Marjut Tynkkynen: The loneliness of the long-distance accordion player

As a little girl, Marjut Tynkkynen found herself in a music class where everyone played the piano. She came from an ordinary working-class family, and there was no piano at home. Her parents therefore bought her an accordion instead. At that time, some twenty years ago, the accordion was considered fit for little more than folk music and playing tangos, but Marjut Tynkkynen saw it in a new light.

“I took it seriously right from the start. Since my parents had bought it, I played it. It was terribly important to me as a means of expression. I never really thought about what instrument I wanted to play; I took up the accordion simply because that’s what I was given.”

Tynkkynen never even entertained the idea of making a career in light music since training in this was even more of a rarity than the accordion in serious music. Although virtually every other Finnish home has an accordion and there are thousands of Finnish hits beginning with a solo accordion, instruction on the instrument in the popular music sector will not be available until next year, at the Oulunkylä Pop/Jazz Conservatoire. In the serious music sector, the accordion was admitted to the Sibelius Academy in 1977. Four students were, to begin with, accepted for the solo course, the youngest of whom was 16-year-old Marjut Tynkkynen. She was completely undaunted by the prospect of a professional career with an instrument carrying little prestige.

“Some people thought we were most peculiar when we started at the Sibelius Academy. But I was so young and so sensitive, I didn’t put up a fight.”

Nowadays, the young accordion students entering the Sibelius Academy know just what is in store. There is work for teachers but very few concerts. Some are bitter about this, but not Tynkkynen.

“I wouldn’t be bitter even if I hadn’t had any success, because I wouldn’t want to do anything else. It wasn’t difficult for me to choose my career, and I wasn’t afraid of the future. Music is so important to me it never even occurred to me to do anything else.”

Tynkkynen is getting a bit tired of all the snide remarks about her instrument. It’s all the same to her what people think, because she’s going to play the accordion whatever they say. When pressed, she does, however, admit that although the accordion is a popular instrument, it is nevertheless often classed as amateur.

“What is it that appeals to people? The ugly sound, I suppose! I’ve just been on holiday down south, and when people saw me humping my accordion around, they all said what a nice hobby it is and what fun it must be. As if anyone would take an instrument weighing 20 kilos on holiday just for the fun of it!”

New music an important part of the repertoire

In Marjut Tynkkynen’s opinion, the real problems facing the accordion have nothing to do with prestige or the shortage of jobs. The repertoire is still very narrow, even though the accordion is a very versatile instrument. The situation in Finland is exceptional: the leading composers of the 1980s got enthusiastic about writing good music – both solo works and chamber music – for the accordion.

The standard of the Finnish works is, according to Tynkkynen, in a completely different class from those of, say, the Soviet Union and Germany, the big accordion countries.

“What the Finnish composers care about most is the music. They have not succumbed to dreaming up new effects and tricks. Technically the pieces are often difficult and require speed and stamina. On the other hand, Finnish accordion players usually have a good technique, possibly because of our polka tradition, because polkas require very nimble fingers.”

Tynkkynen has given the first performances of “only about ten” new Finnish works. At her debut, she played the solo work Gena, composed for her by Jouni Kaipainen, and since then she has performed works by such composers as Erkki Jokinen, Kalevi Aho, Jukka Tiensuu, Olli Koskelin, and Paavo Heininen. She has a special word of praise for the accordion music by Erkki Jokinen.

Audiences have, she says, received both the accordion and the new music with an open mind. She was particularly busy last summer, when she was voted the young artist-of-the-year by the Finland Festivals chain.

“In Lapland especially, people were quite crazy about new music. After the concert, they came running after me whenever I played modern Finnish pieces!”

As a teacher, Tynkkynen has also found that young people are enthusiastic about new music. In fact, her pupils can’t wait to start playing clusters. In her opinion, there is no reason at all why new music should not be used even in teaching beginners.

“It would be a good way of approaching the instrument, putting it through its paces right at the start. From then onwards, pupils would have nothing to fear or be nervous about. Unfortunately, there isn’t any new music for children. Really all you can do is improvise, play clusters and, in general, experiment.”

The ranks of accordion players are growing steadily. Marjut Tynkkynen’s youngest pupils have been “little angels of four.”

What astonishes her is that the pupils who have chosen the accordion as their instrument seem to be completely at home with new music. They know what it’s all about, and they have heard a lot of contemporary music. With other instruments, the situation is quite different, because the repertoire centres around the classical-romantic era.

“At the Sibelius Academy even Debussy counts as new music. It came as quite a shock to me at the time.”

Music – not career – all important

“The most difficult thing in playing the accordion is making the physical effort as economical as possible; otherwise, it can be crippling. The accordion is a difficult instrument: you have to hold it in your lap, it’s very heavy, you have to move it in many directions, and to crown it all you can’t see what you’re playing.”

The worst thing about playing this instrument is, however, that it’s so lonely. Marjut Tynkkynen would like to play chamber music regularly, because she says you learn most by working with good musicians. The occasional chances to play chamber music are the accordion player’s lifeline.

“Orchestral musicians at least see one another, but this must be the loneliest instrument in the world in the serious music sector.”

Tynkkynen has tried to keep well away from the world accordion fraternity “for my own peace of mind,” even though getting on the circuit would bring in concerts in different parts of the world. Tynkkynen would rather spend her time elsewhere, listening to other instruments and playing chamber music.

She has no idea what to expect from the future or her career.

“I don’t look at life like that. I never expect anything. I do what I want and try to work on my weaker points. It’s a tremendous experience to play a good piece and to learn from it, though of course it’s sometimes – er – a bit lonely.”

This article was originally published in Finnish Music Quarterly 4/1991. Its English has been slightly modified for this re-publication.

Featured photo: Heikki Tuuli