Heikki Suolahti

Heikki Theodor Suolahti (2 February 1920, Helsinki – 27 December 1936, Helsinki) was a Finnish composer.

Suolahti studied under Arvo Laitinen in Helsinki from 1929 to his death. In 1935, he composed "Sinfonia piccola", which was first performed on February 1938 under Tauno Hannikainen. Hannikainen also orchestrated some of Suolahti's songs. "Sinfonia piccola" was published in the United States in 1959. When the composer died at the age of 16, none of his works had been performed publicly yet. He left the opera "Pärttylin yö" and a few other works unfinished.

Suolahti, a huge admirer of Richard Wagner, was promised a trip to the Bayreuth Opera Festival in the summer of 1937, but his death soon after the Christmas 1936 prevented it.

Jean Sibelius was fascinated of "Sinfonia piccola" and praised it to Suolahti's mother after the composer's untimely death.

External links

* [http://www.fimic.fi/suolahti The Finnish Music Information Centre on Suolahti]