Maria Kalaniemi
Encyclopedia
Maria Kalaniemi is a Finnish
accordion
ist. She was originally classically trained, but has become mostly as folk musician having played this music from childhood, besides her classical music studies, and also at the folk music
department of the Sibelius Academy
.
Groups she is or has been involved with are:
She has also worked and recorded with the Swedish fiddler Sven Ahlbäck, the popular Finnish singer Katri Helena
, singer/actor/flautist Vesa-Matti Loiri
, Finnish accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen
and many others. In 2004, she was the special guest at the concert in London
with the BBC Concert Orchestra
and the Finnish fiddler group JPP
playing duets with Timo Alakotila plus a piece by Alakotila for accordion, orchestra and JPP written for this occasion.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
ist. She was originally classically trained, but has become mostly as folk musician having played this music from childhood, besides her classical music studies, and also at the folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
department of the Sibelius Academy
Sibelius Academy
The Sibelius Academy is a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki. The Academy is the only music university in Finland. It is among the biggest European music universities...
.
Groups she is or has been involved with are:
- Niekku, formed during the years at the Sibelius Academy: Before they disbanded, they recorded three albums.
- Aldargaz, also formed at the Sibelius Academy including fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
r Arto JärveläArto JärveläArto Järvelä is a Finnish fiddler and composer. Because of the many groups and projects he is involved in, he has been called "the busiest man in Finnish folk music". He is primarily a violinist, but among other instruments of his are nyckelharpa, mandolin and kantele...
, pianistPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
Timo AlakotilaTimo AlakotilaTimo Alakotila is a Finnish composer, arranger, and musician born July 15, 1959.Timo Alakotila's range of music styles stretches from Finnish folk music of the pelimanni style over some jazz influences to more or less Finnish style tangos, and with some extensions to classical music...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
ist Petri Hakala, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Olli Varis and Tapani Varis. The group made their last recording in 1999. - A duo consisting of her and Timo Alakotila, that recorded the album Ambra.
- Maria Kalaniemi Trio, extending the duo with Olli Varis. Both the duo and the trio plays traditional tunes, popular Finnish tunes from about mid 20th century as well as new material by Kalaniemi and Alakotila. The trio released a live CD recorded in TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Tokyo concert, that partly contains the same tunes as the duos Ambra. - Accordion TribeAccordion TribeAccordion Tribe were an international accordion group featuring Bratko Bibič , Lars Hollmer , Maria Kalaniemi , Guy Klucevsek and Otto Lechner...
, an international accordion group consisting of Maria, Guy KlucevsekGuy KlucevsekGuy Klucevsek is an American-born accordionist and composer.Klucevsek is one of relatively few accordion players active in jazz and free improvisation....
from U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Bratko BibicBratko BibicBratko Bibič is a Slovenian accordionist.Bibič first came to prominence as a rock musician, playing in the ensembles Begnagrad and Nimal in the 1980s; both groups were pivotal on the rock scene blending Slavic folk music with art rock...
from SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Lars HollmerLars HollmerLars Gustav Gabriel Hollmer was a Swedish accordionist, keyboardist and composer whose work draws on influences ranging from Nordic folk tunes to progressive rock. He has been a member and/or founder of over half a dozen groups, most of whose work has been recorded at The Chickenhouse, his well...
from SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Otto LechnerOtto LechnerOtto Lechner is an Austrian accordionist.Lechner taught himself to play the accordion starting at age four. He has been blind since age 15. Lechner is currently a member of the group Accordion Tribe and musical director of two ensembles in Vienna, Otto's Jazz Ensemble and Das Erste Wiener Strenge...
from AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... - Unto Tango Orchestra (Tango-Orkesteri Unto) with Pirjo Aittomäki (vocals), Timo Alakotila, Petri Hakala (guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
), Mauno JärveläMauno JärveläMauno Järvelä is a Finnish fiddler, violinist and music pedagogue. He is the uncle of Arto Järvelä, and both of them are members in the successful folk music group JPP, whose roots are the pelimanni tradition from Kaustinen...
(violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
) and Hannu Rantanen (double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
). The group was formed to perform at one particular occasion, and later released a CD that outside of Finland is sold as Finnish tango. - Helsinki Melodeon Ladies
- Ramunder, a Swedish-speaking project with singer Anna-Kaisa Liedes and fiddler Marianne Maans
She has also worked and recorded with the Swedish fiddler Sven Ahlbäck, the popular Finnish singer Katri Helena
Katri Helena
Katri Helena is a Finnish singer who has been performing since the 1960s. She has been married three times and is now living as a single mother....
, singer/actor/flautist Vesa-Matti Loiri
Vesa-Matti Loiri
Vesa-Matti "Vesku" Loiri is a Finnish actor, musician and comedian, best known for his role as Uuno Turhapuro, whom he portrayed in a total of 20 movies between the years 1973 and 2004....
, Finnish accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen
Kimmo Pohjonen
Kimmo Pohjonen is a Finnish accordionist who is involved in a number of projects.- Uniko :Kluster meets Kronos Quartet in the Uniko project featuring music composed by Pohjonen and Samuli Kosminen, commissioned by Kronos. Concerts in Helsinki, Moscow and Molde Jazz Festival were major successes...
and many others. In 2004, she was the special guest at the concert in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with the BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....
and the Finnish fiddler group JPP
JPP
JPP is a group of Finnish folk musicians, mainly fiddlers, hailing from Kaustinen. The name originally meant Järvelän Pikkupelimannit, the small fiddlers of Järvelä, but today the group only uses the abbreviation JPP...
playing duets with Timo Alakotila plus a piece by Alakotila for accordion, orchestra and JPP written for this occasion.
Discography
- Ahma, 2001 (Rockadillo Records)
- Bellow Poetry, 2006 (Alula Records)