Oskar Merikanto

By day, Tero Halvorsen is a mild-mannered archivist, but in his spare time he fights against time and oblivion. His tiny record label Finlandia Classics releases historical recordings made by Finnish singers celebrated in their day that would otherwise languish in radio vaults and private collections – and eventually disappear. While the operating environment for the recording industry has become challenging to say the least, Halvorsen’s passion and vision keep him going.

Ida Moberg (1859–1947) wished to command ensembles that produced a large sound while also touching human emotions: Most of her output is for orchestra or choir or both. The topics of her works largely has to do with individual’s spiritual metamorphosis.

When the biography of Oskar Merikanto was published in 1950, it was subtitled “A household name in Finland”. And although romanticising biographies were all the vogue at the time, the title nevertheless says much about the importance of Merikanto in moulding Finnish musical taste. In the early decades of the 20th century Oskar Merikanto, his performances and music, influenced the taste of the ordinary Finn more, even, than Sibelius.