Viljo "Vili" Vesterinen (26 March 1907 in Terijoki – 18 May 1961 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

) was a Finnish

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

ist and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. Vesterinen studied

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...

Music Institute, but as an accordionist he was self-taught. Vesterinen mainly played in different bands and theatres early in his career. Vesterinen made his first recordings in 1929. The most popular recording of Vesterinen is Säkkijärven polkka in 1939. Even though it is not Vesterinen's own song, his version of the song is the most popular among people. Other popular songs are ''Metsäkukkia'' (1931), ''Hilpeä hanuri'' (1936) and ''Valssi menneiltä ajoilta'' (1939). Vesterinen made a total of 130 recordings during his career. Due to heavy use of

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

and

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

s his health deteriorated and later in his career he could not play accordion in same frequence as before. Vesterinen also starred some movies. The movie ''Säkkijärven polkka'' (1955) tells about Vesterinen's life. Viljo Vesterinen 1930-luvulla

References

External links

List of recordings of Vesterinen

List of compositions of Vesterinen
1907 births 1961 deaths People from Zelenogorsk, Saint Petersburg People from Viipuri Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish accordionists Finnish male composers Finnish military personnel of World War II 20th-century accordionists 20th-century male musicians 20th-century Finnish composers {{Finland-musician-stub