia piccola per flauto e piano; 1981
  • Il flauto di legno ; Una fantasia per flauto e piano; 1981

Piano music

  • 6 piano sonatas ; No. 1 to No. 5 were created between 1932 and 1946 and were revised in the 1970s; No. 6 was created in 1977
  • Andante elegiaco, per organo o piano, in memoriam; 1977
  • Gavotta alla Bach ; 1981
  • Impressions for piano; 1982
  • Piano pieces

Vocal music

Choral works

  • Canto dell'umanita for female choir, male choir, soloists and orchestra (1984)
  • Arctic meren äärellä [At the arctic sea] for 4 hours . mixed choir; Text: Anniki Maruna
  • Ennen talvea [Before winter] for 4 hours . Male choir; Text: Anniki Maruna
  • Lacrimosa for 4pcs. mixed choir; Text: Anniki Maruna

Songs

  • Elämän katoavaisuus [ fleeting life]; Song cycle for baritone with piano or organ accompaniment based on Psalm 39; I. Minä olin vaiti [I was silent] II. Herra opeta minua [Lord, teach me] III. Varjona vain [Just one more shadow]; 1979

literature

  • Heiniö, Mikko, Pekka Jalkanen, Seija Lappalainen, and Erkki Salmenhaara: “Aaltonen, Erkki.”; in: Suomalaisia ​​saveltäijä (Finnish composers), Otava, Helsinki 1994
  • Marvia, Einari: “Aaltonen, Erkki.”; in: Otavan iso musiikkitietosanakirja (Otava's Great Music Encyclopedia) 5 volumes Otava, Helsinki 1979.
  • Ruth-Esther Hillila, Barbara Blanchard Hong: “Aaltonen, Erkki”; in: Historical Dictionary of the Music and Musicians of Finland, Greenwood, 1997
  • Rima Povilioniene: "Erkki Aaltonen's Hiroshima Symphony"; in: Sounds, Societies, Significations: Numanistic Approaches to Music; Volume 2 of Numanities - Arts and Humanities in Progress; Springer 2017, ISBN 978-3-319-47060-3 (English); Extensive treatise on the work with a detailed work analysis
  • AALTONEN Erik Verner (Erkki) : In: Adrian Gaster: International Who's who in Music and musician's Directory. 9th Edition, Melrose Press Ltd, Cambridge, 1980

Recordings

  • Canto dell'umanita for female choir, male choir, soloists and orchestra; Leena Murto (soprano), Viking Smes (tenor), Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra , Polyteknikkojen Kamarikuoro Dominante, conducted by Seppo Murto; 1984; Duration: 22:51 min
  • Elämän katoavaisuus [ fleeting life]; Jorma Hynninen (baritone), Tapio Tiitu (organ); Taivallahti Church Helsinki; 1984 

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ruth-Esther Hillila, Barbara Blanchard Hong: "Aaltonen, Erkki"; in Historical Dictionary of the music and Musicians of Finland . Greenwood Publishing Group, 1997, ISBN 978-0-313-27728-3 , pp. 1 f .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Marjut Hjelt: Erkki Aaltonen . In: National Library Helsinki (Ed.): Manuscript Collection . Helsinki December 1, 2009 (Finnish, doria.fi [PDF]).
  3. ↑ a b c "Blue" Gene Tyranny : Erkki Aaltonen | Biography & History | AllMusic. In: www.allmusic.com. AllMusic, accessed January 14, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Robert Jay Lifton: Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima . Univ of North Carolina Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0-8078-4344-4 , pp. 594 (English).
  5. ↑ Michiko Tanaka: Full score of “Hiroshima” symphony, conveying strength of Hiroshima people, is found. In: http://www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp . Hiroshima Peace Media Center, July 14, 2014, accessed February 1, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Rima Povilionienė: Sounds, Societies, Significations: Numanistic Approaches to Music . tape 2 . Springer, 2017, ISBN 978-3-319-47060-3 , 9.3 Erkki Aaltonen's Hiroshima Symphony, p. 240 (English).
  7. ↑ Erkki Aaltonen. In: https://core.musicfinland.fi . Music Finland, accessed February 2, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Hiroshima. In: https://core.musicfinland.fi . Music Finland, accessed February 1, 2017 .
  9. ↑ Concerto fro piano and orchestra no. 1. In: https://core.musicfinland.fi . Music Finland, accessed February 1, 2017 .
  10. ^ Il flauto d'argento. In: https://core.musicfinland.fi . Music Finland, accessed February 1, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Andante elegiaco. In: https://core.musicfinland.fi . Music Finland, accessed February 1, 2017 .
  12. ↑ Gavotta alla Bach. In: https://core.musicfinland.fi . Music Finland, accessed February 1, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Canto dell'umanità. In: https://kansalliskirjasto.finna.fi/ . The National Library of Finland, accessed February 9, 2017 (Finnish).
  14. ↑ Elämän katoavaisuus. In: https://core.musicfinland.fi . Music Finland, accessed February 1, 2017 (Finnish).
  15. ↑ Canto dell'umanità. Retrieved February 9, 2017 (Finnish).
  16. ↑ Elämän katoavaisuus. Retrieved February 9, 2017 (Finnish).


personal data
SURNAME Aaltonen, Erkki
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aaltonen, Erkki Werner
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish composer
DATE OF BIRTH 17th August 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Hämeenlinna , Finland
DATE OF DEATH March 8, 1990
Place of death Helsinki