- Country: Finland
- Born: August 17, 1910 in Hämeenlinna, Finland
- Died: March 08, 1990 in Helsinki, Finland
Biography
Erkki Aaltonen was one of Finland's most original composers, adopting modern techniques into his writing while supporting the authentic and moving expressive qualities of his country's traditional music.From 1929 to 1939, Aaltonen was a student at the Sibelius Academy where he was instructed in the violin, piano, and organ. He received private instruction in composition from 1930 - 1940 with Väinö Raition and had two semesters with Selim Palmgren in 1940. He wrote five string quartets during this time in the Classical and Romantic tradition and attempted to compose a symphony in 1935. Aaltonen's actual Symphony No. 1 was completed in 1938, later to be revised in 1947. This work still had characteristics of what was called the National Romantic style, which as its name indicates, bypassed most modern trends to return to tonal and sometimes programmatic moods. Although Aaltonen did incorporate some modernism (such as advanced chromaticism and untimately, dodecaphony) into his pieces, it was primarily this nationalist manner of composition that formed the underlying spirit of his life's work.
From 1935 until 1945, Aaltonen was employed as a violinist in the Helsinki Theatre Orchestra and in the Finnish Radio Orchestra (1943 - 1944). He was a violist in the Helsinki Town Hall Orchestra (1945 - 1947) while studying orchestral conducting. Aaltonen became the conductor at the Sibelius Academy after passing his examination in 1947. The next year saw the creation of Aaltonen's Piano Concerto No. 1 and in 1949, he finished what is his best-known and most controversial work, the Symphony No. 2 -- Hiroshima, created in response to that tragedy, and to the emerging postwar development of nuclear arsenals. It is dramatic and brilliantly contrapuntal but, concerning the controversy over its "program," the composer states: "The thoughts behind the Hiroshima symphony are serious. It is not written against anyone, it is written for humanity. It is probably as programmatic as the timpani blow in (Haydn's) Paukenschlag symphony." This work was performed twice in Hiroshima, as well as in Prague, Bucarest, Cracow, Warsaw, and Tallinn.
From 1956 through 1963, Aaltonen led the Kullervo Choir. He conducted the Helsinki Chamber Music Group from 1957 to 1962, the Polytechnical Orchestra from 1958 to1960, and the Lohjan Orchestra from 1964 until 1966.
During this period, Aaltonen wrote his Symphony No. 3, the eclectic Symphony No. 4 (1959) which embodies a wide range of changing moods, and Symphony No. 5 (1964). He also created the Piano Concerto No. 2 (1954), as well as the ballets Kimmon kosto (Kimmo's revenge, 1958) and Nummisuutarit (Cobblers on the Heath, 1963). The highly dodecaphonic Violin Concerto of 1966 was completed as Aaltonen became the conductor of Kemin Hall (1966 - 1973) and soon accepted the post of director at the Kemin Academy of Music, where he remained from 1967 until 1973. ~ "Blue" Gene Tyranny, All Music Guide
