Henrik Otto Donner (16 November 1939 – 26 June 2013) was a Finnish composer, musician and all-round music personality. His musical styles varied from pop and rock music to
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
,
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
and
contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...
. Donner's personal instrument was trumpet. He was a member of the famous
Finland Swedish
Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish ( sv, finlandssvenska; fi, suomenruotsi) is a general term for the variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population, commonly a ...
Donner family.
Donner was one of the pioneers of Finnish
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
and
experimental music
Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
as well as an important figure in Finnish left-wing "song movement" of the 1960s and 1970s. He studied at the
Sibelius Academy
The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It al ...
in Helsinki and later in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, registration_plate = W
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, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
as a student of
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century ...
. In 1966 Donner was one of the founders of record label
Love Records
Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...
which was a pioneering label in
Finnish rock Finnish rock (Finnish: ''suomirock'' or ''suomirokki''—also known as Finnsrock, Finnrock or Finrock) refers to rock music made in Finland. The initial rock and roll boom of the 1950s was preceded by a long tradition of popular culture. ''Suomirock ...
music.
[ Donner collaborated with many Finnish musicians and artists such as , ]Juhani Aaltonen
Juhani Aaltonen (born December 12, 1935) is a Finnish jazz saxophonist and flautist.
Born in Kouvola, Finland, he studied at Sibelius Academy and Berklee College of Music. He began playing professionally at the end of the 1950s. He played in a ...
, A. W. Yrjänä, Hasse Walli
Hannes Mikael Waldemar "Hasse" Walli was born on 10 February 1948 in Helsinki. His father Aarno Walli was a musician and bandleader, his mother Anne-Marie Strandberg a singer. Hasse Walli was about ten years old when he started playing drums. ...
and Dave Lindholm
Ralf-Henrik ”Dave” Lindholm (born 31 March 1952, Helsinki) is a Finnish guitarist and singer-songwriter who has made a career under his own name and also participated in some noteworthy groups.CD.html" ;"title="ytmi-lehden kustantama CD">ytm ...
. He was a film score composer
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cue (theatrical), cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the f ...
for more than 50 movies and TV-series.
Henrik Otto Donner was found dead at the marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
of Jakobstad
Jakobstad (; fi, Pietarsaari) is a town and municipality in Ostrobothnia, Finland. The town has a population of () and covers a land area of . The population density is . Neighboring municipalities are Larsmo, Pedersöre, and Nykarleby. The ...
early on 27 June 2013. It is yet uncertain whether he drowned or died of a heart attack.
See also
*Finnish jazz musicians
This is a list of Finnish jazz musicians notable enough for Wikipedia articles.
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A
* Aaltonen, Juhani "Junnu" (saxophonist, flutist, composer)
* Aaltonen, Tapani "M ...
*Music of Finland
The music of Finland can be roughly divided into categories of folk music, classical and contemporary art music, and contemporary popular music.
The folk music of Finland belongs to a broader musical tradition, that has been common amongst B ...
References
External links
*
Jazz Finland
* ttp://www.mwe3.com/archive/pastreview/2000/reNov2000.htm#PEMBROKE CD review from 2000 of Jim Pembroke's 1980 album produced by Otto Donner
1939 births
2013 deaths
Musicians from Tampere
Donner family
Finnish male composers
Finnish jazz composers
Finnish film score composers
Male film score composers
Finnish jazz musicians
Finnish electronic musicians
Music industry executives
Finnish socialists
Finnish trumpeters
Male jazz composers
{{Finland-bio-stub