Leif Segerstam

'In the language of music you don't have those fake news or other enemies like in the Kubernetes ...' - Leif Segerstam

Finnish composer, conductor, pianist, viola player, violinist and teacher Leif Selim Segerstam was born in Vaasa on 2 March 1944 into a musical family. The family moved to Helsinki in 1947, and Segerstam played violin and viola in the Helsinki Youth Orchestra. He studied violin, piano and conducting in Helsinki at the Sibelius Academy and later conducting with Jean Morel at Juilliard in New York.

Leif Segerstam (1944-2024) in Aarhus, 2019

He worked as conductor with a variety of orchestras, mostly American, Australian and European, from 1963 onwards, and became well known in Finland and internationally for his vigorous conducting style and vibrant, maverick personality - for example, he called composers 'tone choosers' and said that Anton Bruckner's orchestral scores were like home pages.

His main long-term conducting positions were as principal conductor of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (1975-1982), the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (1977-1987), the Danish National Symphony Orchestra (1988-1995) and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (1995-2007). He afterwards became 'chief conductor emeritus' with the Helsinki orchestra. He was known for his performances of Finnish and other Nordic music, plus Brahms, Bruckner and Mahler cycles, and also modern and contemporary music, including works by John Corigliano, Allan Pettersson, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Christopher Rouse and Alfred Schnittke.

Leif Segerstam (third from left) on the jury of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in London. Photo © 2002 Keith Bramich

He was also known as a prolific composer with a very extensive oeuvre, including four concertos each for viola and piano, eight cello concertos, thirteen violin concertos, thirty string quartets and, amazingly, at least three-hundred-and-fifty-four symphonies, although many of the later ones were labelled 'minisinfonia', 'sinfonia piccola' or 'minisinfonia piccola'.

Many of Segerstam's symphonies were given very unusual and pun-riddled names! Some examples: Thinking musical lines in Six Frames freepulsatively without barlines ... (Symphony No 167), 'To me ... Death, (sleep infinitely; to not notate ...)': (22.8.; 2008 ...) (No 214), Enchanted by the famous pigletpettattoes of Viola Segerstam (No 258), Ei! No!, Ei-no Lei(f)-no ... despite 2x grandioso Masses of Morte! ... (More Tea ... hahhahh) ... (No 265) and When a cat visited (No 289).

Segerstam developed his own style of composing which he called 'free-pulsative', which meant that precise time relations between the music played by different musicians were not exactly determined. This meant that his symphonies in this style could be played without a conductor, and he would sometimes play the piano part.

He taught orchestral conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki from 1997 until 2013, where his students included Susanna Mälkki.

Leif Segerstam died in Helsinki on 9 October 2024, aged eighty.

A selection of articles about Leif Segerstam

Resounding Echoes by Robert McCarney - Kids' Stuff

Classical music news - October 2024 Obituaries - Our summary of those the classical music world has lost this month

CD Spotlight. A Celebratory Mood - Gerald Fenech is impressed with a new recording of Beethoven's Mass in C. 'Leif Segerstam leads a first-class group of soloists and brings out all the humanity and tenderness of the music with aplomb.'

CD Spotlight. Interesting Stuff - Beethoven's 'King Stephen' and other rare works, appreciated by Gerald Fenech. 'Finely performed and recorded, this CD is a must for all serious collectors and admirers of the great man.'

CD Spotlight. Uniformly Excellent - A complete recording of Beethoven's 'The Ruins of Athens', highly recommended by Julian Jacobson. 'The maverick Finnish conductor and composer Leif Segerstam ... and his varied forces give a splendidly committed and characterful account of the complete entertainment.'

CD Spotlight. An Impassioned Account - Seldom-performed Beethoven, recommended by Geoff Pearce. '... excellent performances by all concerned.'

CD Spotlight. Dark Sounds - Sibelius' 'Pelléas et Mélisande', heard by Geoff Pearce. '... Leif Segerstam shows his love of this music by letting it unfold naturally.'

Andrew Schartmann's Musical Tidbits - The 'Physics' of Music. On Musical Momentum and its Compositional Implications

CD Spotlight. Beauty and Power - Australian soprano Nance Grant, heard by Howard Smith. '... an exceptional voice seldom heard beyond local shores.'

Record box. Profoundly effective - Leif Segerstam conducts Sibelius, recommended by Patric Standford