12 Facts About Aulis Sallinen

1.

Aulis Sallinen was born on 9 April 1935 and is a Finnish contemporary classical music composer.

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2.

Aulis Sallinen's music has been variously described as "remorselessly harsh", a "beautifully crafted amalgam of several 20th-century styles", and "neo-romantic".

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3.

Aulis Sallinen studied at the Sibelius Academy, where his teachers included Joonas Kokkonen.

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4.

Aulis Sallinen has had works commissioned by the Kronos Quartet, and has written seven operas, eight symphonies, concertos for violin, cello, flute, horn, and English horn, as well as several chamber works.

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5.

Aulis Sallinen won the Nordic Council Music Prize in 1978 for his opera Ratsumies.

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6.

Aulis Sallinen was known to be extremely creative and spent much time during his teenage years improvising.

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7.

Aulis Sallinen attended the Sibelius Academy of Music and studied with a number of prestigious teachers such as Aarre Merikanto and Joonas Kokkonen.

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8.

Aulis Sallinen was appointed as the general manager of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1960 and held the position until 1969.

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9.

Aulis Sallinen's next opera, Kuningas lahtee Ranskaan, was a joint commission by Covent Garden and the Finnish National Opera.

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10.

Aulis Sallinen has revived standard forms and harmonies, but he puts them together in contemporary ways.

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11.

Aulis Sallinen has received a number of commissions from renowned ensembles and has composed eight symphonies, including one using material from a proposed ballet based on The Lord of the Rings and containing two mediaeval Finnish tunes from the Piae Cantiones.

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12.

Aulis Sallinen has written seven operas and is well known as the composer of the title track of the Kronos Quartet's album Winter Was Hard.

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