Yrjo kilpinen biography of williams

MUSICIANS THE WORLD OVER marked 2009 with performances commemorating the birth or death years of Handel (1685-1759), Haydn (1732-1809), Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and even Spohr (1784-1859).

The 1809 births of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin also contributed to make the year especially memorable for acknowledging the contributions of all these historical figures. However, the year passed without any significant recognition of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Finnish song composer Yrjo Kilpinen (1892-1959), a name that today hardly registers with musicians and audiences outside of Finland, but who, in his day, enjoyed a status there second only to his older contemporary, Jean Sibelius.

In the early to middle decades of the twentieth century, Kilpinen's lieder were heard and praised in many of Europe's music capitals. The first Kilpinen Society was formed in London in 1934, his lied