Usko Meriläinen

Usko Meriläinen ( born January 30, 1930 in Tampere, † November 12, 2004 in Tampere ) was a Finnish composer and conductor of modernity.

Meriläinen is considered an important representative of the Finnish post-war modernism. In the 1970s he experimented with electronic music. Starting point for his experiments was by his own admission, the ballet The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky. From Meriläinen large orchestral works, chamber music and music, primarily for piano and for violin published. His works are attributed to the neo-classicism, the twelve-tone music and the post - serialism.

From 1954 to 1956 Meriläinen led the choir of the Finnish opera and 1956-1957 the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra. In 1986 he won the avant-garde music festival Tampere Biennale founded, whose leadership he held until 2000.

In 1965 he was awarded the Wihuri Sibelius Prize.