Heino Wilhelm Daniel Kaski (21 June 1885,

Pielisjärvi Pielisjärvi is a former municipality in the region of North Karelia in Finland. The municipality had inhabitants in 1970. Pielisjärvi was a Finnish-speaking municipality. Pielisjärvi municipality was joined with the city of Lieksa in 197 ...

– 20 September 1957,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

) was a Finnish composer, teacher and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Life

Kaski was born in

into a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

's family. His father taught him the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

, and was generally supportive: when Kaski dropped out of secondary school to study music full-time in

, he did not object. Kaski first studied at the Helsinki Cantor-Organist school, then entered the Philharmonic's Orchestra School. There, he continued studying the violin, but was also tutored in theory (by Ilmari Krohn) and composition (by

Erkki Melartin Erkki Gustaf Melartin (7 February 1875, Käkisalmi – 14 February 1937, Helsinki) 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 sign ...

). In 1911, on

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

's recommendation, Kaski received a grant that enabled him to study for four years in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, under

Paul Juon Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

. In 1914 he returned to Finland; one of his larger works, ''Symphony in B minor'', was composed in 1914–1919 under partial guidance from

Selim Palmgren Selim Gustaf Adolf Palmgren (16 February 1878 – 13 December 1951) was a Finnish composer, pianist, and conductor. Palmgren was born in Pori, Finland, February 16, 1878. He studied at the Conservatory in Helsinki from 1895 to 1899, then ...

. The symphony was performed on October 2, 1919. The same year, Kaski went to Europe again, to study under Otto Taubmann in Berlin, and then traveled and studied in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. He finally returned to Finland in 1924, and since then worked as music teacher in various schools. He gave nine composition concerts and in 1950 was awarded the

Pro Finlandia The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...

medal. On 20 September 1957, aged 72, Kaski died in Helsinki. His death was overshadowed by that of Jean Sibelius, who died the same day, at the age of 91. He is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki. Kaski is best known for his piano miniatures (which number over one hundred), in which he displays a natural gift for melody, and for his songs (similarly more than one hundred of them), although he also authored numerous chamber works, four orchestral suites, and many other pieces.

Selected works

* ''Impromptu'', for piano, op. 5/2 * Prelude in G-flat major, op. 7 * Symphony in B minor, op. 16 (1919) * ''Reverie'', for piano, op. 19/1 * ''Die Quellenymphe'', for piano, op. 19/2 * ''Syysaamu'' (''An Autumn Morning''), for piano, op. 21/2 * ''Kevätaamu Caprilla'' (''A Spring Morning at Capri''), for piano, op. 25/3 * Violin Sonata (1920) * Cello Sonata (1923) * ''Yö meren rannalla'' (''Night by the Sea''), for piano, op. 34/1 * Piano Pieces op. 48: * ''Pankakoski'' (''Prelude in B minor''), for piano, op. 48/1 * ''Vanha kellotapuli'', for piano, op. 48/2 * ''Walamo'', for piano, op. 48/3 * Flute Sonata in B major, op. 51 (1937) * Four orchestral suites, symphonic poem, chamber works, about a hundred songs and a similar amount of solo piano music.

Notes

References

* Hillila, Ruth-Esther, and Hong, Barbara Blanchard. 1997. ''Historical Dictionary of the Music and Musicians of Finland'', p. 171. Greenwood Publishing Group. * Salmenhaara, Erkki: ''Kansallisromantiikan valtavirta 1885–1918'', pp. 325–329. Suomen musiikin historia 2.

n Finnish. N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

Helsinki: WSOY, 1996. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaski, Heino 1885 births 1957 deaths 20th-century pianists 20th-century male musicians Finnish male composers Finnish music educators Finnish pianists Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery Male pianists People from Lieksa People from Kuopio Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) 20th-century Finnish composers