Klami c. 1930
Klami's signature

Uuno (Kalervo) Klami (20 September 1900, Virolahti – 29 May 1961, Virolahti) was a Finnish composer of the modern period. He is widely recognized as one of the most significant Finnish composers to emerge from the generation that followed Jean Sibelius.[1]

He was born in Virolahti. Many of his works are related to the Kalevala. He was influenced by French and Spanish music, and especially by Maurice Ravel, for whom he had a particular esteem.[2]

The core of Klami's oeuvre consists of an assortment of works related to the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, among the most notable being: the five-movement Kalevala sarja (Kalevala Suite; 1933, r. 1943), inspired by Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring; the symphonic poem, Lemminkäisen seikkailut saaressa (Lemminkäinen’s Island Adventures; 1934); and, the unfinished ballet, Pyörteitä (Whirls), which survives as two suites. As central to Klami's legacy is the six-movement orchestral suite, Merikuvia (Sea Pictures; 1932); the Karelian Rhapsody (1927); and, Psalmus (1936), an oratorio for soloists, mixed, chorus and orchestra. He also wrote two numbered symphonies, in 1938 and 1945, respectively, as well as two piano concerti (1925, 1950), a Violin Concerto (1943), and the Cheremissian Fantasy for cello and orchestra (1931).

He participated in five armed conflicts, including two wars in Karelia, the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War of 1939–40 and the Continuation War of 1941–44.

Biography

The Finnish composer Erkki Melartin, under whom Klami studied at the Helsinki Music Institute in 1920.
The Finnish conductor Toivo Haapanen conducted the second (1931), third (1943), and fourth (1946) of Klami's composition concerts.
The Finnish conductor Georg Schnéevoigt premiered many of Klami's works, including his most famous: the initial four-movement version of the Kalevala Suite.

Klami studied music in Helsinki with Erkki Melartin and later in Paris and Vienna. Klami's Karelian Rhapsody, part of his first composition concert in 1928, was a succès de scandale that brought him considerable attention. His main works include the Kalevala Suite and the unfinished ballet Whirls. The oratorio Psalmus (1936) has a unique place in Finnish sacred music and is one of the most highly regarded works by a Finn other than Jean Sibelius.[citation needed] Klami also experimented with the symphonic form in his two Symphonies (1938 and 1945) and Symphonie enfantine (1927), and the concerto form in his two Piano Concertos (No. 1 Une nuit à Montmartre and No. 2 for Piano and Strings) and the Violin Concerto (1943). Being a master of miniature orchestral works, the orchestral suite Sea Pictures is also regarded as one of his major achievements. On the recommendation of Sibelius he was granted a small lifetime income from the government. In 1959 he was made a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters (one of Finland's highest honors).

Klami died of a heart attack in Virolahti at age 60 while sailing his favorite boat "Miina".

Legacy

Reception and recordings

Acclaimed during his lifetime, Klami is today seldom heard outside the Nordic countries, the Kalevala Suite perhaps excepted.

The recording boom in the 1990s saw all of Klami's major works made available to the public, albeit often in only one interpretation per composition.

Despite these projects, much of Klami's oeuvre remains unrecorded (and unpublished), and he has received considerably less attention from record labels relative to fellow Finnish composers such as Leevi Madetoja, Aulis Sallinen, and Joonas Kokkonen.

Memorials

Founded in 1987, the Helsinki-based Uuno Klami Society exists to recognize the composer and to promote the publication, academic study, and performance of his music. At its first general meeting on 16 May 1988, the musicologist Helena Tyrväinen was elected chair; she held this post for 22 years until 2010. In addition, every five years, the Kymi Sinfonietta and the cities of Kotka and Kouvola (each located in the Kymenlaakso region of southern Finland in which Klami was born) co-host the International Uuno Klami Composition Competition, the goal of which is to increase international recognition of Klami and his music while expanding the repertoire of contemporary European works for a sinfonietta-sized orchestra. The inaugural event was held 2003–04, with subsequent iterations in 2008–09 (II), 2013–14 (III), and 2018–19 (IV). The Kymi Sinfonietta performs short-listed compositions at a finals concert and a jury (chaired by the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho) awards the three main prizes. There is also an audience prize and awards by the participating municipalities.

Honors and titles

Select list of compositions

Symphonies

Concertante

Music for stage

Voice and orchestra

Suites for orchestra

Other works for orchestra

Chamber

Notes, references, and sources

Notes

  1. ^ The French subtitle comes not from Klami, but rather from the Finnish composer Ernest Pingoud.[8]
  2. ^ The original version of the Violin Concerto (1943) was lost in Stockholm in 1944, prompting Klami to rewrite the piece in 1954. According to Heikki Poroila, the two versions are so different from each other that they "should be treated as independent works" ("Versiot ovat niin erilaisia, että niitä on syytä käsitellä itsenäisinä teoksi-na"). In 1957, the 1943 version of the concerto was found in the archives of the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation.[12][13]
  3. ^ The original version of the Suomenlinna overture (1940) was lost in Germany during World War II, prompting Klami to rewrite the piece in 1944 based on his original sketches.[15][29]

References

  1. ^ H. Tyrväinen (ODE 854–2) 1995, p. 3).
  2. ^ Tyrväinen, Helena. "Klami, Uuno (Kalervo)". Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Retrieved 27 February 2014. (subscription required)
  3. ^ a b H. Poroila 2012, p. 18.
  4. ^ a b T. Ollila-Hannikainen–Ondine (ODE858–2) 1996.
  5. ^ a b c d K. Aho (BIS–CD–806) 1997.
  6. ^ a b c d H. Poroila 2012, p. 17.
  7. ^ a b T. Ollila-Hannikainen–Ondine (ODE854–2) 1995.
  8. ^ a b c d H. Poroila 2012, p. 9.
  9. ^ a b c H. Poroila 2012, p. 19.
  10. ^ a b c H. Poroila 2012, p. 6.
  11. ^ H. Poroila 2012, p. 5.
  12. ^ a b c H. Poroila 2012, p. 10.
  13. ^ a b K. Aho (BIS–CD–696) 1997, p. 6.
  14. ^ H. Tyrväinen (BIS–CD–676) 1994, p. 8–9.
  15. ^ a b c d H. Poroila 2012, p. 15.
  16. ^ K. Aho (BIS–CD–696) 1997, p. 7–8.
  17. ^ E. Salmenhaara (BIS–CD–656) 1994, p. 6–8.
  18. ^ K. Aho (BIS–CD–696) 1997, p. 6–8.
  19. ^ H. Poroila 2012, p. 20.
  20. ^ a b c H. Poroila 2012, p. 12.
  21. ^ E. Salmenhaara (BIS–CD–656) 1994, p. 5–6.
  22. ^ a b A. Häyrynen (ABCD 235) 2008.
  23. ^ a b H. Poroila 2012, p. 11.
  24. ^ a b c H. Poroila 2012, p. 8.
  25. ^ a b c d H. Poroila 2012, p. 16.
  26. ^ a b H. Poroila 2012, p. 14.
  27. ^ E. Salmenhaara (BIS–CD–656) 1994, p. 5.
  28. ^ H. Tyrväinen (BIS–CD–676) 1994, p. 8.
  29. ^ a b K. Aho (BIS–CD–696) 1997, p. 5–6.
  30. ^ H. Poroila 2012, p. 4.

Sources

Sources

Liner notes

Further reading

External links

Uuno Klami
Authority control databases
Categories