Suolahti, Heikki

views updated

Suolahti, Heikki

Suolahti, Heikki, Finnish composer; b. Helsinki, Feb. 2, 1920; d. there, Dec. 27, 1936. He studied at the Helsinki Cons. His tragically premature death at the age of 16 moved Sibelius to say that “Finland lost one of her greatest musical talents.” Suolahti composed a few fine works, including a Violin Concerto, written at the age of 14, and a Sinfonia piccola, which he composed at 15 and which was performed in Helsinki after his death; also left some songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire