Martti Pokela
Martti Eliel Pokela (23 January 1924 – 23 August 2007) was a Finnish folk musician and composer. Pokela was an expert with the kantele, Finland's national musical instrument.
Also recorded as Martti Eliel Pokela
Martti Pokela
M. Lång · Self-photographed · CC BY 3.0
- Name
- Martti Pokela
- Born
- 23 January 1924
- Birthplace
- Haapavesi, Finland
- Birth Name
- Martti Eliel Pokela
- Died
- 23 August 2007
- Place of death
- Helsinki, Finland
- Known for
- Music for kantele
- Occupation
- Musician, educator
- Full name
- Martti Eliel Pokela.
- Nationality
- Finland.
- Fields
- traditional folk music.
- Education
- University of Helsinki.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Martti Eliel Pokela (23 January 1924 – 23 August 2007) was a Finnish folk musician and composer. Pokela was an expert with the kantele, Finland's national musical instrument.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Martti Pokela. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q3295912 · wikipedia · Martti Pokela
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Martti Pokela • Born — 23 January 1924 • Birthplace — Haapavesi, Finland • Birth Name — Martti Eliel Pokela • Died — 23 August 2007 • Place of death — Helsinki, Finland • Known for — Music for kantele • Occupation — Musician, educator
Life and career
Life and career
Pokela and his wife, Marjatta Pokela, were widely credited with ushering in a revival in interest in Finnish folk music beginning in the 1950s. Their daughter, Eveliina Pokela, began performing with them in the 1960s. Pokela merged traditional Finnish folk music with contemporary sounds. The family's albums have also been released outside Finland. Pokela taught kantele playing at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and Kuopio until 1987. He was the founder of the academy's folk music department, where he was named a full professor in 1980. He is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.
Albums
Albums
• Keskiyön Auringon Lauluja (1969) • Best of Kantele (1995) • Sonata For Kantele (1996) • Snow Kantele (1998) • "Tuulikumpu" (2001) • Improsette by Martti Pokela (2005)
Martti, Eeva-Leena and Marjatta Pokela performing at the courtyard of the National Museum of Finland in September 1966.
Constantin Grünberg · https: finna.fi/Record/hkm.HKMS000005:km0000m2kf https: finna.fi/Cover/Show?id=hkm.HKMS000005%3Akm0000m2kf index=0 size=master Image record page in Finna: hkm.049F1AF5-5622-4E29-921C-40C401B96C4F
Martti and Marjatta Pokela performing at the courtyard of the National Museum of Finland in September 1966.
Constantin Grünberg · https: finna.fi/Record/hkm.HKMS000005:km0000m2kd https: finna.fi/Cover/Show?id=hkm.HKMS000005%3Akm0000m2kd index=0 size=master Image record page in Finna: hkm.8743518B-BAC3-4183-AE9A-F0699FD66B73
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Haapavesi.
Birth place
Helsinki.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Martti Pokela”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3295912: Martti Pokela
General reference · Wikidata
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,934 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- MartirioPerson
- Márton EsterházyPerson
- Márton IllésPerson
- Marton VizyPerson
- Marty BalinPerson
- Marty BellerPerson
- Marty CookPerson
- Marty EhrlichPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Martti Pokela?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.