Made in Finland
Finland 100 years before independence
Tulindberg–Crusell
FiBO Players:
Piia Maunula, oboe
Eero Lehtimäki, clarinet
Anni Elonen, violin
Hanna Pesonen, violin
Kaisa Ruotsalainen, viola
Anna Pulakka, cello
Although 100 years have passed since Finland’s independence, the country is actually much older. This concert focuses on Finland in the Classical period, and introduces two of our first composers of art music: Erik Tulindberg and Bernhard Henrik Crusell.
Erik Tulindberg (1761–1814), the son of a bourgeois family, aimed for a career as a government official after he graduated with a Master’s degree from the Royal Academy of Turku in 1781. Because of his family background, music remained just a hobby for him. However, his skills were noted: during his studies, he received a scholarship for his musical talent, four years in row. He was also appointed a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1797.
Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775–1838), on the other hand, was a professional musician. He was the son of a bookbinder, so for him the choice to be a musician was not a drop to a lower social class, like it would have been for Tulindberg. Crusell was a clarinetist, and in 1791, he moved to Sweden and played the clarinet in the royal orchestra. He became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1801. Although Crusell lived and worked in Sweden for most of his professional life, Robert Kajanus, for instance, stated in his demonstration lecture in 1896 that “Bernhard Crusell was not only born in Finland, but he was and will always be remembered as a Finn by character”.
We will hear one piece in major and one in minor by both composers. In Crusell’s work, the wind instruments intertwined with the string quartet create a special sound world – first the violin, the viola and the cello form a quartet with the clarinet, and then the oboe joins the string quartet.
Duration: 1 h 30 min (incl. intermission)
Eero Lehtimäki introduces the concert at the café in Kanneltalo at 18.15–18.45.