Julkaistu

Väinö Raitio’s List of Works (Ritva Haanpää, 2002)

© Ritva Haanpää, 2002. Originally published as ISBN 951-96274-8-0 (FIMIC 2002). Edited by Hanna Isolammi (2010).

Uncertain dates are given in [brackets]

Works for the Stage

The Daughter of Jephtha, op. 30 (1929) 60′
Opera in 2 acts (lyrical drama)
Libretto by Johannes Linnankoski and Sulho Ranta, in Finnish
3333 4431 12 1 cel archi mixch sol: 3 sop mez a ten 3 bar bas
FP: Finnish Opera, Helsinki Dec 2, 1931

The Waterspout (1930) 30′
Ballet intermezzo in 2 acts
Libretto by Poul Knudsen, choreography by George Gé
3333 4331 12 1 cel archi
FP: Finnish Opera, Helsinki Dec 2, 1931

Princess Cecilia (1933)
Opera in 5 acts
Libretto by Huugo Jalkanen, in Finnish, and Charlotte Lilius, in German
3333 4331 13 1 chim camp cel harm archi mixch 14 voices dancers
FP: Finnish Opera, Helsinki Apr 1, 1936

The King of Lydia (1937) 23′
Opera in 1 act
Libretto by Herodotos and Eino Leino, in Finnish
3333 4331 11 1 cel archi mixch sol: sop ten bar
FP: Finnish Radio Orchestra, Dec 4, 1955

Väinämöinen’s Proposal [1934–1936] 30′
Opera in 1 act
Libretto by Eino Leino, in Finnish
bas, sop, 4sop/4mez, ch
FP: Helsinki Workers’ Institute Feb 28, 1971 (with piano accompaniment)

The Two Queens (1937–1940)
Opera in 3 acts
Libretto by Lauri Haarla, in Finnish
3333 4331 12 1 cel archi mixch voices
FP: Finnish Opera, Helsinki Oct 11, 1944

Ouverture and intermezzos for radio play Antigone by Sophocles (1936) 10′
0222 2210 11 0
FP: Radio Orchestra [1936]

Music for the play Asaria (1937) 30′
1010 0100 01 1
Text: Akseli Tola, in Finnish
FP: National Theatre, Helsinki Oct 6, 1937

Songs for the play The Bride in the Swing [1942]
Folk play in 3 acts
Text: Lauri Haarla, in Finnish
Piano or ensemble accompaniment: ob cl vl vla vlc mixch voices

Three Songs (1920)
melodrama for Yrjö Nikkola’s comedy play ’Syrup Factory in Kruununhaka’
voice pf Lyrics: Ludwig Uhland, Finnish translator unknown

Works for Orchestra

Danse macabre [1912?] 3′
Arrangement from a piano piece

Danse macabre [1935]
Arranged for Radio Orchestra from a piano piece
(To be performed only in studio)
1222 2210 12 0 pf archi

Karkelokuva [1910’s]

Menuetto for orchestra (1913) 3′
2222 2200 11 0 archi
Arranged from a piano piece

Dance for small orchestra (1913) 3′
2222 2000 01 0 archi
Arranged from a piano piece called Sinipiikain tanssi (from 10 small pieces for children, nr. 8)

Pastorale for small orchestra (1914) 5′
2121 2000 10 0 archi
Arranged from a piano piece (from Summer idylls op. 4:2)

Symphonic ballade op. 9 (1916) 20′
3223 4431 11 0 archi
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Robert Kajanus, Helsinki Feb 20, 1919

Fantastic dance [1916]
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Robert Kajanus, Helsinki Mar 11, 1916

Symphony in G Minor, op. 13 (1918–1919) 35′
3333 4331 11 0 cel archi
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Robert Kajanus, Helsinki Feb 4, 1920

The Swans op. 15 (1919) 8′
Tone poem for orchestra
Motto poem: Otto Manninen: Ui merta ne unten
3333 4331 12 0 cel archi
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Robert Kajanus, Helsinki Feb 4, 1920
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Nocturne op. 17 (1920) 8′
Tone poem for orchestra
3333 4300 12 1 cel archi
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Toivo Haapanen, Helsinki Oct 31, 1921

Fantasia estatica op. 21 (1921) 11′
For great orchestra
3334 6431 12 1 cel archi
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Toivo Haapanen, Helsinki Nov 16, 1921
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Antigone op. 23 (1921–1922) 25′
Colour poem in 3 parts for great orchestra
1. Antigone’s sacrifice for her brother
2. Fall of the Tyrant
3. Antigone’s death
4334 4431 12 2 cel archi
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Toivo Haapanen, Helsinki Oct 16, 1922 Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Moonlight on Jupiter op. 24 (1922–1923) 12′
Fantastic tone poem for orchestra (Andante fantastico)
3333 4431 13 2 cel archi
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Robert Kajanus, Helsinki Dec 13, 1928
Publisher: Modus Music

Fantasia poetica op. 25 (1923) 10′
Tone poem for orchestra (Adagio non troppo)
Motto poem: Hugo von Hoffmansthal: Erlebnis
4333 4431 12 2 cel archi FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Toivo Haapanen, Helsinki Nov 10, 1924
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Danse d’extase (Tango) from ballet Waterspout (1931)
3333 4331 11 1 cel archi
Arrangement for Radio Orchestra with the name Tango [1933] 3′
1222 2210 11 0 pf archi

Danse grotesque from opera Princess Cecilia (1932) 2′
Arrangement for Radio Orchestra
2221 2210 11 0 pf archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, May 22, 1934

Serenade (1933) 3′
2022 2200 00 0 cemb pf archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, cond. Toivo Haapanen, Dec 28, 1933

A Variation from Burial song by Robert Kajanus (1933)
A part of theme and variations work by 9 composers based on Robert Kajanus’ Burial song
For the memory of Robert Kajanus
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond Toivo Haapanen, Helsinki Nov 10, 1933

Ballet scene (1934) 4′
For Radio Orchestra
2221 2210 11 0 pf archi

Humoresque (1934) 3′
For Radio Orchestra
2221 2000 11 0 pf cel archi

Lemminkäinen’s mother (1934) 8′
3333 4331 11 2 cel archi
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Radio Orchestra together, cond. Toivo Haapanen.
Celebration concert for Kalevala’s 100th Anniversary. Helsinki Fair centre, Mar 3, 1935

March (1934) 3′
For Radio Orchestra
2221 2210 12 0 archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, cond. Toivo Haapanen, Helsinki Oct 30, 1934

Pastorale (1934) 6′
For Radio Orchestra
2221 2000 11 0 pf archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, cond. Toivo Haapanen, Helsinki Oct 30, 1934

Poem (1934) 7′
2221 2200 01 0 pf cel archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, cond. Toivo Haapanen, Helsinki Apr 13, 1939

Ballad (1935) 9′
Tone poem
2222 2200 11 0 archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, 1936

Summer pictures from Häme (1935) 20′
Suite for small orchestra
1. In an old park
2. Summer night
3. Herdsman’s song
4. Red clouds
5. Boat song
6. Queen of the flowers
2222 2200 12 0 pf archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, cond. Toivo Haapanen, Helsinki Mar 31, 1936

Forest idylls (1935) 17′
1. Forest path
2. Forest pond
3. Forest star
4. Forest stream
2222 2210 12 0 pf archi

Maidens on the headlands (1935) 8′
Symphonic poem For Radio Orchestra
2222 2210 11 arpa/pf cel archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, Helsinki May 24, 1936

Scherzo (Felis domestica) (1935) 4′
For Radio Orchestra
2221 2210 01 0 cel/pf archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, cond. Erkki Linko, Helsinki Mar 12, 1935
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Idyll (1938) 6′
2222 2000 11 0 archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, Sep 4, 1938

Prelude (1938) 4′
2222 2210 11 0 pf archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, Oct 10, 1938

Cat’s Lullaby (1939) 4′
Expanded from a piano piece with the same name
2222 2200 01 0 cel/pf archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, Sep 24, 1940

Waltz [1939] 3′
2222 2210 11 0 archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, cond. Toivo Haapanen, Helsinki Apr 13, 1939

Romance (1940) 7′
archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, cond. Erkki Linko, Helsinki Dec 3, 1940

Wild Rose (1941) 3′
Poem for small orchestra
2121 1000 11 0 archi

Valse mignonne (1941) 4′
2222 2200 11 0 archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, May 12, 1942

Triumphal Hymn (1941) 4′
archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, Mar 29, 1942

Funeral Psalm (1942) 5′
3222 4330 10 0 archi

Le ballet grotesque (1943) 15′
Symphonic ballet suite
3333 4331 12 2 cel archi
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Martti Similä, Helsinki Apr 14, 1944
Libretto: Regina Backberg
Piano arrangement by unknown author (1946)

The Bluebell’s Lullaby (1943) 5′
For Helsinki Women’s Orchestra
1010 0000 00 1 archi

Works for Solo Instrument and Orchestra

Piano Concerto in C Minor op. 6 (1914) 21′
Concerto pour Piano avec accompagnement d’orchestre
3222 4231 11 1 pno solo archi
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Robert Kajanus, Ernst Linko, pno. Helsinki Mar 11, 1916

Poem (Poème) for cello and orchestra op. 7 (1915) 12′
3322 4200 10 pf/arpa vlc solo archi
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Robert Kajanus, Bror Persfelt, vlc. Helsinki Mar 11, 1916
Piano arrangement by Martti Similä (1951)
Publisher: Modus Music

Legend for violin and orchestra (1935) 8′
2222 2200 10 0 vl solo archi
FP: Radio Orchestra [1936]

Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra (1936) 22′
2222 2200 12 0 vl solo vlc solo archi
FP: Göteborg, Feb 1938, cond. Tor Mann. Beatrice Griffin-Ekström, vl, Elov Levén, vlc

Notturno for violin and orchestra (1938) 10′
2222 2200 11 0 vl solo archi
FP: Dresden 1939

Serenata for violin and string orchestra (1940) 4′
FP: Radio Orchestra, cond. Erkki Linko, Erik Cronvall, vln. Helsinki Dec 3, 1940

Fantasia for cello, harp and orchestra (1941) 12′
2222 2200 10 0 vlc solo, arpa solo archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, Mar 10, 1942

Works for Voice/Choir and Orchestra

The Pyramid op. 27 (1924–1925) 13′
Tone poem for mixed choir and orchestra
4334 6431 12 2 cel mixch archi
Lyrics: Väinö Siikaniemi, in Finnish
FP: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Choir, cond. Ulf Söderblom, Helsinki Oct 29, 1968

The Avenue op. 29 (1926) 8′
Tone poem for soprano and orchestra
3333 4331 12 1 cel sop solo archi
Lyrics: Elina Vaara, in Finnish
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Nils-Eric Fougstedt, sol. Liisa Linko-Malmio, Helsinki Dec 1, 1950

Chamber Works

Im Walde for cello and piano (1911) 3’30”

Lullaby for violin and piano (1911) 2′

Elegy for violin and piano (1911) 3′
“Dedicated to my mother”
FP: Helsinki, Dec 13, 1912
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Berceuse for cello and piano (1912) 4′
FP: Vilho Koponen, vlc, Väinö Raitio, pno. Helsinki May 28, 1912

Romance for cello and piano
FP: Bror Persfelt, vlc, Eino Lindholm, pno. Helsinki, May 1915

Sonata for piano and violin F# Minor, op. 2 (1914) 20′
FP: Eino Raitio, vln, Leo Funtek, pno. Helsinki May 25, 1914

Preludium for cello (or violin) and piano, op. 3(b) [1916] 5′
Also Prélude for cello and piano (op. 4b)
A M. Ossian Fohström
FP: Bror Persfelt, vlc, Eino Lindholm, pno. Helsinki, May 26, 1915

String Quartet (Quatuor) op. 10 (1917) 30′
FP: Eero Selin, 1.vl, Antti Wäänänen, 2.vl, Arvo Hannikainen, vla, Albin Öfverlund, vlc, Helsinki Feb 4, 1920
Publisher: Modus Music

Piano Quintet op. 16 (1919–1921) 30′
FP: Leo Funtek, pf, Eino Raitio, 1.vl, Eero Selin 2.vl, Carl Lindelöf, vla, Yrjö Selin, vlc, Helsinki Nov 16, 1921
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Ballade for violin and piano op. 18:1 (1920) 3’30”
For Eino Raitio
Canzonetta for violin and piano op. 18:2 (1920/1923) 2′
Barcarole for violin and piano op. 18:3 (1920/1923) 3′
Poème for violin and piano op. 18:4 (1920) 4’30”

Fantasia for quintet op. 19 (1920)
FP: Ernst Linko, pf, Heikki Halonen, vl, Arvo Hannikainen, vl, Lepo Laurila, vla, Tauno Hannikainen, vlc, Helsinki Dec 5, 1920

Hepatica for violin and piano (1943) 3′

Works for Piano

Andante (1909) 9′

Preludium III (1910) 3′

Preludi II (The Storm) (1911) 3′

Nocturne (1908/1912) 3’30”

Etüde-Caprice op. 1:5 (1909/1911) 2′

Fantasia a modo di Sonatina (1911) 6′

Andante [1912] 4′

Danse macabre (1912) 2’30” (also for orchestra)

Toccata op. 1 (1913) 6′
FP: Leo Funtek, Helsinki May 26, 1913

Rondo capriccioso (1913) 3′

Summer idylls op. 4 (1914)
1. Barcarole 2’45” A M. Boris Drbohlav
2. Pastorale 2’30” (also for orchestra)
3. Idylle 2’45”
4. Nocturne 5′
FP: Väinö Raitio, piano. Helsinki, May 26, 1915 (without nr. 4. Nocturne).

Andante cantabile [1915] 2′ (= nr. 7. Canzonetta from 10 small pieces for children [1922])

Ballade op. 8:1 3’30”
White night (La nuit boréale) op. 8:2 4’30”
For Sylvi Raitio
Idylle n:o 2 op. 8:3 2’45”
Arabesque op. 8:4 3’30”
The Water Nymph plays (Die Najade spielt) op. 8:5 4’30”

Fata morgana op. 12:1 [1917] 4’30”
Étude op. 12:2 [1917] 2′
Song of the reeds op. 12:3 [1917] 5’30”

Four Preludes op. 14:1–4 [1918]
1. Andantino 2′
2. Veloce 1’30”
3. Adagio 3′
4. Andante maestoso 2’30”

Christmas elf’s lullaby 1′ (= nr. 9. Cat’s lullaby from 10 small pieces for children [1922])

Four colour poems op. 22 (1923)
1. Aspen Leaves 1’30”
2. Red Cloudlets 3’30” For Ilmari Hannikainen; FP: Ilmari Hannikainen 1923
3. The Yellow Birch 4′
4. Haze 2’30”
Publisher: Modus Music

10 small pieces for children (Small piano pieces for children II) [1922]
1. Evening
2. Minuetto
3. Gavotte
4. Humoreske
5. Nenia
6. Menuet
7. Canzonetta (= Andante cantabile [1915] for piano)
8. Sinipiika’s dance (=Dance for small orchestra)
9. Cat’s lullaby (= Christmas elf’s lullaby, 1921)
10. Arietta (= Christmas carol for voice and piano)
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Small piano pieces for children I [1923]
1. Valse
2. Small boys’ march
3. Round dance
4. Guardian angel
5. Playing the hopscotch
6. Picking flowers
7. Little princess
8. March of the small White Guards
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Goblins’ dance [1923]

Rowing a boat [1923] 1′
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Ruovesi White Guards’ March1′ (originally for voices, 1931) (1943)

Arioso Menuetto

Shadow of a cloud op. 26:1 [unfinished]

Dance

Works for Organ

Intermezzo (1913) 5′

Legend (Poème) op. 20:1 [1920] 6′
For Elis Mårtenson
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Canzonetta [1930’s] 3′

Gaudeamus [1930’s] 4′

Umbra beata (1934) 7′
Poem for organ
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Preludi (1938) 6′
For great organ

Canzone (1939) 8′
For great organ

Works for Choir a cappella

Mixed Choir

Istuin illalla tuvassa [1915] 1’30”
I was sitting in the hut in the evening
Lyrics: Aleksanteri Aava (=Santeri Kuparinen), in Finnish; Nils Holmqvist, in Swedish

Nuoren Voiman marssi (1917) 2′
Lyrics: pseudonym Kai (=Ilmari Jäämaa), in Finnish

Terve kansa kalevainen 1’15” [1927]
Greet the folk of Kaleva (Greeting song for the first song festival of Finnish youth societies in Wyborg)
Lyrics: Juhana Jahnukainen, in Finnish

Karjalan aamu (1942) 2′
Morning of Carelia
March song for mixed choir of 3 parts
Lyrics: Ilmari Pimiä, in Finnish

Metsäruusu 2′
Wild rose
Lyrics: Otto Manninen, in Finnish

Häälaulu 1’15”
Wedding song
Lyrics: Volmari Raitio, in Finnish

Male Choir

Laulu kevätyössä [1942] 1’30”
A song in the summer night
Lyrics: Lauri Viljanen, in Finnish
FP: Laulu-Miehet choir, cond. Martti Turunen, Helsinki Mar 15, 1952

Ilta 1’30”
Evening
Lyrics: L. Onerva, in Finnish

Works for Voice and Piano

Nachtliedchen (Nacht liegt auf dem fremden Wegen) (1912) 1’30”
Lyrics: Heinrich Heine, in German
FP: A. Nurminen, Helsinki, Dec 13, 1912

Kehtolaulu (Wiegenlied) [1912] 2’30”
Lullaby
Lyrics: M. Lermontov, in Finnish; anon. in German
For Hildur Raitio
FP: A. Nurminen, Helsinki, Dec 13, 1912

Schwanenlied (Es singt der Schwan im Weiher) (1913) 1’30”
For Helvi Raitio
Lyrics: Heinrich Heine, in German; anon. in Finnish

Tähtiyössä (I stjärnenatt), op. 5:1 [1915] 2’45”
In starry night
Lyrics: Otto Manninen, in Finnish; Rafael Lindqvist, in Swedish
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Det borde op. 5:2 [1915] 2′
Lyrics: Ruth Hannula, in Swedish
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Der schwere Abend op. 5:3 [1915] 2’45”
Lyrics: Nicolaus Lenau, in German
FP: Alma Kuula, sopr; Leo Funtek, pno. Helsinki Oct 30, 1924

Ljuset flämtar op. 5:4 [1915] 2’30”
Lyrics: Jakob Tegengren, in Swedish

Juninatt op. 5:5 [1915] 4’30”
Lyrics: Bertel Gripenberg, in Swedish
FP: Alma Kuula, sopr; Leo Funtek, pno. Helsinki Oct 30, 1924

Vingen op. 5:6 [1915] 4’30”
Lyrics: Bertel Gripenberg, in Swedish

Sun tunnen (Du är mig när) (1916) 2′
I know you
Lyrics: Kosti Raitio, in Finnish; Joel Rundt, in Swedish

Du var mig mera nära op. 11:2 [1917] 3′
Lyrics: K. A. Tavaststjerna, in Swedish

Kuollut hetki op. 11:3 [1917] 2’30”
Dead moment
Lyrics: L. Onerva, in Finnish

Im Frühherbst op. 11:7
Dedicated to “R.A.B.-von G.”
Lyrics: F. Tjutshev, in Russian; anon. in German [unfinished]

Joululaulu (1918) 1’30”
Christmas carol (= nr. 10. Arietta from 10 small pieces for children [1922])
Lyrics: Olla Teräsvuori, in Finnish

Iltatunnelma [1918] 4’30”
Evening mood
Lyrics: Aukusti Simelius, in Finnish
Also for orchestra

Jouluillan odotus (1919) 5’30”
Waiting for the Christmas night
For Igor Drbohlav
Lyrics: Olla Teräsvuori, in Finnish

Kuutamolla (Månljus kväll) op. 28:1 (1920) 3′
In the moonlight
Lyrics: V. A. Koskenniemi, in Finnish; Joel Rundt, in Swedish

Mustapaitojen marssi (1933) 6′
March of the Finnish Blackshirts
For voices in one part and piano
Also for male choir, piano accompaniment ad. lib.
For Finnish Patriotic People’s movement
Lyrics: Heikki Asunta, in Finnish

Joulusonetti [1941] 3′
Christmas Sonnet
Lyrics: Juhana Jahnukainen, in Finnish

Karjalan aamu [1942] 2′
Morning of Carelia
Lyrics: Ilmari Pimiä, in Finnish
Also for mixed choir

Nyt jouluyö on tullut taas (Nu julenatten inne är) 2′
The Christmas night is here again
Lyrics: Väinö Raitio, in Finnish; Dagny Flodin-Segerstråle, in Swedish

Ruoveden suojeluskunnan marssi 3′ (1931)
Ruovesi White Guards’ March
Lyrics: Heikki Asunta, in Finnish
Piano arrangement by Janne Raitio (1943)

Suomen kesä
11 laulua lapsille ja nuorisolle
Finnish summer – 11 songs for children and youth
1. Nyt on Suomen suloin aika (Irene Mendelin)
2. Juhannus (Maija Konttinen)
3. Sinikello (Immi Hellén)
4. Venematkalla (Rafael Engelberg)
5. Kesä (Maija Konttinen)
6. Suvi-illan vieno tuuli (Eino Leino)
7. Keijuina keikumme (Immi Hellén)
8. Kesäilta (Immi Hellén)
9. Heinäpäivä, poutapäivä (Maija Konttinen)
10. Kesälaulu (Yrjö Veijola)
11. Kesälle (V. Raitio)

Vaeltajat (Oi armon Herra) 3’30”
The Wanderers

Velka kotiseudulle (Kotiseutuni, lahjasi suuret)
Debt for my home
Lyrics: Heikki Asunta, in Finnish

School Songs

(author of the lyrics in brackets)

Ei askeltakaan (war song from Mid-Finland, Lauri Haarla)
Hämäläisten laulu (J. H. Erkko)
Kevättoiveita (anon.)
Kotini (Kosti Raitio)
Kotkan siivin (Immi Hellén)
Kuin Hellaan heimot muinoin (Toivo Lyy)
Laulaa lehvä, kertoo kerkkä (Immi Hellén)
Laulajaksi luotu (ancient Finnish poem)
Nimi kalliin maan (Lauri Viljanen)
Nyt jouluyö on tullut taas (melody from opera Princess Cecilia, Väinö Raitio)
On tullut joulu (Antti Rytkönen)
Rukous (Anni Pakarinen)
Suomi on urhojen maa (Väinö Raitio)
Valpurin yö (Lauri Haarla, from the play Synti)
Sinikukkia (Otto Mannnen)

Arrangements

Beethoven, Ludwig van: Scherzo, from Sonata op. 2 nro 3 [1912]
1111 2000 00 0 archi

Sgambati, Giovanni: Gavotte op. 14 [1912] 2222 2231 11 0 archi

Henrik Sundblad: Djävulsvals, op. 15 [1924]
FP: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Ossian Fohström, Helsinki Nov 15, 1924

Schubert, Franz: Erlkönig [1920’s] For orchestra

Four Finnish Folk Songs (III suite)
For Radio String Orchestra, arr. Väinö Raitio 1934
1. Taivas on sininen ja valkoinen
2. Vienan rannalla koivun alla
3. Luullahan jotta on lysti olla
4. Yksi ruusu on kasvanut laaksossa
archi

Four Folk Songs from Häme [I suite] 9′
For Radio String Orchestra, arr. Väinö Raitio 1934
1. Ameriikan rantaan/Till Amerikas strand
2. Sen vierivän virran reunalle/Vid den strömmande älvens rand
3. Taaskin on satehesta kastunut/Återigen har regnet vätt
4. Niin on käynyt/Så har skett
archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, Feb 23, 1934 Publisher: Modus Music

Five Folk Songs from Häme (II suite) for string orchestra 10′
For Radio String Orchestra, arr. Väinö Raitio 1934
1. Näsijärvi se lainehtii/Näsijärvis böljor
2. Hulivilihurja/Vildbasaren
3. Jos se aurinko/Om än solen
4. Voi kuinka syvältä jäätynyt on/Ack hur djupt tillfrusen är
5. Mä ruusunoksan taittaisin/En rosenkvist jag skulle bryta
archi
FP: May 3, 1934
Publisher: Modus Music

Six Folk Songs from Häme (III suite)
For Radio String Orchestra, arr. Väinö Raitio 1934
1. Ennen minä makaan kalliolla
2. Onhan se meitinkin välimme ollut
3. Pappani pihalla on lehvakas kuusi
4. Illalla, sillalla sinisellä
5. Tuuli se taivutti puitten latvat
6. Tuuli se koivun taivutti
archi
FP: Radio Orchestra, Mar 16, 1936

Four Folk Songs from Häme (IV suite)
For Radio String Orchestra, trumpet and piano, arr. Väinö Raitio 1935
1. Olut se on kaljan kaltaista
2. Miks minun armahani
3. Raittin ristillä vartoilee
4. Mehän oomme suomalaiset tarkka-ampujat
archi tr pf
Publisher: Fennica Gehrman

Julkaistu

Orchestral Works of Väinö Raitio (2000, Kimmo Korhonen)

© Kimmo Korhonen & Fimic, 2000
Translation Susan Sinisalo

Väinö Raitio (April 15, 1891 – September 10, 1945) began his composing career as a Late Romantic, but in the early 1920s he underwent a change of style that was for the next decade to place him in the vanguard of Finnish Modernism. His chief output consists of his colourful orchestral works combining impressionistic nuance with the expressionistic force and abrasiveness associated with Skryabin. Dating from the late 1920s onwards are his operas, lyrical in tone, and the rhythmically striking ballet Vesipatsas (Water Column). In his orchestral music of the 1930s Raitio returned to a more traditional, conventional style.

Joutsenet (The Swans) op. 15 (1919)

Väinö Raitio began his composing career as a Late Romantic, but in the early 1920s proceeded to a brand of Modernism coloured by Impressionism and Expressionism. Possibly his best-known work is the tone poem The Swans, a work of his transitional period marked by both rich romanticism and impressionistic colour. The idea for composing a work about swans was partly inspired by a poem by Otto Manninen.

Nocturne op. 17 (1920)

Of all the Finnish Modernists of the 1920s, Raitio had the firmest ties with Impressionism. His statement that “music is colour” is revealing. Whereas the tone poem The Swans (1919) was still on the watershed between Romanticism and Impressionism, Nocturne was already a clear product of Impressionism. The pentatonic main motif is suggestive of folk music, though not of the Finnish variety, while the second subject is evocative of Debussy. The music has both mysterious, shimmering sheets of timbre and fast-flowing climaxes.

Fantasia estatica op. 21 (1921)

Raitio’s individual brand of Modernism bursts into full flower in the Fantasia estatica. He was to have composed a triptych of three fantasias, but the Fantasia chaotica intended as a continuation to the Fantasia estatica and the Fantasia poetica (1923) was never written. The Fantasia estatica is scored for large orchestra and characterised by both the impressionistic colour of delicate webs of sound and an expressionistic force that erupts in ecstasy as promised by the title. In this respect the music possibly comes closest to Skryabin.

Antigone op. 23 (1922)

1. Antigonen kuolinuhri veljelleen (Antigone’s sacrifice for her brother)
2. Tyrannin tuomio (The fall of the tyrant)
3. Antigonen kuolema (The Death of Antigone)

Raitio’s 1920s Modernism has elements of both Impressionism and Expressionism. The most cogent representative of the expressionistic streak is the orchestral tone poem Antigone in three movements. It was inspired by the tragedy of Sophocles, but although each of the three movements has a title, they can in no way be called programme music giving a detailed description of any events. The three rather loosely constructed movements are dominated by slow tempi underlining the tragedy, and the closing movement alone has a short Allegro passage. This is music characterised by the poetry of subdued timbres and climaxes of tremendous impact.

Kuutamo Jupiterissa (Moonlight on Jupiter) op. 24 (1922)

In the Modernist works written in the 1920s Raitio juggled with Impressionism and an Expressionism akin to that of Skryabin. Moonlight on Jupiter, subtitled “a fantastic tone poem for orchestra”, has a slightly impressionistic orientation. In the quietest passages, particularly, it has all the delicacy and colour of the Impressionists and even Debussy, but the climaxes have more in common with the Expressionists.

Fantasia poetica op. 25 (1923)

The Fantasia poetica was to be the middle movement of an orchestral triptych beginning with the Fantasia estatica (1921), but the third and final movement, Fantasia chaotica, never materialised. The Fantasia poetica is, however, capable of standing on its own and is as such one of the finest works by Raitio. Like his other best works of the 1920s, it has a rich, and in this case “poetic” colour dimension, here combined with the expressionistic force of the crests of three waves. The motto of the work is the poem Erlebnis by Hugo von Hofmannsthal.

Vesipatsas (Water Column) (1929)

Towards the end of the 1920s Raitio turned increasingly away from orchestral tone poems to music for the stage. The first works to be completed in this category were the opera Jeftan tytär (Jephthah’s Daughter, 1929) and the two-act ballet Water Column. Despite its stage background, Water Column may nevertheless be classified as an orchestral work, and one of Raitio’s finest at that. It is packed with the richness of colour characteristic of Raitio, but it also introduces a new feature: effective, pounding rhythms often evocative of Stravinsky. The Expressionism of the earlier works is at the same time supplemented and enriched by a Neoclassical dimension.

Neiet niemien nenissä (Maidens of the Headland) (1935)

In the 1930s Raitio turned away from his Modernistic, idiosyncratic style. Maidens of the Headland, composed for the 100th anniversary of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, in 1935 adopts a more simplified idiom though it does still bear traces of the Impressionism of the previous decade. A further indication of its more traditional ideals is the use of an old kantele melody, The Konevitsa Church Bells, as one of the motifs for the work.

Julkaistu

Väinö Raitio (1996, Erkki Salmenhaara)

© Erkki Salmenhaara & Fimic, 1996
Translation Susan Sinisalo
Originally printed as ISBN 951-96274-8-0 (FIMIC 2002)

Väinö Raitio (b. Sortavala April 15, 1891 – d. Helsinki September 10, 1945) took piano lessons from Karl Ekman in Helsinki while still a schoolboy, and with his classmate and future pianist and composer Ilmari Hannikainen in his home town of Jyväskylä explored the main works of symphonic literature in four-hand piano transcriptions. From 1911 to 1915 he studied at the Helsinki Music Institute, where his teachers were Erkki Melartin and Erik Furuhjelm. His studies in Finland culminated in a concert of his works conducted by Robert Kajanus in 1916 that included among others the violin sonata, the piano concerto, and his Runoelma (Poem) for cello and orchestra. In 1922 Raitio also enrolled at the Helsinki Church Music College, graduating the subsequent year.

Following in the footsteps of Aarre Merikanto, Raitio spent the winter of 1916–1917 studying in Moscow, mostly counterpoint with A. Ilyinsky. Of greater significance was, however, the free ticket he managed to obtain for the orchestral concerts of Serge Koussevitzky favouring modern repertoire. The influence of Moscow can be discerned in the second and third concerts of his works held in Helsinki in 1920 and 1921 and featuring the string quartet, the piano quintet, the G minor symphony and the orchestral poems Joutsenet (The Swans), Nocturne and Fantasia estatica. The symphony, the only one Raitio ever wrote, is still traditional in style, but the flowing quintet already reveals a new approach to tonality and timbre. The Swans and Nocturne display impressionistic trends, but the Fantasia estatica (1921) is clearly oriented more towards expressionism and marks the beginning of Raitio’s dynamic 1920s period.

Raitio’s new style was also inspired by his visit to Berlin in 1920, but nevertheless his main modernistic works date from the period before his third trip abroad, to Paris in 1925–1926. This trip was preceded by his luckless marriage to Enne Palmén in 1925. He then took a job as a music teacher in Viipuri. In 1931 he met his second wife, Hildur Pouru, a dentist, and returned next year to Helsinki, where he got married in 1933 and spent the rest of his life as a free composer. As a minor side-line he wrote music reviews for two magazines, Aika (1932–1933) and Naamio (1934–1939).

Like those of Aarre Merikanto, the orchestral works by Raitio written in the 1930s are more conventional in style. In his case, too, this was partly explained by the need to write something for the small Radio Orchestra then in its infancy, and by the jubilee celebrating the centenary of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, in 1935, to which he contributed a piece called Lemminkäisen äiti (Lemminkäinen’s Mother) based on a folk tune, and the tone poem Neiet niemien nenissä (The Maids on the Headlands) founded on a folk melody evocative of the bells of Konevitsa Monastery. But during this season Raitio in fact concentrated on works for the stage, where he unswervingly followed a path of his own. This period began in 1929 already with the lyrical two-act opera Jeftan tytär (The Daughter of Jephtha) and the colourful ballet Vesipatsas (The Waterspout), and was rounded off with the full-length operas Prinsessa Cecilia (Princess Cecilia, 1933) and Kaksi kuningatarta (The Two Queens, 1937–1940). Friedrich Ege wrote an expansive review full of praise for Princess Cecilia in the prestigious Zeitschrift für Musik:

”Dramatically, the text is constructed with the greatest skill and is theatrically impressive. The libretto of the opera is a real composer’s dream. The characters truly come alive, they are made of our own flesh and blood. Life flows through the work, inspiring the composer to create music that enriches the modern opera repertoire. He has succeeded in travelling new roads, creating by new means, new sounds, harmonies and melodies that express the times. The composer’s complete technical mastery is demonstrated again and again. The shimmering, colourful, versatile music leaps towards us. It has dramatic force, cogency and a harmonious style. Here, far away in the north, in a completely different Europe cut off from the rest of the world, it is possible, in a medium-sized town in a little country, to hear a European opera that is quite magnificent and highly modern in the best meaning of the word!”

Ege hoped that Raitio’s opera would get a hearing abroad, and the papers had already announced that Princess Cecilia would be taking the stage in Lübeck when war intervened and the venture had to be cancelled. Because of the war, there were no foreign critics present when The Two Queens was performed in 1944.

In 1937, following on from Princess Cecilia, Raitio wrote a one-act chamber opera called Lyydian kuningas (The King of Lydia) that has only three roles. The work is based on a play by Eino Leino and suffers from its outmoded flowery language. In dramatic structure it also poses something of a problem, being too restricted for its theme. It was not performed until after Raitio’s death. Ulf Söderblom conducted a concert performance of it at his last appearance as Chief Conductor of the Finnish National Opera in 1993.

Financially Raitio was able to devote his time to composition thanks to a government composer’s stipend, various grants and his wife’s income as a dentist. His financial straits have probably been somewhat exaggerated in the literature. The lack of understanding that was his lot is, however, one of the saddest chapters in the history of Finnish musical life. Many of his works were performed only once or were never heard at all during his lifetime. Even today, his major works still have not been published, with the exception of The Swans. An attempt to rectify this sorry state of affairs is, however, now being made by the Väinö Raitio Society founded in 1991. His works were hardly available on record until the CD with Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducting radically improved the situation in 1992. This record contains the Fantasia poetica, Fantasia estatica, The Swans, The Waterspout and Antigone and prompted the critic Veijo Murtomäki to write, “it rewrites Finland’s musical history”.

In style The Swans is still bound to the Romantic tradition, and it got a good reception. Toivo Haapanen wrote of it, “The Swans deserves to be placed immediately among the most splendid works in Finnish music. It is a harmonious symphonic poem rich in feeling and of beautiful proportions in which the orchestra is handled with complete modern mastery.” By contrast, a concert in 1922 featuring the three-movement tone poem Antigone for large orchestra was felt to be too modern and marked something of a turning point in Raitio’s career. According to Ilmari Krohn, its style was “for many people not accustomed to it sheer torture to listen to”, and he called it “cacophonic”.

The dynamic works written by Raitio in the 1920s further include Kuutamo Jupiterissa (Moonlight on Jupiter) dedicated to his dead cat, the Fantasia poetica, a sister work to the Fantasia estatica, and Puistokuja (The Avenue) for soprano and orchestra (Elina Vaara) not performed at the time. Pyramidi (The Pyramid, 1924–1925) for choir and orchestra suffered from the amateur text by Väinö Siikaniemi.

Providing a precise definition of Raitio’s style of the twenties has proved something of a problem. The composer himself was in the habit of saying that “music is colour”, which is possibly why his name is associated with impressionism. Sulho Ranta, however, already pointed out that Raitio did not admit to being “greatly influenced by contemporary French music”, and stressed the “masculine, northern” nature of his music. Einojuhani Rautavaara once wrote of Antigone that it created “a strange impression of music that is ‘colourful’ only in quotation marks, as if no musically adequate guise can be found for the information the composer seeks to impart, presuming such a guise exists even. There seems to be a sort of ethical-dramatic streak, rugged, direct, masculine, fighting against the colourism.” Be that as it may, there is no denying that timbre was for Raitio, unlike for Finnish composers in general, a focal element of music, which is why the orchestra was a natural means of expression for him. The importance of timbre is also apparent in his piano works: Neljä värirunoelmaa (Four Colour Poems, c. 1921) is a major impressionistic landmark in Finnish piano literature. But generally speaking, Raitio can be said to have created an independent, expressionist style all of his own in the works of the 1920s, for which it is difficult to point to any German or Russian models any more than to French.

Raitio’s stylistic attitude also reflected the introversion and withdrawal typical of him. As a person he remains an enigmatic figure. The only document of any length throwing light on his life and works is the survey he wrote a few months before his death for a book en-titled Finnish Composers edited by Ranta. We can, furthermore, only guess at why he concentrated on opera in his later period. In view of Merikanto’s Juha alone, which was considered too modern to be performed, he must have been aware that modern operas would be even more difficult to get performed than orchestral works. Nor was Raitio a born dramatist, and nor did melody feature very large in his music; this is reflected in the vocally unrewarding recitative-like writing in his operas. In this respect Raitio’s operas can be regarded as more in the nature of extended poems for voice and orchestra, with the orchestra occupying the dominant role.

New features are added to the portrait of Raitio the composer by his ballet The Waterspout and Le ballet grotesque, the rhythmic drive and pungent orchestrations of which contain neoclassical elements that point to Uuno Klami or Stravinsky. The pronounced rhythmic energy of The Waterspout is in complete contrast to the lyrical calm of its sister work, The Daughter of Jephtha.

Einojuhani Rautavaara once said of Aarre Merikanto, “He was not really opposed, he was silenced.” A similar fate to a great extent befell two other leading Finnish modernists, Ernest Pingoud and Väinö Raitio. Merikanto, Pingoud and Raitio had plans for a joint concert of their works in 1924, but nothing came of them. The infrequent performances of their works in the 1920s were not sufficient to create a living tradition, and their music was denied the fruitful influence it could have exerted in its day, not only on Finnish musical life but on their own works as well. By the time their works were taken up at a later date, they had already lost their historical context. The radical twenties in Finnish music were thus denied a proper reception, being an isolated phenomenon to which the radicalism of the late fifties and early sixties did not constitute an organic continuum. Interest in the “Finnish” modernism of the 1920s was not in fact aroused until the “international” modernism of the 1960s was past its peak. And not until the 1990s can we speak of a “Raitio renaissance”.

Julkaistu

Raitio’s piano works

This text was originally published on the leaflet of Väinö Raitio – Œuvres pour piano CD, played by Jean Dubé. (Syrius SYR 141491) Read a review of the album here.

The earliest of the piano pieces featured on this CD, Andante (1912), Danse macabre (1912), Toccata (1913), and the 4-part suite Kesäidyllejä [Summer idylls] (1914) are firmly rooted in the Romantic tradition, with a clear tonality and structure. Stylistically, the surprisingly slow Danse macabre differs from the other early pieces with its quotation and variation of a known hymn melody.

Impressionist influences start to emerge in the Romantic idiom first in the pieces from the opus 8 (probably from 1915–1916). The first one, Ballade, appears to relate to the Piano Concerto No. 2 (”The River”, 1913) by a Finnish impressionist-romantic composer and pianist Selim Palmgren (1878–1951). The second, Valoisa yö (La nuit Boréale), is dedicated to Raitio’s younger sister Sylvi, a pianist who also studied in the Helsinki Music Institute.

In the opus 12 (probably from 1917) and opus 14 (probably from 1918) works the Romantic traits fade, while thematic, harmonic and structural ambiguity increases. The impact of Debussy’s piano music, which Raitio frequently performed in 1910s and 1920s, is clear in these works, especially in the Étude of opus 12.

Neljä värirunoelmaa pianolle [Four colour poems for piano], op. 22 (1923) is often considered Raitio’s main work for the piano. It was composed at the same time as Raitio’s most modernist orchestral works. Indeed, the thematic material relates to the orchestral works; it’s fragmentary and includes similar motives. The titles of the short movements – Haavan lehdet [Aspen leaves], Punahattaroita [Red cloudlets], Kellastunut koivu [Yellowed birch] and Auringon savua [Sun haze] reflect Raitio’s love for the nature and its phenomena.

The last piece on this disc is an unfinished Pilven varjo [Shadow of a cloud] (probably from 1923 or 1924), that was to be the first piece of another piano opus, 26. The reason why Raitio never finished this or the possible other works in the opus 26 is not known. Pilven varjo is stylistically comparable with the Neljä värirunoelmaa pieces.

c) Hanna Isolammi 2019

Julkaistu

Väinö Raitio 1891–1945

Väinö Raitio was born in Sortavala, Eastern Finland 15. April 1891. His father Kosti Raitio (1855–1924) was lecturer in Finnish language and literature and an avid supporter of the Finnish culture and arts. Raitio’s mother Elli (née Eriksson; 1860–1954) was pianist and piano teacher. Raitio was eight years old when his mother started to teach him to play the piano. He recalled his eagerness to learn:

“I was so enthusiastic that I followed her around the house crying and begging for a lesson if she couldn’t give it at the appointed time. We were eleven children, and because almost everyone played, the piano wasn’t always at my disposal. When I was in lyceum [secondary school], I remember walking back and forth in our drawing room reading my homework, so that I would be ready when the piano became vacant.”

As a pianist Väinö Raitio advanced swiftly; he intended to become a professional pianist and kept on concentrating on music more passionately than his school work. Gradually he started to become more interested in composing, and after failing his matriculation exam in mathematics­ he got his father’s permission to move to Helsinki and start studying in the Helsinki Music Institute (now the Sibelius Academy).

Raitio received a thorough and diverse training as a composer. He studied with Erkki Melartin (1875–1937) and Erik Furuhjelm (1883–1964) at the Helsinki Music Institute from 1911 to 1915. The syllabus of the Institute was remarkably broad even in the 1910s, and Melartin in particular is known to have been a widely educated and broad-minded teacher. Raitio also had the opportunity to attend exceptionally many orchestral concerts; as a result of political maneuvering there were two competing symphony orchestras in Helsinki during 1912–1914. Although the repertoire of the orchestras were heavy on Sibelius and Beethoven, it was also possible to hear works by composers such as Scriabin and Debussy in Helsinki as early as in the 1910s.

Finding his own voice

After finishing his studies and organizing a successful début concert as a composer in Helsinki in 1916, Raitio traveled to Moscow to continue his studies, although he had to return after less than half a year because of the Russian Revolution and the disorder relating to it. During the process that led to Finland becoming independent in 1917, and the civil war that followed, Raitio continued composing and studying of his own accord. On his other trips abroad – Berlin in 1920 and Paris in 1925–1926 – he concentrated on going to concerts and opera.

Raitio’s own musical language first began to emerge in the orchestral work Joutsenet [Swans] (1919), premiered in 1920. The piece was unanimously praised in reviews; Raitio was regarded as a promising young composer, and his orchestration skills in particular were admired. His other early orchestral works were likewise positively received.

The premiere of the tripartite orchestral work Antigone (1921–1922) in 1922 proved to be a turning point in the reception of Raitio’s music. His style was now denounced as “cacophonic, that is, evil-sounding”. It was deemed inaccessible even for professional musicians and “to the untrained ear, little short of torture”. With Antigone, Raitio seems to have cemented his reputation as a barbed-wire modernist. However, despite the colleagues and critics couldn’t understand the aesthetic principles of Raitio’s colorful Scriabin- and Debussy-influenced style, his craftmanship and imagination were esteemed.

One of the main reasons for the negative feedback Raitio’s orchestral works received in the 1920s, is a practical one. Raitio had written his scores with a central European 100-musician-orchestra in mind, but the Helsinki Philharmonic was small – 69 musicians in the 1920s. Even with hired extras the balance between heavy brass section and the strings must have been less than ideal. The instrumental parts are also complicated and technically difficult, so with the orchestra’s tight rehearsal and performance schedule it probably was not possible for the musicians to learn the works well enough.

Operas and commissions

Raitio was a great admirer of French music and language, but he was able to visit Paris rather late, in 1925–1926. In an interview after his return to Helsinki he named the composers and works that had pleased him the most: Florent Schmitt, Maurice Ravel and Jacques Ibert. Later Raitio mentioned that the Paris trip had been a turning point on his career; he started to head towards the opera.

From the late 1920s until his death Raitio wrote almost exclusively two kinds of music: large stage works and small commissioned pieces for the newly established ensemble of the Finnish Radio Broadcasting Company. The Radio ensemble commissions are stylistically and structurally simple works, with titles referring to nature or customary classical composition forms, whereas the operas and ballets continue Raitio’s modernist idiom.

Historical topics popular at the time, almost Wagnerian endless recitative melodies, and colorful orchestration are characteristic for Raitio’s operas. Compared to the uniform Scriabin- and Debussy-influenced orchestral works of the early 1920s, the idiom in the operas is diverse, even eclectic; from Stravinsky-like crisply dissonant rhythmic passages to conventionally beautiful and pious tonal hymns. Particularly Raitio’s full-length operas – Prinsessa Cecilia [Princess Cecilia] (1933) and Kaksi kuningatarta [Two queens] (1937–1940) – were praised by the critics, and by the 1940s Raitio was considered a prominent opera composer.

Eccentric and aloof

Not very much is known about Raitio’s private life or opinions. In the few interviews made with him, Raitio comes across as extremely reserved and introverted, but also uncompromising and determined. Not much is known about how Raitio composed either. No sketchbooks have been preserved, so either he never used them or they were lost or destroyed. However, several people close to him claimed that he wrote score directly.

Like Ravel and Debussy, also Väinö Raitio loved cats. He even dedicated one of his finest orchestral works, Kuutamo Jupiterissa (1922–1923), to his cat. The dedication has been read as misanthropic disdain towards the people around him or a declaration of eccentric independence. Raitio himself, however, said he simply wished to honour the memory of a beloved family member.

According to his correspondence, Raitio had always suffered from insomnia and anxiety, which led to overindulgence of sedatives, especially during the Second World War. In 1944 he got bone cancer – which first was diagnosed as rheumatism and treated accordingly. Raitio died in a hospital in Helsinki on the 10th of September, 1945.

In the narrative of Finnish music history, Raitio’s fate as a neglected composer was established as early as in his obituaries, which declared that the value of his work would only be truly understood in the future. However, during his lifetime Raitio’s music was, if not understood, at least appreciated. The performances, recordings and research of his music has increased steadily, and today Raitio is considered one of the most important composers in the Finnish music history.

This text was originally published on the leaflet of Väinö Raitio – Œuvres pour piano CD, played by Jean Dubé. (Syrius SYR 141491) Read a review of the album here. Read more about Raitio here.

c) Hanna Isolammi 2019