ABSTRACT
Joonas Kokkonen was born the youngest of five children on 13 November 1921 in Iisalmi; the city is almost equidistant between Helsinki and the Arctic Circle. Kokkonen's piano instructor was Ilmari Hannikainen, one of the finest Finnish pianists from the first half of the twentieth century, who was not only known in Finland, but also toured extensively throughout Europe and the United States. The stresses of an erratic income combined with Kokkonen's increasing troubles with alcohol, however, reached a breaking point by the early 1950s and Marie filed for a divorce in 1953. Kokkonen's significance to Finland's musical life, however, extended far beyond his academic posts or celebrated career as a composer. The success of Kokkonen's opera came at critical moment in Finland: during the 1970s Sallinen had also garnered international acclaim for two Finnish historical operas, the 1975 Ratsumies and Punainen viiva from 1978.
