Jussi Jalas
Jussi Jalas (1908–1985) was a Finnish conductor and composer. He was born Armas Jussi Veikko Blomstedt in Jyväskylä. His father, Yrjö Blomstedt, was an architect. Jalas studied at the Helsingfors Conservatory (later the Sibelius Academy) from 1923 to 1930, then in Paris in 1933–34 with Wladimir Pohl, Pierre Monteux and Rhené-Baton, and he also studied in Germany, Austria and Italy. In 1943 he changed his surname to Jalas. He taught at the Sibelius Academy from 1945 to 1965 and was music director of the Finnish National Opera from 1945. He conducted the Finnish premieres of Britten’s Peter Grimes and The Rape of Lucretia. His wife Margareta Sibelius was Jean Sibelius’s daughter, and many of his concerts featured Sibelius’s music. He wrote orchestral works, piano pieces and songs. He died in Helsinki in 1985 at 77 years old.
His recordings include a complete recording of Madetoja’s opera Juha with Jorma Hynninen; for Westminster he conducted Beverly Sills’ first recital album and Norman Treigle’s recital albums, as well as Sills’ Bellini and Donizetti Heroines. He also conducted a 1971 Helsinki recital with Anja Silja and made the first commercial recording with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in 1975. The Sibelius Recordings on Decca, with two Hungarian orchestras, include The Tempest suites and Finlandia. He conducted the premiere of Jón Leifs’s Saga Symphony in Helsinki in 1950.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 06:16 (CET).