Yrjö Kilpinen

Yrjö Kilpinen (February 4, 1892 – March 2, 1959) was a Finnish composer. He was born in Helsinki, and in 1907 he started his studies in the Helsingin Musiikkiopisto (later named Sibelius Academy). In 1910 Kilpinen moved to Vienna to continue his studies and from 1913 to 1914 he studied in Berlin.

Kilpinen is most famous for composing 790 works in the Lieder style. Among his other works were six piano sonatas, a violin sonata and a cello sonata.

As a lied composer he should be considered as one of the most remarkable names of the 20th century. It is no wonder, then, that during the 1930s and 40s he was internationally the most well-known Finnish composer after Sibelius.

Kilpinen's friendship with the German national-socialistic leaders brought him a bad name after the war, after which he was more or less a 'persona non grata'.

In April 1999, The North American Yrjö Kilpinen Society came into existence.

References

*The Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, pg. 234, (c)1940, Blue Ribbon Books, Inc. (Original (c) 1903)
* [http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/mainframe?readform&91BF831F97E9F799C2256D820020AF73 Kimmo Korhonen: Inventing Finnish Music - Contemporary Composers from Medieval to Modern] , retrieved October 4, 2006
* [http://www.kilpinen.org The North American Yrjö Kilpinen Society]