Aho, Kalevi

Kalevi Ensio Aho was born on March 9, 1949, in Forssa, Finland.

He is a Finnish composer and professor. He began his interest in music at the age of ten when he discovered a mandolin in his home and began to teach himself how to play it. After learning how to read sheet music, Aho immediately started composing. He moved to Helsinki in 1968 to study at the Sibelius Academy. He studied composition at the Sibelius Academy under Einojuhani Rautavaara, graduating in 1971. He continued his studies for a year in Berlin with Boris Blacher. His teaching positions include music theory at the University of Helsinki (1974-1988), and a professorship at the Sibelius Academy (1988-1993). He was named composer-in-residence for the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in 1992. The conductor, Osmo Vänskä, has recorded many of his recent large-scale works with the orchestra. Aho has worked as a freelance composer with a state scholarship since 1993. He lives in Helsinki.

As of 2021, Aho has composed seventeen symphonies, thirty-seven concertos, five operas and several vocal works. His chamber music includes many quintets, quartets, sonatas, and solo works. He first came to fame with his first symphony (1969) and second-string quartet (1970).