Pekka Juhani Hannikainen

Who was Pekka Juhani Hannikainen?

Pekka Juhani Hannikainen was a Finnish musical composer and the head of a famous Finnish musical family.

Hannikainen was born in Nurmes but moved to Jyväskylä to study in high school. He continued his studies in Helsinki and lived later both in Jyväskylä and Helsinki.

Hannikainen was the first conductor of the Finnish students' choir, the Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat, in 1882–1885. He was also the founder of the Mieskuoro Sirkat choir in 1899. From 1887–1891, he was the editor of the first Finnish musical paper, Säveleitä.

He was the father of the pianist Ilmari Hannikainen, the composer Väinö Hannikainen, and the cellist Tauno Hannikainen.