Usko Aatos Meriläinen (January 27, 1930 – November 12, 2004) 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 ...

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 ...

. He was born in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

. Usko Meriläinen studied orchestral conducting with

Leo Funtek Leo Funtek (August 21, 1885 – January 13, 1965) was a Slovenian violinist, conductor and arranger. He is best known for work as a music professor and for his 1922 arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's piano suite ''Pictures at an Exhibition''. F ...

and composition with

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 ...

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 als ...

. Meriläinen conducted the Finnish Opera Choir from 1954 to1956, the Kuopio City Orchestra from 1956 to 1957, and the Tampere Workers' Theater Orchestra from 1957 to 1961. He was chairman of the Finnish Composers' Association from 1981 to 1992 and served as artistic advisor of the Tampere Biennale. In 1954 his ''Partita for Brass'' won second prize in the Thor Johnson Brass Composition competition in Cincinnati, Ohio.Hillila, Ruth-Esther; Hong, Barbara Blanchard (1997). , pages 260–1. Greenwood Publishing Group. . Meriläinen won an award for Jussi's film ''Private Area'' in 1963. He was also awarded the Pro Finlandia Prize in 1987. Meriläinen was married to choreographer Ruth Matso, who choreographed the premiere of his ballet ''Arius''. Their daughter is actress Lena Meriläinen, and their son is producer Ari Meriläinen, who is the father of writer and politician Rosa Meriläinen. He is buried in the

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 ...

in Helsinki.

Selected works

Symphonies

* Symphony No. 1 (composed 1953–1955) *Symphony No. 2 (1964) *Symphony No. 3 (1971) *''Alasin'' (''The Anvil'', Symphony No.4, Electronic Symphony) (1975) *Symphony No. 5 (1976) *''Kehrä'' (The Spindle) (Symphony No. 6) (1996)

Concertante

* Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 (1955) * Concerto for Orchestra (No. 1) (1956) *Piano Concerto no. 2 (1969) *''Concerto per 13'' (1971) *Cello Concerto (1975) *''Dialogues'' for piano and orchestra (1977) *''Kineettinen runo ('Kinetic Poem')'' for piano and orchestra (1981) *''Visions and Whispers'' for flute and orchestra (1985) *''Aikaviiva'' (''Timeline'') (Concerto No. 2 for Orchestra) (1989) *Guitar Concerto (1990) *''Kirje sellistille'' (''Letter to the cellist'') (1990) *''Summer Concerto ”Geasseija niehku”'' for string orchestra (1993-4)

Chamber music

*''Trauerlied'' for viola solo (1962) *String Quartet No. 1 (1965) * String Quartet No. 2 Kyma'' '(1979) * String Quartet No. 3 (1992) * Divertimento (1968) * Metamorfora per 7 (1969) * Concerto for double bass and percussion (1973) * Simultus for Four (1979) * Summer Playing for Flute and Grasshoppers (1979) * Sonata for alto saxophone and Piano (1982) * Flute - water mirror (1984) * Quattro notturni per arpa (1984–1985) * Mouvements circulaires en Douceur (1985) * "Feast of Henriette" (1995)

Other

*''Viimeiset kiusaukset'' (1959, incidental music) * ''Arius'' (ballet) (composed 1958–1960) * ''Epyllion'' (1963) * ''Musique du Printemps'' (1969) * ''Psyche'' (ballet) (1973) * ''Ku–gu–ku'' (1979) * ''Exodus'' (1988)

References

External links

Finnish Music Information Centre
1930 births 2004 deaths Finnish classical composers 20th-century classical composers Finnish male classical composers Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery 20th-century male musicians 20th-century Finnish composers {{Finland-composer-stub