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JouniKaipainenLongBiographyMusicSalesClassical

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Composers
Jouni Kaipainen
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Jouni Kaipainen
Born: 1956
Nationality: Finnish
Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen
Photo Hannu Mnnynoksa
LikeLindberg,JouniKaipainen(b.1956)hasalsoprogressedfromhisspiky
Modernismofthe1980stoaclearer,harmonicallyandsonorouslysofterlanguage.
HismusicalrootsareinabrandofExpressionismgoingbacktoAlbanBerginhis
earlyoutput,hismusichadratheracerbictones,parallelingtheexpressionandPost
SerialismofsuchcomposersasBerndAloisZimmermann,PierreBoulezand
LucianoBerio.InKaipainenslateroutput,hehasintroducedaClassicalclarityinto
hisExpressionistwritingwhilealsoincorporatingaFrenchstylecolouristelement
whichisscarcelysurprisingconsideringhisprofessedadmirationforDebussy,Ravel
andHenriDutilleux.
KaipainenwasoneofthefewEarsOpen!composerstostudyonlyinFinlandhis
teacherswereAulisSallinenandPaavoHeininen.Heemergedasacomposerof
vocalworkswhilestillstudyinginthe1970s,andhewasatfirstbrandedalyricist.
ThemostsignificantoftheseearlyworksisCinqpomesdeRenChar(197880)
forsopranoandorchestra,aworkoffinelysculpteddodecaphonicmelodies.Atthe
sametime,however,hewasalreadywritingworksthatshowedamuchmoreModernistapproach.LadderstoFire(1979)for
twopianosisamultifacetedpyrotechnicalanddramaticpiecethatincorporatescolouristelementssuchasplayingthepiano
directlyonthestringsandincludesaconcludingmovementexperimentingwithopenformandaleatorics.
ThecolouristelementbecameevenstrongerinTroismorceauxdelaube(1981)forcelloandpiano,elegantlytakingin
quotesfromMahlerssongIchbinderWeltabhandengekommenandWagnersSiegfriedIdyllinitsfirstmovement.
Kaipainenneverusedquotesagain,though,andhisuseofelectronicsislikewiserestrictedtoasinglework,Altaforte(1982)
forelectrictrumpetandtape.Kaipainensoutputinthe1980swaspredominantlychambermusic.Inadditiontoworkswith
descriptivetitlesFarfromHome(1981),Parcours(1983),PipingDowntheValleysWild(1984),Tombeaude
Rabelais(1987/95/98)andRemours(1990)healsowroteworksofabsolutemusicintraditionalgenres,most
significantlythedramaticandtechnicallydemandingThirdStringQuartet(1984)andTrioIII(1987)forpianotrio,a
symmetricalfivemovementworkwithanimpressivepivotalMarciafunebre.
OneofKaipainensprincipalearlyworksistheFirstSymphony(198085).Itscharacteristicsincludesharptransitionsand
incisivetextures,withextensivesoundfields,Xenakislikeglissandosandtranslucencyalmostinthemannerofchamber
music.Theworkisplayedwithoutabreakandisintentionallyambiguousinformaccordingtothecomposer,itcanbe
construedtohaveeitherone,twoorthreemovements,dependingontheviewpoint.
TheClarinetConcertoCarpediem!(1990)representsaturntowardsanewkindofexpression.Itisasortofmediator
betweenKaipainens1980soutputandhis1990soutput.TheConcertoisafleetingandenergeticworkwithvirtuosowriting,
describedbythecomposerasanantithesistotheWeltschmerzandAngstthatdominatesmuchofcontemporaryart.The
stylistictransitioncontinuedinKaipainensfollowingworks,andhehimselfspokeofaClassicalizationofhisstyleinseveral
interviewsatthetime.Astatementrecordedin1993summarizeshisnewattitude:Itusedtobethecasethatthelessa
composerwasunderstood,thebetter.Thingshavechanged,andelitismforitsownsakeisnolongerarelevantvalue.Ido
payattentiontothesurfacelevelofthemusicandtrytomakeitmoreattractive.
TheSecondSymphony(1994)isoneofthemostimpressiveworksofKaipainensnewperiod.Itisasoaringandcoherent
workwithanarchingdramaturgyandaclearlydefinedform,reminiscentofcomposerssuchasGustavMahler,AlbanBerg,
KarlAmadeusHartmann,HenriDutilleuxorevenJoonasKokkonen.ItiscompletelydifferentfromtheFirstSymphony,
highlightingtheextentofthetransitioninKaipainensoutput.Followingthelineofabsolutemusicinhisnewperiodarethe
relativelyrestrainedFourthStringQuartet(1994),theSextet(1997),castinthreemovementsbutplayedwithoutabreak,
andtheClarinetQuintet(2000),whichat40minutesisexceptionallyextensivebutfirmlycontrolled.
AlthoughKaipainenhasdescribedhisstylisticdevelopmentasClassicalization,hisstylecannotbedescribedasNeo

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9/17/2015

JouniKaipainenLongBiographyMusicSalesClassical
ClassicismitismorelikeasynthesisofExpressionismandClassicism.ThewellbalancedOboeConcerto(1994)isperhaps
themostNeoClassicalofKaipainenslaterworks.Hisuseofthesonataformcouldalsobecitedasaclassicalfeature,most
particularlyinthefirstmovementofthePianoConcerto(1997),whichfeaturesaProkofievianvivaciousmainsubjectandan
almostRakhmaninovlikesecondsubject,andthetraditionalcadenzaattheendofthemovement.Carpediem!foreshadowed
notonlyastylisticchangebutashiftoffocustoconcertos.
InadditiontoCarpediem!andtheOboeandPianoConcertosmentionedabove,Kaipainenhaswrittenaconcertofor
saxophonequartet,VernalConcerto,FromEquinoxtoSolstice(1996),aViolaConcerto(1997)andaHornConcerto
(2001).Accendelumensensibus(1996)isaconcertoforchamberorchestrathatfallssomewherebetweenconcertanteand
symphonicwritingitsoverallformandtosomeextentitsExpressionistidiomrecalltheFirstChamberSymphonyof
Schnberg.
VocalmusicisalsoanimportantcategoryinKaipainensoutput.Stjrnenatten(StarryNight,1989),afascinatingand
somewhatmysteriousworkforthecuriousensembleofsoprano,piano,percussion,sixcellosandfourdoublebasses,isone
ofhisfinestvocalworks.OthersignificantworksinthiscategoryareRunopolku(RuneWalk,1995)forsopranoandpianoand
GlhendeBlumendesLeichtsinns(1995)forsopranoandstringquartet.TheGermantextandensembleofthelatter,
echoingSchnbergsSecondStringQuartet,addtotheExpressionistdimension.Kaipainenhasbeenworkingonan
opera,Konstanzinihme(TheMiracleatConstance)sincethelate1980stodate,hehasreleasedthreeariasfromtheopera
(19871997).Hehasalsowrittennumerouschoralworks:Lacrimosa(1989),AntiphonaSATB(1992),Jauchzet!(1993),
Matkalla(OntheRoad,1995)andDesFlussesStimme(1996).
fromKimmoKorhonen:InventingFinnishMusicContemporaryComposersfromMedievaltoModernFinnishMusic
InformationCentre(Fimic)2003.translatedbyJaakkoMntyjrviwww.fimic.fi/inventing

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