Expert: David Froom - 2/9/2011

Question
Hello!

I’m a 19-year-old student from Finland and my story goes like this: Last summer I was browsing through my late grandfather’s LP records and I came across this LP called “Finnish organ music” performed by organist Tauno Äikää. The record should have had the following pieces on it: A1-Fantasia (Taneli Kuusisto), A2-Partita (Sulo Salonen), A3-Passacaglia (Oskar Merikanto), B1-Toccata and fugue (Jarmo Parviainen), B2-Lux Aeterna (Joonas Kokkonen), B3-Passacaglia (Einar Englund). The A side was what the record said, three organ pieces. However when I started to play the B side I heard no organ music but instead a mysterious piece of music that the record had no information about. Since then I’ve been trying to find out what this piece is called and who the composer is. I have cut the first three minutes of this piece for you to take a listen: http://www.filedropper.com/mysterypiece

The whole piece lasts roughly 18 minutes and as you can hear is composed for a solo piano and orchestra. I’m not sure if it’s like a piano concerto really though the piano is pretty prevalent during the whole duration of the piece. The style is clearly modern classical and during the middle passages the sound is purely atonal. The piece starts slowly and gains momentum until the 7-minute mark when the whole orchestra joins in to form powerful orchestral blasts and snare drum rhythms with a hammering performance on the piano. After this sequence the music becomes more and more quiet resembling the beginning of the piece. The piece ends with another crescendo for the whole orchestra and it ends with crashing piano chords.

I have some information which might help you to identify this piece. First, the record is from a Finnish record label. Thus I think the composer might also be Finnish. Second, the release year is 1979 so the piece must be written before that. I’ve never encountered anything like this, and I guess my grandfather didn’t even know that this piece existed. He has written on the album that the record was given him as a gift mostly because of Salonen’s piece on the A side. Anyway it could be possible that he hadn’t ever even listened to the B side. I guess the reason why this piece is on the record is just a human error during the production of the album. A part of me likes to think that the composer, whoever he or she is, has put the piece on the record on purpose to make a unique surprise, a one-of-a-kind vinyl containing the only recording of this piece available. But enough with the conspiracies. I would be most grateful if you could help me. Thank you already beforehand.

Best regards
Juha

Answer
Hello Juha,

That's a terrific piece, and clearly a piano concerto.  It does sound very 1970s, but I mean that in a good way.  I hear the sound of that time in this work.  The 1970s were a very "international" time, so hearing if this is indeed Finnish would be difficult.  However, from what you say, it most likely is.

I don't recognize the piece -- it would be surprising if I did.  However, I suggest that you contact people at the Sibelius Academy.  You may have an excellent chance of finding someone who recognizes it, or would know someone who might.  You may have an excellent chance even of being able to track down and (if still living) finding the composer (or pianist or conductor).

Here is contact information for the Sibelius Academy Department of Music Composition and Theory:

http://sate.siba.fi/en/contacts/

People there, if they don't know the piece, may be able to help you by going through the record company, because certainly someone should know about the people involved in making those recordings during the late 1970s.

Good luck with your search.  Drop me a note if you have any luck figuring out who this might be (dfroom@smcm.edu).  I am guessing this will be a happy surprise for someone.

David Froom