Madetoja, Leevi

Leevi Madetoja
(b. Oulu, 17 February 1887; d. Helsinki, 6 October 1947)

Symphony No. 1, F major, Op. 29

First Movement p.3
Second Movenment p.44
Finale p.62

Foreword
The Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja was born 17 February 1887 in Oulu, located in the Ostrobothnia region in central Finland. As a child, Madetoja started his early artistic development by studying the Finnish folk instrument “kantele” which became his primary instrument and from 1906 on, he studied at the Sibelius Academy (formerly Music Institute until 1939) in Helsinki. He became a student of Jean Sibelius in 1908 although like many Finnish composers of the time, he felt the need to leave Finland to study abroad. Madetoja headed to France to study under Vincent d’Indy but when d’Indy fell ill (the two had only one lesson), he moved to Vienna, Austria in 1911 and subsequently to Berlin, Germany. After returning to Finland in 1912, Madetoja composed, conducted and also worked as a teacher at the Sibelius Academy and at the University of Helsinki, where he taught until 1939. Additionally, he worked as an editor and a critic for several newspapers such as the Helsingin Sanomat. Although, his visits to France made a strong impression, he was fascinated by the country which he again visited and spent time at during the 1920’s and 1930’s. His music reflected this, for example blending French composition styles with traditional folk music from his home region in central Finland.

The musicologist Jarmo Sermila points out that Madetoja “was a typical orchestral composer whose music is marked by highly refined tone colors […]. One encounters more lyricism in Madetoja’s music than in his contemporaries’ compositions, and modality is an essential phenomenon in his melodic writing“. …

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