Madetoja Leevi Madetoja

Leevi Antti Madetoja (pronounced [ˈmɑdet.ˈojɑ]; 17 February 1887, Oulu – 6 October 1947, Helsinki) was a Finnish composer, music critic, conductor, and teacher of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods. He is generally considered to be among the most significant Finnish composers to emerge after Jean Sibelius, under whom he studied privately from 1908–10. The core of Madetoja's oeuvre consists of a set of three symphonies (1916, 1918, and 1926), arguably the finest early-twentieth century additions to the Finnish canon of any composer, Sibelius excepted. Central to Madetoja's legacy is his opera The Ostrobothnians (1924), dubbed Finland's "national opera" following its successful premiere and, even today, a stalwart of Finnish concert repertoires. Madetoja's other notable works include an Elegia for strings (1909); The Garden of Death (1918–21), a three-movement suite for solo piano; the Japanisme ballet-pantomime Okon Fuoko (1927); and a second opera, Juha (1935).

Acclaimed during his lifetime, Madetoja is today seldom heard outside the Nordic countries, although his music has in recent decades enjoyed an apparent renaissance, as shown by the recording projects of a number of Nordic orchestras and conductors. His idiom is notably introverted (especially for a national Romantic composer) and shows the influence of Finnish melancholy, folk melodies from his native region Ostrobothnia, the elegance and clarity of the French symphonic tradition, especially César Franck and Vincent d'Indy, and sometimes Sibelius.

Madetoja was also an influential music critic, primarily at the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (1916–32), for which he reviewed concerts and penned essays on the music scenes of both Finland and France. In 1918, he married the Finnish poet L. Onerva; their marriage was tempestuous and remained childless.