Robert Kajanus

Kajanus (c. 1920s)

Robert Kajanus(2 December 1856 – 6 July 1933) was aFinnishconductor, composer, and teacher. In 1882, he founded theHelsinki Orchestral Society,Finland's first professional orchestra. As a conductor, he was also a notable champion and interpreter of the music ofJean Sibelius.

Life

Kajanus studied music theory with Richard Faltin, violin with Gustaf Niemann inHelsinki,withHans Richter,Carl ReineckeandSalomon JadassohninLeipzigandJohan SvendseninParis.His music drew on thefolklegends of the Finnish people.

He worked inDresdenin the years immediately after his graduation, and returned to Helsinki in 1882. He founded the first permanent orchestra in Finland: the Helsinki Orchestral Society (later to become theHelsinki Philharmonic Orchestra,Finland's national orchestra).He brought the orchestra to a very high performance standard very quickly, so that they were able to give quite credible performances of the standard late classical/mid-romantic repertory. Kajanus led the Helsinki Philharmonic for 50 years, and among the milestones of that history was the first performance in Finland ofBeethoven'sSymphony No. 9in 1888. His early-electric 78-rpm atmospheric, authoritative recordings of Sibelius symphonies are still interpretive milestones.

Sketch of Kajanus conducting byAkseli Gallen-Kallelain 1893

Portrait of Kajanus byAlbert Edelfelt,1905

Kajanus was appointed director of music at theUniversity of Helsinkiin 1897 and remained in the post for the next 29 years, a period in which he had a major impact on music education in his native country. In 1917, he became the first president of theFinnish Musicians' Union.He was also the founder of theNordic Music Festivalin 1919. He received many decorations, including the FrenchLégion d'honneur.

Family

Kajanus's parents were Georg AugustCajanus(1812–1888) and Agnes Ottilia Flodin (1824–1902). Robert Kajanus was the father ofharpistsLilly Kajanus-Blenner(1885–1963) andAino Kajanus-Mangström(1888–1951), and violinistKaj Kajanus(1908–1994); the grandfather of award-winning Finnish/Norwegian sculptorJohanna Kajanus;and great-grandfather ofpop musicianand composerGeorg Kajanus,who was famous for a while in Great Britain with his bandSailorwhich enjoyed chart success in the mid-1970s.

Selected works

Kajanus composed over 200 works, of whichAinoand theFinnish Rhapsodiesare enduringly popular. He also orchestrated the Finnishnational anthem,Maamme(Our Country) andChristian Fredric Kress'sPorilaisten marssi(March of the People of Pori), the honor march of theSuomen puolustusvoimat(Finnish Defense Forces) and thus, effectively, the Finnishpresidentialmarch.

• Adagietto
• Aino,symphonic poem for male chorus and orchestra (1885)
• Suomalainen rapsodia(Finnish rhapsody) No. 1 in D minor, Op. 5 (1881)
• Suomalainen rapsodia(Finnish rhapsody) No. 2 in F major (1886)
• Huutolaistytön kehtolaulu(The Pauper Girl's Lament)
• Kullervon surumarssi(Kullervo's Funeral March), Op. 3 (1880); contains the folk tune "Velisurmaaja" ( "The brother-slayer" )
• Lyrische Stücke(1879)
• Overtura sinfonicafor orchestra (1926)
• Piano Sonata (1876)
• SechsAlbumblätter(1877)
• Sotamarssi(War March), with lyrics by A. Oksanen – arr. byArvo Kuikkaas an honor march of theSuomen ilmavoimat(Finnish Air Force)
• Sinfonietta in B flat major for large orchestra, Op. 16 (1915)
• Suite anciennefor strings (1931)
• Violin Sonata (1876)

Kajanus and Sibelius

Kajanus had a decisive impact upon the development of the career ofJean Sibelius.He was considered an authority on the interpretation of Sibelius's music, and he and Sibelius were close friends; but this was compromised in 1898 when Sibelius was appointed to a university post for which Kajanus was himself a candidate. Kajanus appealed, and the decision was overturned. But they reconciled for the orchestra's tour of Europe in 1900, where they appeared at theExposition Universelleat the invitation of the French government.Kullervo,Sibelius's epic masterpiece, was written in the wake of Kajanus' symphonic poemAinoalthough Sibelius denied any exertion of influence of this piece over his own work. Additionally, as a conductor, Kajanus was responsible for commissioning one of Sibelius' most popular and enduring works,En Saga,following the success ofKullervo.Pohjola's Daughterwas dedicated to Kajanus. When Kajanus took the Helsinki Orchestra on a tour of Europe in 1900 both he and Sibelius conducted, including what proved to be the first performances of Sibelius's music outside of Finland. This ensured the spread of the young composer's reputation far beyond the borders of his homeland, the first Finnish composer to receive such attention.

Kajanus was the first to make recordings of Sibelius'sFirst,Second,ThirdandFifthsymphonies andTapiola.They were recorded in the early 1930s, with theLondon Symphony Orchestra.The relationship between Kajanus and Sibelius was such that his interpretations of the composer's music are usually regarded as authentic.

In 1930, the Finnish government and Britain'sEMI-Columbialabel, perceiving a potentially wide audience for the composer's work, jointly arranged to record Sibelius's first two symphonies, and Kajanus was selected to record both at the insistence of the composer. In 1932, Kajanus recorded Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5, along with orchestral suites and tone poems. This was a massive recording project for the work of a living composer, and the recordings have been considered definitive for many years and are regarded as necessary listening in the study of Sibelius. Only his death in July 1933, at the age of 76, prevented Kajanus from recording all of Sibelius' Symphonies.

See also

• Golden Age of Finnish Art

External links

• Media related toRobert Kajanusat Wikimedia Commons
• Fimic – Suomalaisen musiikin tiedotuskeskus | Finnish music information centre:"Robert Kajanus in Profile"
• Free scores by Robert Kajanusat theInternational Music Score Library Project(IMSLP)
• Robert Kajanus in 375 humanists – 5 June 2015. Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki.