Ilkka Kuusisto

Last updated
Professori
Ilkka Kuusisto
Ilkka Kuusisto.jpg
Ilkka Kuusisto in 2011
Background information
Born (1933-04-26) 26 April 1933 (age 90)
Helsinki, Finland [1]
GenresOpera
Occupation(s)
  • Composer
  • Conductor
  • Organist
Instrument(s)Organ

Ilkka Taneli Kuusisto (born 26 April 1933) [1] is a Finnish opera composer, conductor, choirmaster and organist. [2]

Contents

Education

Kuusisto studied at the Sibelius Academy (now part of the University of the Arts Helsinki), qualifying as an organist in 1954, and a music teacher in 1958. [1] He also studied composition under Aarre Merikanto, and afterwards went on to further his studies in Vienna and New York. [1]

Career

Kuusisto started his career as a church organist, working in that role for nearly two decades. [1] [3]

He conducted the Helsinki City Theatre orchestra for most of the 1960s. [1] He taught at Sibelius Academy from 1975 to 1984. [1] He worked for many years in the music department of the Finnish public broadcaster Yle, and also was the artistic director of a leading Finnish music publishing company, Musiikki-Fazer  [ fi ], in the early 1980s. [1] [3]

Kuusisto worked extensively as a choirmaster, conducting the Finnish National Opera chorus and the Radio Symphony Chorus for several years, as well as having engagements with many other choirs. [2] [1]

His perhaps highest-profile management role was as the Director General of the National Opera, between 1984 and 1992. [1] [2]

Works (selected)

Kuusisto's composition repertoire covers a broad range of genres, from stage and film music, to jazz, choral works, and opera, the last of which he is the best-known. [1]

Orchestral

Vocal

Opera

Screen

Awards and honours

In 1984, Kuusisto received the Pro Finlandia  [ fi ] medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland. [4]

In 1992, the honorary title of Professori was conferred on Kuusisto. [2]

Personal life

Ilkka Kuusisto's father was the composer and music educator Taneli Kuusisto. [2]

Both his sons, Jaakko (1974–2022) and Pekka (born 1976), are also conductors, composers, as well as violinists. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Sibelius</span> Finnish composer (1865–1957)

Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often credited with having helped Finland develop a national identity during its struggle for independence from Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paavo Berglund</span> Finnish conductor and violinist

Paavo Allan Engelbert Berglund was a Finnish conductor and violinist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sibelius Academy</span> Music university in Helsinki, Finland

The Sibelius Academy is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki. The Academy is the only music university in Finland. It is among the biggest European music universities with roughly 1,400 enrolled students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leevi Madetoja</span> Finnish composer (1887–1947)

Leevi Antti Madetoja was a Finnish composer, music critic, conductor, and teacher of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely recognized as one of the most significant Finnish contemporaries of Jean Sibelius, under whom he studied privately from 1908 to 1910.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leif Segerstam</span> Finnish conductor and composer

Leif Selim Segerstam is a Finnish conductor, composer, violinist, violist and pianist, especially known for writing 352 symphonies as of August 2023, along with other works in his extensive oeuvre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalevi Aho</span> Finnish composer

Kalevi Ensio Aho is a Finnish composer.

Atso Almila is a Finnish orchestral conductor, music director, composer, trombonist and teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jorma Panula</span> Finnish conductor and composer

Jorma Juhani Panula is a Finnish conductor, composer, and teacher of conducting. He has mentored many Finnish conductors, such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikko Franck, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Osmo Vänskä, Klaus Mäkelä and Tarmo Peltokoski.

<i>Kullervo</i> (Sibelius) Symphonic work in five movements by Jean Sibelius

Kullervo, Op. 7, is a five-movement symphonic work for soprano, baritone, male choir, and orchestra written from 1891–1892 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Movements I, II, and IV are instrumental, whereas III and V feature sung text from Runos XXXV–VI of the Kalevala, Finland's national epic. The piece tells the story of the tragic hero Kullervo, with each movement depicting an episode from his ill-fated life: first, an introduction that establishes the psychology of the titular character; second, a haunting "lullaby with variations" that portrays his unhappy childhood; third, a dramatic dialogue between soloists and chorus in which the hero unknowingly seduces his long-lost sister; fourth, a lively scherzo in which Kullervo seeks redemption on the battlefield; and fifth, a funereal choral finale in which he returns to the spot of his incestuous crime and, guilt-ridden, takes his life by falling on his sword.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Kajanus</span> Finnish musician (1856–1933)

Robert Kajanus was a Finnish conductor, composer, and teacher. In 1882, he founded the Helsinki Orchestral Society, Finland's first professional orchestra. As a conductor, he was also a notable champion and interpreter of the music of Jean Sibelius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra</span>

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 1882 by Robert Kajanus, the Philharmonic Orchestra was the first permanent orchestra in the Nordic countries. Today, its primary concert venue is the Helsinki Music Centre; the current chief conductor is Susanna Mälkki, who has held her post since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pekka Kuusisto</span> Finnish musician

Pekka Kuusisto is a Finnish musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jorma Hynninen</span> Finnish opera singer

Jorma Kalervo Hynninen is a Finnish baritone who performs regularly with the world's major opera companies. He has also worked in opera administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikk Murdvee</span> Estonian-Finnish conductor and violinist

Mikk Murdvee is an Estonian-Finnish conductor and violinist living in Helsinki, Finland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilli Paasikivi</span> Finnish mezzo-soprano

Lilli Katriina Paasikivi-Ilves is the artistic director of the Finnish National Opera since 2013 and a mezzo-soprano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helsinki Music Centre</span> Concert hall in Helsinki, Finland

The Helsinki Music Centre is a concert hall and a music center in Töölönlahti, Helsinki. The building is home to Sibelius Academy and two symphony orchestras, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

Jutta Seppinen is a Finnish conductor and mezzo-soprano.

Jaakko Ilkka Kuusisto was a Finnish violinist, composer, and conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liisa Linko-Malmio</span> Finnish opera singer (1917–2017)

Liisa Linko-Malmio was a Finnish operatic soprano and a voice pedagog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Parmet</span> Finnish composer (1897–1969)

Simon Parmet was a Finnish conductor, composer, and pianist who studied under famous composer Jean Sibelius.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Kuusisto, Ilkka". Uppslagsverket.fi (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kuusisto, Ilkka (1933–)". Kansallisbiografia.fi (in Finnish). National Biography of Finland. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Ilkka Kuusisto halusi merille mutta päätyi musiikin monipuolisuusmieheksi" (in Finnish). Yle. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  4. "SUOMEN LEIJONAN PRO FINLANDIA -MITALIN SAAJAT 1945-2021". Ritarikunnat.fi (in Finnish). The Orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland. Retrieved 9 October 2023.