Toivo Ilmari Hannikainen (19 October 1892, in Jyväskylä – 25 July 1955, in Kuhmoinen) was a Finnish

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 ...

and

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

pianist. Hannikainen was the son of Pekka Juhani Hannikainen and the brother of

Väinö Hannikainen Väinö is a masculine given name found most commonly in Finland and may refer to: *Väinö Auer (1895–1981), Finnish geologist and geographer * Väinö Bremer (1899–1964), Finnish biathlete and modern pentathlete and Olympic competitor * V� ...

, both of whom were composers and of Tauno Hannikainen who was a conductor. After studying at the University of Helsinki (1911–14), he became a pupil of

Franz Schreker Franz Schreker (originally ''Schrecker''; 23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic plurality (a mixture ...

at the Musikakademie in Vienna, and continued his studies with

Alexander Siloti Alexander Ilyich Siloti (also Ziloti, russian: Алекса́ндр Ильи́ч Зило́ти, ''Aleksandr Iljič Ziloti'', uk, Олександр Ілліч Зілоті; 9 October 1863 – 8 December 1945) was a Russian virtuoso pianist, ...

in Saint Petersburg (1915–17) and with

Alfred Cortot Alfred Denis Cortot (; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his poeti ...

in Paris (1919). Returning to Finland, he taught piano at the

Helsinki Conservatory 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 later gained a Professorship at the Sibelius Academy. Hannikainen steered Finnish classical music from late Romanticism towards Impressionism. In addition to his piano miniatures, which best illustrated this development, he composed one opera, one

piano concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

, one piano quartet,

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er, and film scores (notably, '' Sången om den eldröda blomman'',

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, 1934). Hannikainen drowned during a sailing trip in Kuhmoinen in 1955. Some musical colleagues, like Aarre Merikanto, considered his death a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. 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. In the 1970s, the Ilmari Hannikainen Pianokilpailu (Ilmari Hannikainen Piano Competition) was created dedicated to Hannikainen. In 2020, the competition renewed its format style. (Translated: Ilmari Hannikainen Piano music Competition - Kesmes.com)

Notes

References

Biography from Kimmo Korhonen's ''Inventing Finnish Music: Contemporary Composers from Medieval to Modern'', Finnish Music Information Centre (2003)

External links

* *
Songs by Ilmari Hannikainen on The Art Song Project
1892 births 1955 deaths People from Jyväskylä People from Vaasa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish male composers Romantic composers 20th-century classical composers Finnish film score composers Male film score composers Finnish classical pianists Deaths by drowning 20th-century classical pianists Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery Male classical pianists 20th-century male musicians 19th-century male musicians 20th-century Finnish composers {{classical-pianist-stub