Leevi Madetoja

Leevi Antti Madetoja (17 February 1887, Oulu – 6 October 1947, Helsinki) was a Finnish composer, music critic, conductor, and teacher of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods, generally considered to be one of the most significant Finnish composers to emerge in the wake of Jean Sibelius, under whom he studied privately from 1908 to 1910. The core of Madetoja's oeuvre consists of a set of three symphonies (1916, 1918, and 1926), arguably the finest early-twentieth century additions to the symphonic canon of any Finnish composer after Sibelius. As central to Madetoja's legacy is his opera, The Ostrobothnians (1924), Finland's first notable contribution to the genre—dubbed the country's "national opera" following its successful premiere—and, even today, a stalwart of its operatic repertoire.

Madetoja's other notable works include an Elegia for strings (1909); Kullervo (1913), a symphonic poem based upon a hero from the Kalevala, Finland's national epic; The Garden of Death (1918–21), a three-movement suite for solo piano; the Japanisme ballet-pantomime, Okon Fuoko (1927); and, a second opera, Juha (1935). In addition, a number of Madetoja's compositions for solo voice and for choir have found a lasting place in the Finnish repertoire. A fully scored Fourth Symphony might have further solidified his reputation, both within Finland and abroad, but it reportedly was lost in 1938 when his suitcase was stolen at a railway station in Paris. A purported third opera, a violin concerto, and a requiem mass never materialized, their development cut short by Madetoja's death at age 60.

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