by HELMI LIUKKONEN (soprano)
Madame Liukkonen , who made her first appearance last night in the Sibelius concert at the Promenades, here introduces a programme of compositions by her Finnish countrymen.
Erkki Melartin , one of the most prominent Finnish composers after Sibelius, was born in 1875. Among his numerous compositions are five symphonies and an opera.
Lauri Ikonen was born in 1888 and studied in Berlin under Paul Juon.
Yrjo Kilpinen is mainly a song composer with a rapidly rising reputation. He was born in 1892. Armas Jarnefelt, bom in 1869, is the composer of some very popular orchestral pieces and scarcely needs an introduction to listeners.
Tovio Kuula , who died a tragic death at the age of thirty-five in the Finnish War of Independence in 1918, gave promise of being one of the most characteristic of Finnish composers. His music, of which there is, unfortunately, only too little, was richly coloured with the folk-music of his country.