Joonas Kokkonen
Joonas Kokkonen | |
|---|---|
 Joonas Kokkonen in the 1950s. | |
| Born | November 13, 1921. |
| Died | October 2, 1996(aged 74) Järvenpää,Finland |
| Occupation | composer |
| Known for | symphonies opera |
| Notable work | Viimeiset kiusaukset |
Joonas Kokkonen(pronounced[ˈjoːnɑsˈkokːonen];13 November 1921 – 2 October 1996) was aFinnishcomposer. He was one of the most internationally famous Finnish composers of the 20th century afterSibelius;his operaThe Last Temptationshas received over 500 performances worldwide, and is considered by many to be Finland's most distinguished national opera.
Life
[edit]Joonas was born inIisalmi,Finland, but spent the latter part of his life inJärvenpääat his home, which was known asVilla Kokkonen,designed byAlvar Aaltoand finished in 1969. He served in the Finnish army duringWorld War IIwith great distinction. He received his education at theUniversity of Helsinki,and later at theSibelius Academy,where he afterwards taught composition; his students there includedAulis Sallinen.In addition to his activities as a composer, he made a significant and powerful impact on Finnish cultural life, serving as a chairman and organizer, heading organizations such as Society of Finnish Composers, the Board of the Concert Centre, and others. His purpose was always to improve music education, as well as the status and appreciation of classical music as well as Finnish music. In the 1960s and early 1970s he won numerous prizes for his work. He was appointed to the prestigiousFinnish Academyupon the death ofUuno Klami.His composition activity slowed down greatly after the death of his wife and increased alcohol consumption. He had long planned a Fifth Symphony but nothing was ever committed to paper and it died with him.[1]
The date of his death has been variously reported as October 1, 1996 (New Grove Dictionary,and various internet sources); October 2, 1996 (many internet sources, including the Finnish Music Center); and October 20, 1996 (New Grove Dictionary of Opera). According to his biographer Pekka Hako, he died on October 2, in the early hours of the day.[2][1]
Music and influence
[edit]Even though he studied at the Sibelius Academy, he was mainly self-taught in composition. Usually his compositions are divided into three style periods: aneo-classicalearly style from 1948 to 1958, a relatively short middle periodtwelve-tonestyle from 1959 to 1966, and a late "neo-Romantic" style of freetonalitywhich also used aspects of his earlier style periods, which began in 1967 and lasted for the rest of his life.[3]
Most of his early music ischamber music,and includes aPiano Trioand aPiano Quintet;the style iscontrapuntaland influenced byBartók,but looks back toRenaissanceandBaroquemodels as well. In the second style period he wrote the first two of his foursymphonies.Although he used twelve-tone technique, he avoided orthodoxy by occasionally using triads and octaves; he also liked to use the row melodically, giving the successive pitches in the sametone color(many other composers of 12-tone music split the row between different voices).[1]
In the third style period Kokkonen wrote the music that made him internationally famous: the last two symphonies, the...durch einen Spiegelfor twelve solo strings, theRequiem,and the operaThe Last Temptations(1975) (Viimeiset kiusaukset), based on the life and death of the Finnish Revivalist preacherPaavo Ruotsalainen.The opera is punctuated with chorales which refer back toJohann Sebastian Bach,and which are also reminiscent of theAfrican-Americanspirituals used for a similar purpose inMichael Tippett's oratorioA Child of Our Time.[1] The opera was staged at theMetropolitan OperainNew Yorkin 1983.[4]
Works
[edit]
Opera
[edit]- The Last Temptations(1972–1975)
Orchestral
[edit]- Symphonies
- Symphony No. 1 (1960)
- Symphony No. 2 (1960–61)
- Symphony No. 3 (1967)
- Symphony No. 4 (1971)
- Music for String Orchestra(1957)
- Opus Sonorum(1964)
- Symphonic Sketches(1968)
- Inauguratio(1971)
- ...durch einem Spiegel(1977)
- Il passagio(1987)
Concertante
[edit]- Cello Concerto (1969)
Chamber
[edit]- Piano Trio (1948)
- Piano Quintet (1951–53)
- Duo for Violin and Piano (1955)
- String Quartet No. 1 (1959)
- Sinfonia da camera(1961–62)
- String Quartet No. 2 (1966)
- Wind Quintet (1973)
- Cello Sonata (1975–76)
- String Quartet No. 3 (1976)
- Improvisazionefor violin & piano (1982)
Piano
[edit]- Impromptu(1938)
- Pielavesi Suite(1939)
- Two Small Preludes (1943)
- Piano Sonatina (1953)
- Religioso(1956)
- Bagatelles (1969)
Organ
[edit]- Lux aeterna(1974)
- Hääsoitto(Wedding music)
- Iuxta Crucem
- Surusoitto(Funeral Music)
Vocal
[edit]- Three Songs to Poems by Einari Vuorela(1947)
- IllatSong Cycle (1955)
- Three Children's Christmas Songs(1956–58)
- Hades of the Birds,song cycle for soprano & orchestra (1959)
- Two Monologues fromThe Last Temptations,for bass & orchestra (1975)
Choral
[edit]- Missa a capella(1963)
- Laudatio Domini(1966)
- Erekhteion,academic cantata (1970)
- Ukko-Paavon Virsifor chorus (1978)
- Requiem(1979–81)
- With his fingers Väinämöinen playedfor male chorus (1985)
References
[edit]- ^abcdWright, David (1998)."Joonas Kokkonen"(PDF).Wright Music.Retrieved26 October2016.
- ^Hako, Pekka:Voiko varjo olla kirkas,p. 317. Ajatus Kirjat, Helsinki 2001.
- ^Salmenhaara, Erkki (2001)."Kokkonen, Joonas (1921–1996)".National Biography(in Finnish). SKS.Retrieved26 October2016.
- ^Henahan, Donald (1983)."Music: A Finnish Opera, Temptations, at Met".NY Times.Retrieved26 October2016.
Further reading
[edit]- Arni, Erkki: "Joonas Kokkonen", Grove Music Online. Ed. L. Macy. (Accessed February 27, 2005.)(subscription access)Archived2008-05-16 at theWayback Machine
- The Last Temptations: opera by Joonas Kokkonen.Translated by Keith Bosley. 1977.
- Hako, Pekka:Voiko varjo olla kirkas: Joonas Kokkosen elämä.[A biography of Joonas Kokkonen.] Ajatus Kirjat, Helsinki 2001.ISBN951-566-059-9
- Jurkowski, Edward:The Music of Joonas Kokkonen.Ashgate Publishing Co., Burlington (VT) 2004.
