Stefan Heucke - a German Composer

Stefan Heucke is a german composer. He was born May 24^th 1959 in Gaildorf/Baden-Wuerttemberg.

He studied piano, arrangement and composition in Dortmund. Later he becomes academic at the University of Musik in Detmold. He was composer in residence of the University of Witten-Herdecke and he is the current composer in residence of the orchestra “Niederrheinische Sinfonie” in Krefeld/Mönchengladbach. In 2007 he got the Hans-Werner-Henze-Award.

In his compositions he especially is interested in the alliance between music an language. His opus includes songs for voice and different instrumentation, orchestral works (symphonies, compositions for voice and orchestra), chamber music, sacred music and compositions for music theatre. In his opera “Das Frauenorchester von Auschwitz” the point of discussion is the real women orchestra of the German concentration- and elimination-camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Second World War. All the members of this orchestra were prisoners who had for example to play concerts for the German SS-officers. His newest composition is the oratorio “Nikolaus Gross”, a member of resistance in the German National Socialism.

homepage Stefan Heucke (German)

documentation "Das Frauenorchester von Auschwitz" 1 (German)

documentation "Das Frauenorchester von Auschwitz" 2 (German)

documentation "Das Frauenorchester von Auschwitz" 3 (German)
video "Nikolaus Gross"


Christian Witte (teacher)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)

J. S. Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the baroque period.

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the main composers of the Baroque style, and as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Bach's son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach is sure that his father learned composing as an autodidact. There is no conveyed composing lessons he took. Since his youth he learned by listening, reading, transcribe, editingand copying of music and musical forms.

Musically he was influenced on the music from north and south Germany, Austria, France and Italy.

Bach's musical works were catalogued by Wolfgang Schmieder's so called „Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis“ (BWV).

In many areas Bach did some innovation and advancements of musicals forms.

Information on all compositions of Bach you get at the Catalouge of the German National Library.

One of the most popular works of Bach is the „Toccata and Fugue in d minor“ written for church organ.


matthiasreuss (teacher)

Magnus Lindberg

Magnus Lindberg (born 27 June 1958, Helsinki) is a Finnish composer and pianist.

He studied composition at the Sibelius-Academy in Helsinki.

1992, he received the Music Award of the Royal Philarmonic Society in London. 2000 he won the first europeen Composition Prize. 2003, Lindberg got the highly doped, finnish Wihuri-Sibelius Prize. Since september 2009 he is Composer in Residence by the New York Philharmonic.









Some of his compositions are Quintetto dell'Estate (1979, the oldest one), Ur (1986) and EXPO (2009, the newest one).

Marcel Schuetz

Jenkka

Jenkka is a fast Finnish partner dance originated in Finnish folk dance. It is danced to the music in 2/4 or 4/4 time signature of about 140 beats per minute. Men and women do similar steps. The initial dance position is the man is to the left of the woman both facing in the direction of the line of dance, with their inner arms on each other's waists. The dancers go forward in a run similar to Polka: "left-right-left-hop(on the left foot)", "right-left-right-hop". After than they join the free arms assume the face-to-face closed dance position and proceed with the chain of pivot turns stepping "left-right-left-right" or "left-hop-right-hop". The runs of similar steps are normally started at the beginnings of musical phrases. dance sample
Lisa Kraus

Karjalanpiirakat

For approximately 20 pies

Dough:

2 dl water
4 dl rye flour
1 dl white flour
1 tsp salt

Rice filling:

4 dl short-grain rice
2 liters milk
5 dl water
1 tsp salt
2 tbs butter

Glazing:

Butter
(water or milk)

Egg-Butter Spread:

8 hard-boiled eggs
150 gr butter
½ tsp salt

Rice filling:
Bring water to a boil in a saucepan with a thick bottom. Add the rice and cook until the water is absorbed. Add milk and bring to a boil whilst frequently stirring. Simmer at a low heat for approximately 30 - 40 minutes, until cooked. Season the rice porridge with salt and butter and set aside to cool.

Egg-Butter Spread:
Boil the eggs in water for at least 8 minutes. Rinse the boiled eggs under cold water and remove their shells. Use a fork to mash the eggs finely together with the soft butter, in a mixing bowl. Add some salt. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place into the fridge to cool.

Crusts:
Stir the flours and salt into water and knead into a solid dough. Form the dough into a bar on a well-floured baking board, and cut the bar into 20 pieces. Form little balls from the pieces and then flatten them. Sprinkle some rye flour onto the baking board, and with a rolling pin, roll a piece of the dough into as thin a round crust as possible. Place the ready-made crusts into two piles (sprinkle rye flour between them!). Cover the crusts with a kitchen towel to prevent them from becoming dry before all the crusts have been rolled.

When all the crusts are ready, fill the center of each crust with a thin layer of rice porridge. Fold the edges of the crusts and pinch tightly with your fingers forming oval shaped pies. (Turn the tips of the pies inwards to prevent them from burning during baking).

Place the pies onto a baking tray covered with greaseproof paper, and bake at 275 – 300 degrees Celsius for 10 - 15 minutes, until golden brown.

When the pies are removed from the oven, brush them with melted butter or a butter and water / milk mixture. Place the pies onto a greaseproof paper and cover with a kitchen towel to soften. (If you prefer a crispy crust, do not cover the pies!)

Serve the Karelian Pies warm together with the Egg-Butter Spread.

Tina Krause

Pappilan hätävara

Ingredients (4 portions):

-200 gr cookie crumbs or dry cake crumbs
-1 dl light juice (apple)
-2 dl strawberry, raspberry or apple jam
-2 dl whipped cream
-1 tsp sugar

Preparation:

1. Whip the cream together with the sugar until light. Moisten the cookie or cake crumbs with juice.

2. Place the ingredients in layers (crumbs, jam and whipped cream) into dessert dishes or a bowl.

3. Cover the dessert dishes or bowl with plastic wrap and place into the fridge for preferably 2 – 3 hours before serving.

Lisa Kraus

Wilfried Hiller - a german composer

Wilfried Hiller is a German composer. He was born March 15th 1941 in Weissenhorn.

He is especially known for his stage entertainments for family, kids and young persons.

The meeting with the German children's book writer Michael Ende was the beginning of an artistic partnership and a close friendship which continued until the death of Ende in 1995 and which caused to some triumphant stage entertainments like Tranquilla Trampeltreu, Der Goggolori or das Traumfresserchen.

Wilfried Hiller is the current president of the German Sibelius association.

portrait of the composer (german)

homepage of Wilfried Hiller

video "Traumfresserchen"

video "Chagall-Zyklus"

Christian Witte (teacher)

                    

Apulanta

History:
Apulanta is a very famous Finnish rock band, founded in 1991 when all the members were just teenagers.
Initially playing various forms of rock like punk, ska and metal, they soon shifted to a catchier, more radio-friendly style. So they have been fluctuating between these extremes and many other since. Their more recent songs tend to combine melodic and catchtt choruses with heavy guitar riffs.

They landed their first hit in 1996 with their song 'Mitä Kuulu' and they became their breakthrough.

Since then, they have consistently topped the Finnish charts, and they continue to be one of the most succesful rock bands in Finland. Since then, they have consistently topped the Finnish charts, and they continue to be one of the most successful rock bands in Finland. 'Teit meistä kauniin' is one of the all-time biggest-selling singles in Finland and their current hit-single 'Koneeseen kadonnut' has been extremely successful. As of January 2006, 16 of their singles and 8 albums have reached the number one spot on the Finnish charts.
And every single was in the Top five of the charts in Finland.

Current mebers:

• Toni Wirtanen – lead vocals and guitar (bass 1991-1992) since 1991
• Simo 'Sipe' Santapukki – drums and backing vocals since 1991
• Sami 'Parta-Sami' Lehtinen – bass and backing vocals (guitar 2001-2004) since 2005

(Current Members, since 2005)

The breakthrough-hit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNWhJ6Z7Wb0
(Mitä Kuulu)

Another number one hit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEB5Ypqg34A
(Koneeseen Kadonnut)

Andreas Gagel

Finnish Tango

Finnish tango is an established variation of the Argentine tango and one of the most enduring and popular music forms in Finland. Brought to Europe in the 1910s by travelling musicians, Finns began to take up the form and write their own tangos in the 1930s.By the 1940s about half of the entries on the popular music charts were occupied by tangos, and the post war period saw tangos spread from a popular urban phenomenon to their enthusiastic adoption by the countryside as well. Special characteristics of Finnish tango include the change of rhythm. Also habanera rhythm is used often.

The Finnish tango is distinguished from other forms of tango by its almost exclusive performance in minor keys and themes reflecting established conventions in Finnish folklore. As the head of the Finnish National Broadcaster's gramophone library explains, "The central themes of Finnish tango lyrics are love, sorrow, nature and the countryside. Many tangos express a longing for the old homestead, or a distant land of happiness. The changing seasons of Finnish nature are frequently used metaphors: the spring breaks the hold of the winter, and flowers appear, creating new expectations. Autumn rains and dark evenings are symbols of crushed hopes."

One of the highlights of Finnish summers is the Tangoamarkkinat, or tango festival, held annually since 1985 in the central Finnish town of Seinäjoki. The festival attracts more than 100,000 participants annually (from a population of just over 5 million) and is capped by the coronation of the tango King and Queen, who receive much domestic media attention and often recording contracts as well.

Since joining the European in 1995, Finland's version of the tango has begun to receive wider attention, particularly the works of Olavi Virta, Toivo Kärki and Unto Mononen , the most renowned composer-performers.

The most well known Finnish tango songs include "Satumaa " by Unto Mononen, "Liljankukka" by Toivo Kärki, "Punatukkaiselle tytölleni" by Olavi Virta.

music/dance sample

Lisa Kraus

Finnish folk music instruments

Finland has many music instruments that differ from other countries instruments.
-A very popular one is the Kantele: it is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family. It has 5-6 horsehair strings and a wooden body.


Here you can hear some example of the played Kantele:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hseaRuIytSs

-An other typical instrument is the Willow Flute. Also known as sallow flute, it is a Scandinavian folk flute consisting of a simple tube but it has no finger holes. Those instruments are mentioned in folk poems or songs. The willow flute is a type of overtone flute. It is played by varying the force of the air that is blown into the mouthpiece, with the end of the tube being covered by the finger or left open.


Just listen to him playing the Willow Flute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3iXvMiNPVI

-There´s also the Jouhikko, which is a 2 or 3 stringed bowed lyre. Its strings are traditionally of horsehair. The playing of this instrument died out in the early 20th century but has been revived and there are now a number of musicians playing it. It roughly arised in the 14th century, but the origin is very obscure.


Follow the link and get a taste of the played Jouhikko!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8BeaU1LOd8



Julia Weiss

Popeda

Popeda is a Finnish rock band hailing from Tampere and one of the staples of Manserock. Epe Helenius, who signed the band for Poko Records in 1977, called the band "Finnish Rolling Stones". Musically their style is a combination of Rock 'n' Roll, Rhythm 'n' Blues and Boogie , with humorous lyrics by their vocalist Pate Mustajärvi, often concerning girls, cars and drinking.

They produced more than 300 Songs in total and 22 Albums, 6 Compilations and 2 DVDs.
Popeda was founded in November 1977 by Pauli ”Pate” Mustajärvi and Ilari ”Ilpo” Ainiala . Popeda's 1983 album Kaasua is considered their breakthrough. Pate Mustajärvi is these days the band's only original member.

The band’s original guitarist Tapani “Arwo” Mikkonen died suddenly of a heart attack before a show in 1986.

Members:

• Pate Mustajärvi - vocals (1977–present)
• Costello Hautamäki - guitars, vocals (1982–present)
• Jyrki K. Melartin - bass guitar, vocals (1980–1990, 1995–present)
• Pate Kivinen - keyboards (2008–present)
• Lacu Lahtinen - drums, vocals (2008–present)

They are on 29^th place of the best-selling music artists in Finland, having sold 458,823 records.

music sample

Lisa Kraus

Hassisen Kone

Hassisen Kone was a Finnisch rock band, founded in 1979 in Joensuu. The young musicians rose to popularity in 1980 after winning the Finnish rock championship in the New Wave category. They recorded three highly successful albums before disbanding in 1982. Thesinger/songwriterIsmo Alanko has led several bands since then and continues to be an influential name in Finnish rock music.

History:

The idea of forming Hassisen Kone came to Ismoa Alanko in 1979, when he heard the Eppu Normali album Maximum Jee&Jee while working in Stockholm. Alanko returned to Finland and started the band with guitarist Reijo Heiskanen and drummer Harri Kinnunen. The band's name was based on a local home appliance store of the same name. The three men had earlier played together in a progressive rock group called Sight. Kinnunen's little brother Jussi was hired to play the bass.

In March 1980, the newly formed Hassisen Kone won the Finnish rock championship, an annual competition for young musicians held since 1970. The victory raised public interest for the band, and when their debut album Täältä tullaan Venäjä was released in June, it was an instant hit. But the ironic lyrics of the song "Rappiolla" caused some reporters to start complaining about indecency in rock songs.

Hassisen Kone disbanded in August 1982. Alanko and Orma went on to form SielunVeljet, another famous band in Finland, shortly afterwards.

Hassisen Kone has played several nostalgic reunion concerts after they disbanded. In 2000, they reunited for a concert on midsummer at the Joensuu Laulurinne.

Links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb6aR8oWYhw
           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1HgWkjodQg

Lena Bremer

Stam1na

Stam1na is a Trash-Metal Band which was found in 1996 with the name „Stamina“. In the first demos in 1997 to 2000 the textes were in English, but at the demo „vihaa“ in 2001 all songs are in finnish. 2002 the members changed the name into „Stam1na“ making the band easier to find in search engines.

The debut album reached rank 13 in the albumcharts, which was createt in eight weeks. It was released on 2.March in 2005. The second album was ranked on the third place of the albumcharts. It was named Uudet kymmenen käskyä (eng. the new Ten Commandments). Stam1na produced five albums:

• Stam1na
• 2006: Uudet kymmenen käskyä rank 3 in the albumcharts
• 2008: Raja (The Border) rank 1 in the albumcharts
• 2010: Viimeinen Atlantis (The last Atlantis) rank 1 in the albumcharts
• 2010: Vanhaa Paskaa (old shit) rank 2 in the albumcharts

audio  sample

Sebastian Hofmann

Erik Tulindberg (1761 – 1814)

Erik Tulindberg was born on the 22^nd february 1761 in Vähäkyrö, a city in western Finland.

He was a finish composer and violin player who composed classical music. After his academic studies in Oulu he was ordered to the Royal Swedish Music Academy in 1797.

Conveyed as compositions are his 6 string quartets and one concert for violin.

All of his composed music was rediscovered over one hundred years after his death in 1814. His musical was influenced by the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn.


Further information on Tulindberg's string quartets and his life you can get here .


For further information on Tulindberg in different languages you can the visit the multilingual archive  .


Audio sample: From the string quartet "From winter to spring"



matthiasreuss (teacher)

The Sibelius-Hall - Sibeliustalo

The concert and congress hall in Lahti is named after the finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The wooden designed hall was completed in  March 2000. The main designers of the hall were Kimmo Lintula and Hannu Tikka, the acoustics were engineered by the New Yorker company Artec Consultants.

The hall has a capacity of 1,250 seats. From each seat you have the same sound listening quality.

Short visual visit to the Sibelius Hall via youtube.

matthiasreuss (teacher)

Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957)

Jean Sibelius was born on the 8^th of December in 1865. His real name was Johan Julius Christian or Janne Sibelius.

Amongst others he studied musics in Berlin and Wien. After his studies he turned to the University of Helsinki in 1897 and worked as a music professor and composer.

Sibelius is one of the most popular finish composers and one of only a few finnish composers who are also famous outside of Finland.


Further information on Sibelius in  foreign languages 

Get access to the  German Sibelius Association



matthiasreuss (teacher)

Kotiteollisuus

Kotiteollisuus



is a finnish Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band that was formed in 1991 in Lappeenranta. The band released its first demo tape in 1993 under the name "Hullu ukko ja Kotiteollisuus" ("Crazy Old Man and Home Industry"). The shortened name and current line-up was established in 1997.

Kotiteollisuus is said to combine "furious heavy metal with Finnish sullenness". Subjects frequently touched upon in songs are the current state of the nation, religion and mankind in general. The band members have become known for their outspokenness during interviews and shows. Especially guitarist-vocalist Jouni Hynynen is known for insulting and commenting on the audience during live shows.

Kotiteollisuus is one of the most popular metal bands in Finland, having produced one platinum and several gold-selling albums and winning Emmy-awardsin 2003 and 2005 for best metal record (Helvetistä itään) and best DVD (Kotiteollisuus DVD) respectively.

Links:

Kummitusjuna: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgYFpLcY4w4
Website: http://www.kotiteollisuus.com/

Marcel Schuetz