M.A. Numminen

Mauri Antero Numminen (born 12 March 1940, Somero) is one of the best-known Finnish artists, having worked on several different fields of music and culture.

In the 1960s M.A. Numminen was known particularly as an avantgar

Mauri Antero Numminen (born 12 March 1940, Somero) is one of the best-known Finnish artists, having worked on several different fields of music and culture.

In the 1960s M.A. Numminen was known particularly as an avantgarde/underground artist stirring controversy with such songs as 'Nuoren aviomiehen on syytä muistaa' (the lyrics of which were taken directly from a marital guide) and 'Naiseni kanssa eduskuntatalon puistossa'. He was also a member of the band Suomen Talvisota 1939-1940. In his early days Numminen often consciously tried to provoke people. Here he succeeded well, for example by his interpretations of Franz Schubert's lieds, sung with his own idiosyncratic singing voice, or managing to create a scandal at the Jyväskylän kesä festival of Jyväskylä in 1966 with his song lyrics taken from a sex guide. Numminen also did music to the writings of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Additionally, M.A. Numminen has been one of the unsung pioneers of Finnish electronic music, known for his collaborations with the composer and inventor Erkki Kurenniemi who built for Numminen the electronic instrument Sähkökvartetti ("Electric Quartet"), the performance of which wreaked havoc in a youth festival in Sofia, Bulgaria.