Heikki Aaltoila

Heikki Aaltoila's father was an amateur actor and musician. Aaltoila studied music 1928-34 at Helsinki Conservatoire with Erkki Melartin, Leevi Madetoja and Ernst Linko. He played the piano in silent movies, and also double bass at Helsinki University Student Orchestra. He had a job at the Finnish Broadcasting Company 1939-44, and he was the musical conductor of the Finnish National Theatre 1934-73. He composed, arranged and conducted the music for some 150 stage plays. As a film composer, he wrote music for around 75 movies. Aaltoila had the capability to use several kind of musical styles (from Middle Age to Jazz and Modernism), and his orchestrations are very vivid. He was music critic in several newspapers in 1932-86. * "Jussi" Prize for year's best film score in 1954 and 1955.