Erkki Melartin
Erkki Gustaf Melartin was a Finnish composer, conductor, and teacher of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods. Melartin is generally considered to be one of Finland's most significant national Romantic composers, although his music—then and now—largely has been overshadowed by that of his contemporary, Jean Sibelius, the country's most famous composer. The core of Melartin's consists of a set of six symphonies, as well as is his opera, Aino, based on a story from the Kalevala, Finland's national epic, but nevertheless in the style of Richard Wagner.
Melartin's other notable works include the popular wedding tune, Festive March ; the symphonic poem, Traumgesicht ; the Violin Concerto in D minor ; the Kalevalic symphonic poem for soprano and orchestra, Marjatta ; The Blue Pearl, Finland's first large-scale ballet ; and a set of four string quartets, composed between 1896 and 1910. In addition, a number of Melartin's songs for solo voice and piano have found a lasting place in the Finnish repertoire. Two additional projected symphonies, the Seventh and Eighth, might have further solidified his reputation, both within Finland and internationally, but the development of each was cut short by Melartin's death, at age 62.
Career
Melartin was born in Käkisalmi. As well as composing, he also taught and directed music at the Helsinki Music College, later the Helsinki Conservatory. His students included composer and conductor Heidi Sundblad-Halme. As conductor of the Vyborg Orchestra in 1908–11, and despite chronic health problems, Melartin toured extensively, conducting the first performance of Gustav Mahler's music in Scandinavia, the slow movement of the Resurrection symphony in 1909.Although Melartin was chiefly a lyricist, the symphony was central to his musical output. He wrote six symphonies and was the first Finnish composer to bear Mahler's influence. The fourth symphony uses a vocalise like that of Carl Nielsen's Sinfonia Espansiva. The fifth is a Sinfonia brevis ending in a fugue and chorale, while the sixth, harmonically more advanced than the other five, advances stepwise from a C minor first movement – with evocations of Mahler's Resurrection symphony – to an E-flat major finale. His musical output also includes an opera, Aino, a violin concerto, four string quartets, and many piano pieces. His works therefore are divided mainly into large-scale works for orchestra, and chamber pieces for much smaller groups and soloists. Despite working in the same time period as Jean Sibelius he was not influenced by the more famous composer's style, and his work has been largely overshadowed by that of Finland's most revered composer.
The Juhlamarssi from his ballet Sleeping Beauty is the most popular wedding march in Finland. He died in Helsinki.
Selected compositions
Stage
Aino, Opera in 2 acts, Op. 50 Sininen helmi, Ballet, Op. 160 Prinsessa Ruusunen, incidental music, Op. 22Orchestral
- Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 30 No. 1 Siikajoki, Symphonic Poem, Op. 28
- Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 30 No. 2 Prinsessa Ruusunen, Suite from incidental music, Op. 22
- Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 40 Traumgesicht, Symphonic Poem, Op. 70 Patria, Symphonic Poem, Op. 72 Marjatta, Symphonic Song for soprano and orchestra Op. 79
- Symphony No. 4 "Kesäsinfonia" in E major, Op. 80 Lyric Suite No. 3 "Impressions de Belgique", EM144
- Symphony No. 5 "Sinfonia brevis" in A minor, Op. 90
- Symphony No. 6, Op. 100
- Divertimento, Op. 152
- Intermezzo, Op. 147 Sininen helmi, Suite from the ballet, Op. 160
- Symphony No. 7 "Sinfonia gaia", Op. 149
- Symphony No. 8, Op. 186
- Symphony No. 9, Op. 188
- Concerto in D minor for violin and orchestra, Op. 60
Chamber music
- String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, Op. 36 No. 1
- Sonata for violin and piano
- String Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 36 No. 2
- String Quartet No. 3 in E, Op. 36 No. 3
- String Quartet No. 4 in F, Op. 62 Nocturne for violin and piano, Op. 64 No. 1Kuusi helppoa kappaletta for cello and piano, Op.121
- String Trio, Op. 133
- Sonata for flute and harp, Op. 135a
- Sonata for brass, Op. 153
- Trio for flute, clarinet and bassoon, Op. 154 Pieni kvartetto for four horns, Op. 185
Piano
Marionetteja, Suite for piano 4 hands, Op. 1 2 Ballads, Op. 5 Lastuja I, 6 pieces, Op. 7 3 Pieces, Op. 8 Lastuja II, 6 pieces, Op. 9 Skizzer, 5 Pieces, Op. 11Legend II, Op. 12 Lastuja III, 5 pieces, Op. 34 Lastuja IV, 5 pieces, Op. 48 Surullinen puutarha, 5 Pieces, Op. 52 Lyric Pieces, Op. 59 4 Pieces, Op. 759 Little Pieces, Op. 76Album Leaves, Op. 83- 4 Sonatinas, Op. 8424 Preludes, Op. 85 Noli me tangere, Op. 87 3 Pieces, Op. 98 Skuggspel, 7 Pieces, Op.104Fantasia apocaliptica, Op. 111 6 Pieces, Op. 118 6 Pieces, Op. 123