Kokkonen, Joonas

Kokkonen, Joonas, prominent Finnish composer, pianist, pedagogue, and administrator; b. Iisalmi, Nov. 13, 1921. He was educated at the Univ. (M.A., 1948) and the Sibelius Academy (piano diploma, 1949) in Helsinki. In addition to appearances as a pianist, he was active as a music critic. He also was a teacher (1950–59) and a prof. (1959–63) of composition at the Sibelius Academy. He served as chairman of the Assn. of Finnish Composers (1965–71), the Nordic Composers Council (1968–71), and of TEOSTO, the Finnish copyright bureau (1968–88). In 1963 he became a member of the Academy of Finland, in 1968 he was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize, and in 1973 he received the Sibelius Prize of the Wihuri Foundation. After composing in ahighly personal dodecaphonic style, Kokkonen developed a compositional idiom marked by an intensive motivic technique and economy of expression tending toward the ascetic in his later works.

Works

dramatic:Opera: Viimeiset Kiusaukset (The Last Temptations; 1973-75; Helsinki, Sept. 2, 1975). orch.:Music for Strings (Helsinki, March 5, 1957); 4 syms.: No. 1 (Helsinki, March 15, 1960), No. 2 (Helsinki, April 18, 1961), No. 3 (Helsinki, Sept. 12, 1967), and No. 4 (Helsinki, Nov. 16, 1971); Sinfonia da camera for 12 Strings (Lucerne, Aug. 31, 1962); Opus sonorum (1964; Helsinki, Feb. 16, 1965); Symphonic Sketches (Helsinki, May 16, 1968); Cello Concerto (Helsinki, Oct. 16, 1969); Inauguratio (Helsinki, Sept. 5, 1971); interludes From the Opera The Last Temptations (Helsinki, Sept. 27, 1977); “…durch einen Spiegel…” for 12 Strings and Harpsichord (Lucerne, Aug. 25, 1977); II Paesaggio for Chamber Orch. (1986-87; Järvenpää, Feb. 13, 1987). chamber: Piano Trio (Oslo, Oct. 12, 1948); Piano Quintet (Helsinki, Oct. 26, 1953); Duo for Violin and Piano (Helsinki, Nov. 6, 1955); 3 string quartets: No. 1 (Helsinki, May 3, 1959), No. 2 (Helsinki, Oct. 17, 1966), and No. 3 (Helsinki, Aug. 24, 1976); Wind Quintet (1973; Oslo, April 15, 1975); Cello Sonata (1976; Basel, April 3, 1986); Improvvisazione for Violin and Piano (Indianapolis, Sept. 12, 1982). keyboard:Piano: Sonatina (Helsinki, Oct. 26, 1953); Religioso (1956); 5 Bagatelles (Göteburg, April 21, 1969). Organ: Wedding March (Tapiola, Aug. 17, 1968); Funeral March (Tuusula, June 14, 1969); Lux aeterna (Helsinki, Aug. 9, 1974); Iuxta crucem (Lahti, Aug. 5, 1979). vocal:3 Songs ofEinari for High Voice and Piano (1941, 1947; Helsinki, Nov. 11, 1991); The Evenings, song cycle for Soprano and Piano (1955); Christmas Songs for Children for Medium Voice and Piano (1956, 1958, 1966); The Hades of the Birds, song cycle for Mezzo-soprano and Orch. (1958-59; Helsinki, April 7, 1959); Psalm of the Frog in the Rain for Men’s Chorus (Helsinki, Nov. 30, 1963); Missa a cappella for Chorus (Helsinki, Aug. 7, 1963); Laudatio domini for Soprano and Chorus (1966; London, Feb. 1, 1967); Erekhteion, cantata for Soprano, Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (1969; Turku, Feb. 28, 1970); Sub rosa, song cycle for Mezzo-soprano and Piano (Helsinki, March 25, 1973); 2 Monologues From the Opera The Last Temptations for Bass and Orch. (1975; Helsinki, Aug. 26, 1977); Requiem: In memoriam Maija Kokkonen, the composer’s wife, for Soprano, Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (Helsinki, Sept. 17, 1981); Väinämöinen Plucked the Strings for Men’s Chorus (1985; Helsinki, May 13, 1986).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire