Väinö Eerikki Raitio (15 April 1891 – 10 September 1945) was part of the small group of

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 def ...

s who appeared in the Finnish art music scene in the 1920s with a new cosmopolitan music style, very different from the dominant conservative National Romanticism. He was born in

Sortavala Sortavala (; Finnish language, Finnish and ; ), previously known as Serdobol () until 1918, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finland, Finni ...

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

. Raitio's career as a composer reached its peak in the 1920s when eight large

symphonic A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning ...

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

s appeared from his pen. Influenced by

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

, his style was too modern for Nordic music circles, and his

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

work ''Joutsenet (The Swans, Les Cygnes)'' of 1919 remained as his sole orchestral piece to be published (in 1938). Raitio's profile as a composer slipped, as he concentrated on shorter works for smaller ensembles in the 1930s and 1940s. In private, however, much effort was made by the composer to write

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic works. He died in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. Even today, his five operas are only known from the composer's hand-written manuscripts.

Works

Early period (–1919)

*Violin Sonata in F sharp minor *String Quartet in G minor op. 10 *Piano concerto op. 6 *''Poème'' for cello and orchestra op. 7 *Symphonic Ballade op. 9 *Symphony in G Minor op. 13

Reaching maturity (1919–1920s)

*''Joutsenet'' op. 15 ('The Swans'/'Les Cygnes') *Piano Quintet in C sharp minor, op. 16 *''Nocturne'' op. 17 *Fantasy for quintet op. 19 *''Fantasia estatica'' op. 21 *''Four Colour poems for piano'' op. 22 *''Antigone Trilogy'' op. 23 *''Moonlight on Jupiter'' op. 24 *''Fantasia poetica'' op. 25 *''The Pyramide'' for mixed choir and orchestra op. 27 *''The Avenue'' for soprano and orchestra op. 29

Back to traditional forms (1930s–40s)

*''Suite Summer Scenes from Häme'' *''Forest Idylls'' * Scherzo ''Felix domestica'' *''Legend'' for violin and orchestra *Double concerto for violin, cello and orchestra *''The Maids on the Headlands'' *''Idyll'' *''Notturno'' for violin and orchestra *''Serenata'' for violin and orchestra *''Fantasy'' for cello, harp and orchestra

Stage works

*5 Operas: **''Jeftan tytär'' (''The Daughter of Jephtha''), op. 30 (1929) **''Prinsessa Cecilia'' (''Princess Cecilia'') (1933) **''Lyydian kuningas'' (''The King of Lydia'') (1937) **''Väinämöisen kosinta'' (''Väinämöinen's Proposal'') (1934–1936) **''Kaksi kuningatarta'' (''The Two Queens') *Ballet ''The Waterspout'' (''Vesipatsas'') *''Le ballet grotesque''

References

External links

Väinö Raitio Society
(mostly in Finnish)
Music Finland composer material
1891 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Finnish classical composers Finnish classical composers Finnish opera composers 20th-century male composers Finnish male opera composers People from Sortavala People from Viipuri Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) 20th-century Finnish composers {{Finland-composer-stub