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| Olli Kortekangas |
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Olli Kortekangas (b. 1955) is one of the leading Finnish composers of today. He studied music theory and composition at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki from 1974-1981 under the direction of Einojuhani Rautavaara and Eero Hämeenniemi. He continued his studies in West Berlin with Dieter Schnebel in 1981-1982. Subsequently Kortekangas has worked as a teacher, including periods at the National Theatre Academy and the Sibelius Academy, and has taken part in a number of educational projects with children and young people, both in Finland and abroad.
Kortekangas has received commissions from Finland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Canada, Japan, Australia, and USA. Kortekangas' music has been featured in concerts and at festivals around the world, and his works are included in the repertoires of many leading orchestras, choirs and soloists. He has received numerous scholarships and awards in Finland and abroad, including the Special Prize of the Prix Italia Competition and the City of Salzburg Opera Prize, the prestigious Teosto Prize and the Espoo Medal in 2008. He has been granted a 5-year-scholarship of the Arts Council of Finland three times.
Kortekangas’ oeuvre consists of more than 100 works from solo pieces and chamber music to orchestral works and operas. He has always felt a special pull towards the human voice, vocal music and music theatre. He has written the operas Grand Hotel (1985), The Book of Jonah (1995), Maria's Love (1999), and Messenius and Lucia (2004). His most recent opera, Daddy's Girl (2006), commissioned jointly by the Savonlinna Opera Festival and the Finnish Parliament, was premiered in Savonlinna in 2007. Grand Hotel and Messenius and Lucia are also available on CD (Ondine Records).
Kortekangas' collaboration with some of the best Finnish choirs, the Tapiola Choir, Candomino, Dominante and Cantores Minores in particular, has resulted in such popular works as MAA, A, Ikikaiku, Verbum, and Three Romances. In 1995, Kortekangas composed the extensive Kigi no uta (“Song of Trees”) for children's choir and percussion together with the Japanese composer Michio Mamiya. A special mention should also be made of the Mass for the Jubilee Year (1999), commissioned by the parishes of Espoo, and covering the complete music for a Lutheran divine service. Kortekangas' most recent choral works include Välimeri (“Mediterranean Sea”, 2002), Shadows (2002), Harmony (2006), and The Way to the Woods (2007), as well as the cantatas Maa, meri ja taivas (“Earth, Sea and Heaven”, 2007) and Silta (“The Bridge”, 2008). Most of his works for mixed choir are available on a CD by Candomino (“O mare mio” by Alba Records), released in 2005.
Kortekangas has also composed several chamber works with voice, including Tämä hetki – Dieser Augenblick (2000) for soprano and piano trio, and Four Images from the Book of Changes (2001) for mezzo soprano and ensemble (commissioned by Deutsche Oper Berlin), as well as the song cycles Amores (1989) and Syvä Ilo (“Profound Joy”, 1996). Recent instrumental works include Kanss’ katuvan mielen, oikian uskon (2001), a fantasy for organ on two tunes in the Finnish hymnbook of 1701, Stargazer (Organ Sonata No. 2, 2005), and Divertimento (2007) for solo cello.
Due to his residency with the Oulu Symphony Orchestra since 1997, Kortekangas has written several large-scale orchestral works such as Ark (1997) and the Cello Concerto (2000). His other orchestral works include Konzertstück for clarinet, cello and orchestra (1993) commissioned by the Tapiola Sinfonietta, Charms, a concerto for piano trio and orchestra (1998) commissioned by the Finnish Broadcasting Company and the Finlandia Trio, and the string orchestra work Me uskom’ (“We Believe”).
Throughout his career, Kortekangas has been interested in collaboration with other arts and artists. Among his most important partners are the painters Raija Malka and Kuutti Lavonen, the choreographer Päivi Järvinen, and the playwright-director Michael Baran.
Olli Kortekangas’ music is published by Fennica Gehrman.
Olli Kortekangas home page
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