Panu Aaltio (born 29 January 1982) is a Finnish film composer. He was educated at the Sibelius Academy and University of Southern California and established himself as a film composer with The Home of Dark Butterflies (2008). He has received the International Film Music Critics Association Award for Best Original Score for a Documentary three times, for Tale of a Forest (2012), Tale of a Lake (2016) and Tale of the Sleeping Giants (2021).
Panu Aaltio was born in Nurmijärvi on 29 January 1982. Wanting to become a film composer, he studied music technology at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, attended the Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program at the University of Southern California and worked as an intern on film and television productions in Los Angeles. After returning to Finland, he became established there as a composer for feature films, television series and video games. [1] The first feature film he composed a score for was The Home of Dark Butterflies (2008), for which he was nominated for the Jussi Award for Best Music . [1]
Aaltio composed the music for a trilogy of nature films produced by MRP Matila Röhr Productions , Tale of a Forest (2012), Tale of a Lake (2016) and Tale of the Sleeping Giants (2021). For both Tale of a Forest and Tale of a Lake he received the International Film Music Critics Association Award for Best Original Score for a Documentary. [2] Tale of a Lake also received the Jussi Award for Best Music. [3]
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 stronger national identity when his country was struggling from several attempts at Russification in the late 19th century.
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.
Max Richter is a German-born British composer and pianist. He works within postminimalist and contemporary classical styles. Richter is classically trained, having graduated in composition from the University of Edinburgh, the Royal Academy of Music in London, and studied with Luciano Berio in Italy.
Eino Matti "Eicca" Toppinen is a Finnish cellist, songwriter, producer, and arranger. In 1993 he formed the quartet Apocalyptica.
Lauri Porra is a Finnish bass guitarist and composer who has written scores for films and other media, as well as commissions from orchestras such as the Lahti Symphony and the Finnish Radio Symphony. He is also known for his work as the bass guitarist in the Finnish power metal band Stratovarius. Porra is a fourth generation musician, and the great-grandson of famous Finnish composer 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.
Pekka Kuusisto is a Finnish musician.
Thomas August George Dome Karukoski is a Finnish film director. He has won over 30 festival awards and having directed six feature films that became blockbusters in his home country and also received international recognition.
Aku Louhimies is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He has directed feature films, documentary films, commercials and music videos. His international breakthrough was the 2016 serial drama Rebellion. He has directed and produced the 2017 war film The Unknown Soldier which is the most expensive feature film ever made in Finland.
Daddy and the Muscle Academy is a 1991 Finnish documentary film directed and written by Ilppo Pohjola. The documentary is focused on the life and works of Tom of Finland, the pseudonym of Finnish gay erotic artist Touko Laaksonen.
Paul Leonard-Morgan is a Scottish composer particularly known for his work in scoring for television and film. He won a Scottish BAFTA for the film Reflections upon the Origin of the Pineapple (2000), which was his first film score.
Milla Viljamaa is a Finnish musician and composer known for her creative works in various fields ranging from folk, tango and chamber music to theatre, opera, and film productions. She plays for example in the following ensembles: Duo Milla Viljamaa & Johanna Juhola, Las Chicas del Tango, Milla Viljamaa & Co, Johanna Juhola Reaktori and Hereä. She has also worked with larger groups like Australian Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Nordica, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra and Tapiola Sinfonietta. In 2002 Duo Milla Viljamaa & Johanna Juhola won the 1st prize of the International Ástor Piazzolla Competition and in 2008 received the Emma nomination for best ethnic music album. Viljamaa also teaches at the Sibelius-Academy Folk Music Department in Helsinki where she graduated with a master's degree majoring in piano and harmonium in 2007. She has also published new teaching material in form of a learning book and CD called "Folk Music for Pianists" in 2008.
The Maiden in the Tower, JS 101, is an opera in one act—comprising an overture and eight scenes—written in 1896 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece was a collaboration with the Finnish author Rafael Hertzberg, the Swedish-language libretto of whom tells a "simple tale of chivalry" that may nonetheless have had allegorical ambitions: the Bailiff abducts and imprisons the Maiden ; although she endures hardship, she remains true to herself and is freed subsequently by her Lover and the Chatelaine of the castle.
Guy Gross is an Australian film and television composer. He is known most for writing the award-winning music for the Australian science fiction series Farscape and the international hit film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He also composed for the animated television series Blinky Bill and Dumb Bunnies. He has 91 credits as screen composer.
Mark Korven is a Canadian musician and composer for film and television.
Everyman, Op. 83, is a theatre score—comprising 16 numbers—for soloists, mixed choir, orchestra, piano, and organ by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius; he wrote the music in 1916 to accompany a Finnish-language production of the Austrian author Hugo von Hofmannsthal's 1911 play of the same name.
Juha Wuolijoki is a Finnish director, writer and producer and the CEO-founder of the production and distribution company Snapper Films. Founded in 1998, Snapper Films is based in Helsinki and Los Angeles and it's one of the leading production companies in Finland. Juha has a Master of Arts Degree (1995) from the University of Arts and Design. He's best known as the director, co-writer and producer of award-winning features Gourmet Club (2004), Christmas Story (2007) and Hella W (2011).
Tale of a Forest is a 2012 Finnish nature documentary film directed by Kim Saarniluoto and Ville Suhonen. It combines footage from forests with narration about Finnish folklore. When it was released it broke the attendance record for a Finnish documentary film in Finnish cinemas.
Tale of a Lake is a 2016 Finnish nature documentary film directed by Marko Röhr and Kim Saarniluoto. It is about lakes in Finland, the wildlife in them and their place in Finnish folklore. The film features narration by Samuli Edelmann and Johanna Kurkela.
Tale of the Sleeping Giants is a 2021 Finnish nature film directed by Marko Röhr. It is about the fells of Sápmi and is the standalone third entry in a series of nature films, after Tale of a Forest (2012) and Tale of a Lake (2016).