by OREN TIKKANEN

Besides writing music columns for New World Finn, Oren has produced numerous recordings of Finnish American music. He also performs regularly on mandolin, guitar, and bass with various bands.

I was wandering around at the Kaustinen Folk Festival in Finland in 1992, when one of the staff pointed at a fellow walking by with a two-row button accordion slung on his shoulder. “There goes one of your people,” he said. “I think that's Richard Koski from New York state.” I followed the hanuri down to the main arena, and settled down to listen as its owner took the stage with several other musicians. I was surprised when the accordionist broke into a very jazzy tune, and even more so wen he went on to sing some unfamiliar songs in fast, fluent Finnish.
“Well,” I thought, “those Finns in the Finger Lakes have certainly kept up their Finnish better than us Yoopers. And I wonder where those songs came from–-they don't sound like the old immigrant music we play.”
As it happened, it was not Richard Koski and the Crumtown Ramblers–-as a matter of fact, I never did find out who that accordionist was.
Later, when I correctly identified the real Richard Koski, I found his music to be very familiar, indeed, and his Crumtown Ramblers, Geo Kloppel on fiddle, and Tom Gajewski on guitar, played Finnish tunes in an “American-Finnish” style that sounded rather like “square-danceband-in-the sauna.” In fact, Richard and the Ramblers played regularly in the Ithaca area for square and contra dances (and perhaps still do). To my ear, the styles merge pleasantly.

I recall that for the parade on the last day of the Festival, Toni and I joined with two musicians from Los Angeles who also played both Finnish and American traditional dance music, and we were marching along playing American contra dance tunes when Tom Gajewski spotted us. He produced a clarinet from somewhere, and jumped into the parade with us. I felt good representing our country with our own more-or-less indigenous folk music–-five musicians hailing from California, Michigan, and New York, who all shared an American musical folk culture so well that we could come together with no rehearsals and no sheet music and just play it for the Finns.

I don't know what Tom Gajewski is doing these days, but Richard Koski has won some well-deserved attention as the Finlandia Foundation's Performer of the Year for
2005. Richard has continued to play his two-row accordion and to take Finnish immigrant music to festivals and dances around the country. He was a featured performer at the annual meeting of the American Folkore Society a few years ago, and was scheduled to begin his duties as Performer of the Year by playing in February at the Colorado chapter of the Finlandia Foundation. He will also appear at Finn Grand Fest in Marquette, MI, in August, and at other locations.
Richard recorded a new CD in 2004--“Solo Two-Row”–-in which he explores some of the vast repertoire of Finnish dance tunes that were composed on (or, at least associated with) kaks'-riviset accordions. These diatonic instruments were the people's music-making favorites for well over 100 years because of the inherent rhythmic nature of the push-pull playing, their relative ease of playing, the volume they can produce, and their portability--even though they are limited to fairly simple scales and chords.
Richard Koski honed his “chops” on the immigrant tunes that he learned from his father and other 2nd and 1st generation Finnish-Americans, and has now gone
on to Finnish dance tunes that didn't get here during immigration times. He demonstrates considerable mastery on some of the more intricate polkas, and shows a rocksteady sense of rhythm throughout that keeps all the tunes very danceable. Waltzes, schottisches, mazurkas, polskas, folkmarches, hambos, and polkas are all included, and Richard also plays what sounds like an original Cajun two-step, “The Glenwood Hop” . I particularly like another Koski composition, “The Willow Creek Waltz,” a minor-key melody that twists and turns like a stream, and dances through some unusual chord changes.
Solo Two-Row is a fine, simply-produced, well-played session of music such as you might hear in Richard's kitchen or on his front-porch. Richard Koski is one of only a few Finnish-American musicians who have mastered this great instrument. Considering the considerable effect it has had on Finnish folk music, I hope that more aspiring players will follow his example.

Richard has also reissued on CD a recording that he made in 1992 with the Crumtown Ramblers, Saturday Night Sauna. With Geo Kloppel on fiddle and Tom Gajewski doubling on mandolin and guitar, Richard walks his haitari through many old favorites like “The Boy from Karelia,” “Emma,” “Renki Jussi,” and “Isotalon Antti.” Also included in the 14 cuts are some not-so-well-known tunes such as “Moon Madness,” “Jake's Schotticshe,” “Katariina's Polka,” and “Veikko's Mazurka..” Geo Kloppel has a very rhythmic style of bowing his fiddle that adds swing to the music, and Tom Gajewski's fluent picking of the bass strings on his guitar provides a constant low-voice countermelody to keep things moving--good stuff!

Both of these CD's are available from Richard Koski at 6075 Brook Road, Trumansburg, NY, 14886. His e-mail is rkoski@lightlink.com . I recommend these recordings to you, and I encourage you to get out and see Richard if he comes to your area. Congratulations, Richard. At Finlandia University in February, I attended a screening of the film, Letters from Karelia, during a visit by Professor Varpu Lindström, the film's researcher and historical consultant. Actually, it appears that Professor Lindström was the guiding light of the whole production– uncovering the facts, conducting on-screen interviews, and teasing out a story that had been lost for many years Letters from Karelia was produced by the National Film Board of Canada, and as one might expect, it is remarkably well-done. It tells the story of Aate Pitkänen, an idealistic young Canadian Finn, who succumbed to “Karelian fever” after the probable murders of two of his comrades who were working to get union representation for the oppressed loggers of north Ontario-–deaths which were ruled “accidental” by government authorities. The film follows Aate's career in Soviet Karelia, his initial success and enthusiasm, his growing disillusionment, and after the outbreak of war, his decision–-perhaps because of threats to his wife--to go back to Finnish occupied Petroskoi as a secret agent. It is a sad story of
how an everyday person like Aate Pitkänen was treated by Canadian capitalists and officials, by Soviet bureaucrats, and eventually by the Finnish government that captured him. However, his letters show examples of courage and strength that are inspiring.
Maybe it's because of my own Finnish background and because of the turbulent, polarized political situation today, but I found Letters from Karelia to be the most dramatic documentary film I've ever seen. Part of the emotional quality is due to the excellent music of soundtrack composer, Ari Lähdekorpi, from Thunder Bay. I was particularly charmed by a skiing sequence that is
accompanied by music based on what I think are Karelian quadrilles. I believe that the soundtrack CD is for sale, and would definitely be of interest to Finnish music enthusiasts. (A DVD of the movie is also available online.)
Another memorable moment in the film shows Aate's son visiting Aate's grave, with Arto Rinne standing by and playing the mandolin. Arto, of course, is a former member of the Myllärit band, and is currently touring in the US with the Karelian Folk Music Ensemble. Professor Lindström said that Arto's grandfather is buried in the grave next to Aate Pitkänen's.
More information and photos are available on the film's website at http://www.nfb.ca/lettersfromkarelia/ . Letters from Karelia will be shown at Finn Grand Fest, Arto Rinne will be playing there with the Sattuma group, and, as mentioned, Richard Koski will be on the program, too–three good reasons to meet me in Marquette.
Is it a date? Hyvää kevättä!