Heimo Verneri Haitto (22 May 1925 – 9 June 1999) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

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classical violinist who played in several U.S. symphony orchestras. A child prodigy, he was characterized as “Finland’s Jascha Heifetz”.

Career

Heimo Haitto was born in Viipuri,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, to a family in which the father, a locomotive driver, was an amateur violinist. The son started to play violin as well, and the Russian-born pedagogue Boris Sirpo (1893–1967) took him not only as a student but as a foster son and raised him in Viipuri. In 1939, the 13-year-old Haitto made his début with the

Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (in Finnish: ; in Swedish: ; literal English translation: Helsinki City Orchestra; commonly abbreviated as HPO) is an orchestra based in Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 1882 by Robert Kajanus, the Philharmonic ...

, and later that year he won the

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music prize. The young violinist become famous, and his story inspired a fictional film, ''Pikku pelimanni'' (The Little Player) of 1939, in which Haitto played the leading role. During the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

, Haitto partook a

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concert tour which also visited the United States for the benefit of Finland. Haitto played at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

with Sir

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 194 ...

, among other venues, and appeared in the 1941 film ''

The Hard-Boiled Canary ''The Hard-Boiled Canary'' is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Andrew L. Stone and written by Robert Lively and Andrew L. Stone. It was later reissued as ''There's Magic in Music''. The film stars Allan Jones, Susanna Foster, ...

''. In 1942 Haitto and Sirpo settled down in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, and Haitto studied with

Ivan Galamian Ivan Alexander Galamian ( hy, Իվան Ղալամեան; April 14, 1981) was an Armenian-American violin teacher of the twentieth century who was the violin teacher of many seminal violin players including Itzhak Perlman. Biography Galamian w ...

in 1943–1945. Haitto was known for his virtuosity: he played the compositions of

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices fo ...

in a faultless way, and he loved the music of J. S. Bach. In 1945 Haitto became U.S. citizen and he married the cellist Beverly Le Beck, a wealthy heiress. They moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

and Haitto worked with the film industry, then he joined the

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the ...

and played there till 1956. From the 1940s to 1960s, he also toured Finland and was awakened to Christianity in 1956. He played shorter periods also as a

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

in the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

orchestra and

Hawaii Symphony The Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, formerly known as Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1900. It is the second oldest orchestra in the USA west of the Rocky Mountains. The orchestra now plays at Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall and the Hawaii The ...

. Haitto and Le Beck had two children, Nick and Kaarina. After that, Haitto and his family moved to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and then

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, where he got the position of the leader in the Bellas Artes symphony orchestra, but ultimately his wife filed for a divorce because of his alcoholism and gambling. A dramatic change followed: Haitto left his family altogether, abandoned the violin and started to live as a vagabond in the U.S. and in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. The wandering life lasted till mid-1970s, when Haitto met the journalist Eva Vastari and they were married in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

in 1976. Haitto started to work as a musician again: he toured with his wife, accompanying her poetry recitals, first in the U.S., then they settled in Finland. He played in the Savonlinna Orchestra and the Joensuu Orchestra and taught at Savonlinna Conservatoire. He wrote two volumes of memoirs, remembering his wandering years. Heimo haitto2

Another film about his life followed in 1985: ''Da Capo'' by

Pirjo Honkasalo Pirjo Irene Honkasalo (born 22 February 1947) is a Finnish film director who has also worked as a cinematographer, film editor, producer, screenwriter and actress. In 1980 she co-directed '' Flame Top'' with Pekka Lehto, with whom she worked ea ...

and

Pekka Lehto Pekka Lehto (born 14 March 1948) is a Finnish film director. He has directed fifteen films since 1976. He co-directed ''Flame Top'' with Pirjo Honkasalo and the film was entered into the 1981 Cannes Film Festival. He also won the Jussi Award fo ...

Death and legacy

In the 1990s, Haitto suffered from hearing problems and he wasn't able to play anymore. He spent his last years in

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the reg ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, with his wife, and died in 1999. He was buried in Marbella, but five years later his remains were moved to

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 ...

Hietaniemi cemetery The Hietaniemi cemetery ( fi, Hietaniemen hautausmaa, sv, Sandudds begravningsplats) is located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is the location for Finnish state fu ...

. Haitto made several EP, LP and tape recordings. Most of his recordings he did for Finnish Broadcasting Company

Yleisradio Yleisradio Oy ( Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, found ...

. In 2013, some archival radio recordings of

from 1964 were released on a CD. Haitto plays the Violin Concerto and six Humoresques by

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 ...

Discography

* Heimo Haitto Plays Sibelius (Violin Concerto and Six Humoresques). RSO/Paavo Berglund. Finlandia Classics (2013) * Heimo Haitto Live in Concert (Paganini/Vieuxtemps). RSO/Arvid Jansons and Ari Angervo. Finlandia Classics (2015) * Heimo Haitto - Chaconne and Other Favourites. Finlandia Classics (2016)

Literature

* Haitto, Heimo: ''Maailmalla.'' Helsinki: Kirjayhtymä, 1976. * Haitto, Heimo – Vastari, Eva: ''Viuluniekka kulkurina: Heimo Haiton vaellusvuodet Yhdysvalloissa 1965–76.'' Helsinki: Tammi, 1994.

References

External links

Haitto, Heimo (1925–1999)
at ''The National Biography of Finland'' (in English)

(in Finnish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Haitto, Heimo 1925 births 1999 deaths Finnish classical violinists Male classical violinists People from Ruokolahti 20th-century classical violinists Musicians from Vyborg 20th-century male musicians Finnish emigrants to the United States Finnish expatriates in Canada Finnish expatriates in Mexico Finnish expatriates in Spain Finnish expatriates in Switzerland Naturalized citizens of the United States