Blue on White: The Music of Finland's Ill-Fated Martyr Toivo Kuula
Presentation by Hannah Comia

Born with the name “kuula” meaning “bullet” in English, the Finnish composer Toivo Kuula (1883 – 1918) died after suffering a friendly-fire gunshot wound at the start of the Finnish Civil War. Leading up to this event, Kuula lived as a musician, becoming the first student of Finland’s most famous composer, Jean Sibelius. Despite dying at the age of thirty-five, Kuula composed a number of works for voice and piano, among better known orchestral and choral works. Though performed regularly in Finland, Kuula’s music has not had the international recognition that his teacher and very few other Finnish composers have attained. This presentation, developed from my experience working on Finnish art song at the Sibelius Academy and the Metropolia UAS in Helsinki, will explore Kuula’s art songs, their musical characteristics and poetic inspirations that helped shape Finland’s artistic identity, and the composer’s political motivations that ultimately led to his ill-fated death.

Free and open to the public!