In March, I wrote a short article for the International Journal of Music in anticipation of the 80th birthday of Teppo Hauta-aho on 27 May 2021. Teppo and I were great friends for almost 25 years and this blog, barely nine months later, is in memory of one of my closest friends and musical heroes.
Teppo died at his home in Helsinki on Friday 26 November 2021, and, although my current feelings are of loss and grief, my over-riding memories of working with Teppo in the UK, Czech Republic, Denmark and Italy are such happy ones, with so many memories filled with so much laughter and fun. I was so proud to be his publisher, to be able to bring a wealth of his amazing music into print, and also to have organised three Teppo-Fest’s in the UK to celebrate his 65th, 70th and 75th birthdays. These were a mixture of concerts and workshops featuring a wealth of his music, usually with a few world premieres included along the way, and Teppo always threw himself into them with a blend of fun and plenty of good-humoured anarchy.
I first encountered the name of Teppo Hauta-aho at the 1982 Isle of Man Festival & Competition when Esko Laine included Kadenza, his iconic work for unaccompanied double bass, as part of his recital programme. Four years later, I was studying in Prague with František Pošta, who Teppo had studied with twenty years previously, and as we were working on Kadenza, František said I should contact Teppo and that we would be great friends, which proved to be the case.
In fact, Teppo phoned me one day in 1997 or 98, and I couldn’t believe that this world-famous bassist-composer was actually contacting me and from that point, we were best friends. I invited him to Bass-Fest ’98, the first international workshop I organised, and he was a Featured Composer at every workshop I organised for the next eighteen years. No Bass-Fest or Wells Bass Weekend was complete without a Teppo concert, and over the past 25 years, I have commissioned several dozen pieces from him, alongside the others which he dedicated to me and ones he wrote for my students.
The two abiding memories I have of Teppo are his good humour and constant sense of fun. We laughed throughout our friendship, and it was an absolute joy to be able to play Teppo’s music with the composer. The one eternal link we had was a love and respect of our teacher František Pošta, and I commissioned a number of new works from Teppo in memory of František, which we often played together.
Teppo was the most prolific composer in the history of the double bass, and I hope I chose a wide selection of music to publish, perform and promote, and hope my students have inherited the ‘Teppo bug’ and will continue to play his music and, if they become teachers, introduce his music to their students. Teppo composed for every ability level, from beginner playing open strings to the virtuoso, so there should be something to suit every ability level. He had a rare knack of writing music which often challenged but always had something to say and was certainly worth the effort.
In the weeks since his death, I have received wonderful emails from friends, colleagues and ex-students who wanted to share their memories of Teppo. It has been gratifying that so many recognised how unique he was and what a privilege it was for us all to have known him, and I am so happy to have introduced Teppo and his music to bassists young and old for almost 25 years.
One of the nicest tributes was from my ex-student and friend Lucy Scanlon, who I have known since she was eight years old, and she wrote:
Your friendship with Teppo was one of the strongest I have ever seen, between two people who had so much in common but seemed on the surface to be so different.
This really made me laugh because I hadn’t realised how different we were and Teppo always called me ‘Mr Chief’, because I was the organiser and driving force at the workshops and concerts. Our love of František Pošta and combined memories were the glue which bound two such disparate characters together!
Teppo and I would often speak two or three times a week, alongside emails and Facebook messages, and we last spoke in the middle of October. The conversation was the usual mixture of laughter, bass, his music and, although I didn’t realise it was our final conversation, it was a happy conclusion to our friendship. Marja, Teppo’s wife, emailed a few weeks later to let me know that his health had taken a turn for the worse, and I immediately phoned her, and we spoke for a few minutes, but I think we were both in shock and didn’t really know what to say.
Teppo’s death a few weeks later, which I knew was inevitable, was still a shock and, as the reality slowly sinks in, I will miss our phone calls, our long-distance friendship and being called ‘Mr Chief’. I am proud that Teppo’s final work was written for me, which I premiered in 2020, and is a brief and evocative piece for unaccompanied double bass called Almost a Serious Encore which is such a typical Teppo title. It’s simple, effective and beautifully succinct and is something that I will try to include in every concert.
Teppo touched the lives of thousands of people across the world, and his music is an amazing legacy to the bass world. I am certain that the next generation of bassists will recognise the breadth and quality of his music and, as many are now available as pdf downloads, it has never been easier to study and perform music by the one and only Teppo Hauta-aho.
Conclusion
In bidding farewell to the legendary Teppo Hauta-aho, I reflect on the immense joy, laughter, and musical brilliance that defined our close friendship spanning nearly 25 years. Teppo’s prolific contributions to the double bass world, celebrated through countless workshops, concerts, and commissions, have left an indelible mark. As the publisher of his remarkable music, organizing Teppo-Fests, and sharing the stage with this exceptional musician, my memories are a testament to his unique blend of good humor and profound creativity. Teppo Hauta-aho’s legacy, enriched by his enduring compositions, will undoubtedly resonate with bassists worldwide, ensuring that his spirit lives on through the generations to come. I am grateful to have been a part of his journey and will continue to honor his memory through the timeless beauty of his compositions.
