Kortekangas, Olli
Olli Kortekangas (born on 16 May 1955) 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. Kortekangas has also 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. Throughout his career, Kortekangas has been interested in collaboration with other arts and artists.
Kortekangas’ music has been featured in concerts and at festivals around the world, and his works his works are being commissioned at an increasing rate. 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.
Kortekangas’ oeuvre consists of more than 100 works from solo pieces and chamber music to orchestral works and operas. Since his early days as a choral singer, he has been attracted to the human voice. He has written several operas including Messenius and Lucia (2004), Isän tyttö (Daddy’s Girl, 2006), commissioned jointly by the Savonlinna Opera Festival and the Finnish Parliament) and Yhden yön juttu (One Night Stand, 2011). His opera Veljeni vartija (My Brother’s Keeper, 2017) was a commission from the Tampere Hall. The church opera Elämänkuvat (Pictures of Life) was premiered at the Korsholm Music Festival in 2019 and commissioned by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. Other stage works include the monologue operas Koria täti (Fancy Aunt) and Oma vika (Own Fault). Ende und Beginn is a church opera for baritone, dancer and ensemble. The libretto draws on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “Letters and Papers from Prison” exploring the ethical choices of an individual.
His collaboration with some of the best Finnish choirs has resulted in many popular a cappella choral works which have become repertoire of professional choirs all over the world. Some are available on a CD by by Alba Records (“O mare mio” 2005). Kortekangas has also written large-scale works for chorus and orchestra: Seven Songs for Planet Earth was premiered and commissioned by the Choral Arts Society of Washington in 2011. It was later performed by the San Francisco Choral Society and Piedmont Choirs, and by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Migrations for male chorus, soloists and orchestra commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra and premiered in 2016. It has also been recorded on the BIS label.
During his residency with the Oulu Symphony Orchestra in 1997-2007 Kortekangas turned his attention to orchestral composition. His orchestral works include Konzertstück for clarinet, cello and orchestra (1993), Charms, concerto for piano trio and orchestra (1998) and Clarinet Concerto premiered by the Oulu Symphony Orchestra in 2014. His Partita Concertante for cello and orchestra was commissioned by the Naantali Music Festival and premiered in 2022. The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra commission, Songs of Meena, received its first performance in November 2022. The impressive texts to this work for soprano and orchestra are by Meena Alexander, an Americanised poet of Indian descent.
Other works include Piir (Border, 2024) for chamber ensemble, exploring the theme of borders, and the Guitar Concerto commissioned by the Saimaa Sinfonietta for a performance in 2024. Kortekangas’s most recent opera is Isfåglarna (Halcyons, 2024), setting a libretto in Swedish by Johan Bargum. The characters in the opera are drawn from Classical mythology.
Mediterranean Sea (Välimeri) (I Sea Picture)
Candomino Choir, cond. Tauno Satomaa
(Alba Records NCD 27)
Three Romances (III Old Song)
Candomino Choir, cond. Tauno Satomaa
(Alba Records NCD 27)
Messenius and Lucia, Opera in Two Acts (Scene 2)
Oulu SO and soloists, cond. Arvo Volmer
(Ondine ODE 1073-2D)
Stargazer, Sonata for Organ No. 2
sol. Jan Lehtola
(YLE/Finnish Broadcasting Company)