Leevi Madetoja

Finnish postage stamp on the occasion of Leevi Madetoja's 100th birthday

Leevi Antti Madetoja (February 17, 1887 – October 6, 1947) was a Finnish composer.

Born in Oulu, Finland, he was the son of 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.

Madetoja studied music in Helsinki (1906-1910), Paris (1910-1911), Vienna and Berlin (1911-1912). In 1913, he married the writer Hilja Onerva Lehtinen (1882-1972),who wrote under the pseudonym L. Onerva.

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 fine 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 considered 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 railroad station. He was planning a violin concerto at the time he died, aged 60, from exhaustion, overwork and heart disease.

Works

• Op.4 - Symphonic Suite, Op. 4 (1909-10)
• Op.5 - The Chess Game - Incidental Music, Op. 5 (1910)
• Op.6 - Alcibiades - Incidental Music, Op. 6 (1910)
• Op.7 - Concert Overture, Op. 7 (1911)
• Op.8 - Nine Songs for male voice choir, Op. 8 (1908-14)
• Op.11 - Dance Vision, Op. 11 (1911)
• Op.13 - Six songs for mixed choir, Op. 13 (1910)
• Op.15 - Kullervo - symphonic poem, Op. 15 (1913)
• Op.18 - Sonatina for violin & piano, Op. 18 (1913)
• Op.23 - Nine Songs for male voice choir, Op. 23 (1912-16)
• Op.29 - Symphony No. 1, Op. 29 (1914-16)
• Op.33 - Eight Songs for male voice choir, Op. 33 (1916-19)
• Op.34 - Pastoral Suite, Op. 34 (1916)
• Op.35 - Symphony No. 2, Op. 35 (1916-18)
• Op.37 - Aslak Smaukka - Symphonic Poem, Op. 37 (1917)
• Op.39 - Five Songs for male voice choir, Op. 39 (1919-21)
• Op.41 - Kuoleman puutarha (The Garden of Death) - suite for piano, Op. 41 (1918-21)
• Op.44 - Four Songs, Op. 44 (1919)
• Tanssinäky ("Dance Vision") - symphonic poem (1919)
• Op.45 - The Ostrobothnians - opera in three acts, Op. 45 (1918-23)
• Op.46 - Vainamoinen sows the wilderness - Symphonic Poem, Op. 46 (1920)
• Op.49 - Five Songs, Op. 49 (1920)
• Op.51 - Lyric Suite for cello & piano, Op. 51 (1922)
• Op.52 - Ostrobothnian Rhapsody, Op. 52 (1923)
• Op.53 - Comedy Overture, Op. 53 (1923)
• Pohjalaisia - opera (1923)
• Op.55 - Symphony No. 3, Op. 55 (1922-26)
• Op.56 - De Profundis for male voice choir, Op. 56 (1925)
• Op.58 - Okon Fuoko - ballet in one act, Op. 58 (1925-27)
• Op.67 - Three Pieces for brass septet, Op. 67 (1929)
• Op.68 - Autumn - song cycle to poems by L. Oneva, Op. 68 (1930)
• Op.69 - Overture Fantasy for brass, Op. 69 (1930)
• Op.74 - Juha - opera in six tableaux, Op. 74 (1934)
• Op.77 - Rural Pictures - Suite from the film score "Battle for the house of Heikkilä", Op. 77 (1936)
• Op.78 - A Wreath of Songs - cantata, Op. 78 (1938)
• Op.81 - Seven Choral Songs, Op. 81 (1945-46)
• Op.82 - Two Songs for mixed choir, Op. 82 (1946)

External links

• Free scores by Leevi Madetoja in the International Music Score Library Project

References

• Curriculum vitae and List of Works at Finnish Music Information Centre
• Short biography at Fennica Gehrman publisher
• Lappalainen, Seija & Salmenhaara, Erkki: "The Works of Leevi Madetoja" Suomen Saveltajat ry 1987

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