|
Short Biographies: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | Explanation | Acronyms |
|
Short Biographies: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | Explanation | Acronyms |
Born: January 20, 1931 - Falkenberg, Sweden
The Swedish contralto, Birgit Finnilä, inherited her musical gifts from her parents, and after taking lessons with Ingalill Linden in Göteborg, she under took a further period of study at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Roy Henderson.
Since her very successful debut in Göteborg in 1963, Birgit Finnilä has sung with many European and American orchestras under such eminent conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Carlo Maria Giulini, Haitink, Herbert von Karajan, Lorin Maazel and Rozhdestvensky, and has given recitals in New York, Chicago (first American tour in 1968), London, Vienna and Paris, as well as in Soviet Union and Australia.
Birgit Finnilä has made her career principally on the concert platform, but her stage appearances included roles in Britten’s The rape of Lucretia, Gluck’s Orfeo (her operatic was in that role in 1967 in Göteborg), Händel’s Flavio, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and Wagner’s Ring cycle.
If she has concentrated on concert and recital work Birgit Finnilä’s range in these fields in vast, covering the oratorios of Bach and Händel, the Requiems of Dvořák, Mozart and Verdi, major choral works such as Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, solo parts in the orchestral works of Mahler, with whose music she feels a particular affinity, and a wide repertoire of songs by composers as diverse as Beethoven, Brahms, Sibelius, Britten and Mahler.
Birgit Finnilä recorded for EMI the role of Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro under Daniel Barenboim, has taken part in Bruckner’s Te Deum and also in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk under the baton of Mstislav Rostropovich.
Source: Liner notes to the album ‘Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk’ conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich (EMI, 1979); Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Classical Musicians (1997)
Contributed by
|
Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works |
||
|
Conductor |
As |
Works |
|
Alto |
||
|
Alto |
||
|
Alto |
||
|
Alto |
||
|
Alto |
||
|
Alto |
||
|
Links to other Sites |
|
Short Biographies: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | Explanation | Acronyms |
Last update: ýOctober 8, 2004 ý17:51:15