Similä, Martti

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Similä, Martti

Similä, Martti, Finnish conductor and composer; b. Oulu, April 9, 1898; d. Lahti, Jan. 9, 1958. He studied in Finland, then in Paris and London. He conducted the Helsinki Opera (1927–44) and the Municipal Orch. of Lahti. He made 2 tours in the U.S. as a pianist, in 1923 and 1926; was again in the U.S. in 1957 to lead a memorial concert of the music of Sibelius with the N.Y. Phil. (Dec. 8, 1957). He wrote the book, Sibeliana (Helsinki, 1945); also composed orch. music.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire