Ulf Arne Söderblom (5 February 1930 – 4 February 2016) was a Finnish conductor and music professor. He was the principal conductor of the

Finnish National Opera The Finnish National Opera and Ballet ( fi, Suomen Kansallisooppera ja -baletti; sv, Finlands Nationalopera och -balett) is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the T ...

from 1973 to 1993 and was a key figure in the revival of the Savonlinna Opera Festival. A champion of Finnish music, he has conducted the world premieres of several works by Finnish composers including Kokkonen's ''

The Last Temptations ''The Last Temptations'' ( fi, Viimeiset kiusaukset) is an opera in two acts by Joonas Kokkonen to a libretto by Lauri Kokkonen. Along with Leevi Madetoja's ''Pohjalaisia'' and Aarre Merikanto's ''Juha'', it is considered one of the most import ...

'' and Sallinen's ''

Kullervo Kullervo () is an ill-fated character in the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot. Growing up in the aftermath of the massacre of his entire tribe, he comes to realise that the same people who had brought him up, t ...

'' and '' The Horseman''.Hillila, Ruth-Esther; Hong, Barbara Blanchard (1997)
"Söderblom, Ulf."
''Historical Dictionary of the Music and Musicians of Finland'', p. 283. Greenwood Publishing GroupDahlström, Fabian (2011)
"Söderblom, Ulf."
''Biografiskt lexikon för Finland''. Online version retrieved 17 February 2015 .

Life and career

Söderblom was born in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, the son of Arne Paulinus Soderblom and Gerda Mathilda Rajalin. He studied at the

Åbo Akademi University Åbo Akademi University ( sv, Åbo Akademi , ) is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku (Åbo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activiti ...

in Turku with Otto Andersson from 1950 to 1952 and at the

Vienna Music Academy The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

with Hans Swarowsky from 1954 to 1957. He made his conducting debut in 1957 conducting a production of ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

'' in Turku. That same year he married physiotherapist Karin Helena Ehrnrooth. He began conducting for the

in 1957, initially as a choral conductor, and in 1973 became its Chief Conductor and Music Director, a position he would hold for the next 20 years. He was also instrumental in the revival of the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 1967 after 50 years of dormancy. The re-opening was celebrated with Söderblom conducting Beethoven's ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, wi ...

'' in the Olavinlinna castle. As a music professor, Söderblom taught conducting 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 ...

and conducted its orchestras from 1965 to 1968 and at the Åbo Akademi University from 1991. Åbo Akademi University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1998. He died the day before his 86th birthday.

World premieres conducted

*'' The Horseman'' by

Aulis Sallinen Aulis Sallinen (born 9 April 1935) is a Finnish contemporary classical music composer. His music has been variously described as "remorselessly harsh", a "beautifully crafted amalgam of several 20th-century styles", and "neo-romantic". Sallinen ...

, Savonlinna, 17 July 1975 *''

'' by

Joonas Kokkonen Joonas Kokkonen (; 13 November 1921 – 2 October 1996) was a Finnish composer. He was one of the most internationally famous Finnish composers of the 20th century after Sibelius; his opera ''The Last Temptations'' has received over 500 performance ...

, Helsinki, 2 September 1975 * ''Silkkirumpu'' (''The Damask Drum'') by

Paavo Heininen Paavo Johannes Heininen (13 January 1938 – 18 January 2022) was a Finnish composer and pianist. Biography He was born in Helsinki, where he studied at the Sibelius Academy and was taught composition by Aarre Merikanto, Einojuhani Rautavaara, E ...

, Helsinki, 5 April 1984 *''Veitsi'' (''The Knife'') by Paavo Heininen, Savonlinna, 3 July 1989 *'' Det sjungande trädet'' (''The Singing Tree'') by

Erik Bergman Erik Valdemar Bergman (24 November 1911, in Nykarleby – 24 April 2006, in Helsinki) was a composer of classical music from Finland. Bergman's style ranged widely, from Romanticism in his early works (many of which he later prohibited from bei ...

, Helsinki, 3 September 1995 *''

'' by Aulis Sallinen, Los Angeles, 25 February 1992 Lascelles, George Henry Hubert (1997)
''The New Kobbé's Opera Book''
p. 704. Random House In addition to the above staged performances, Söderblom also conducted the world premiere recording of

Aarre Merikanto Aarre Merikanto (29 June 1893 – 28 September 1958) was a Finnish composer. He was born in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, the son of Elise "Liisa" Häyrynen (1869-1949) and the famous romantic composer, professor Oskar Merikanto (1868-1 ...

's ''

Juha Juha is a masculine given name of Finnish origin derived from Johannes (or John in English language contexts). Notable people with the name include: * Juha Alén * Juha Gustafsson * Juha Hakola * Juha Harju * Juha Haukkala * Juha Hautamäki * J ...

'' in 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soderblom, Ulf Finnish conductors (music) Music directors (opera) 1930 births 2016 deaths Musicians from Turku Åbo Akademi University alumni