Toivo Timoteus Kuula (July 7, 1883 - May 18, 1918) was a Finnish composer and conductor. He showed talent early on, but began his musical studies rather late, in 1900 at the Helsinki Music Institute. Kuula studied under Martin Wegelius, but had to withdraw for three years. He returned in 1906, and started garnering attention as a composer.

In 1908 Kuula began studying with Jean Sibelius, and was his first ever composition student. He would go on to study in Bologna with Marco Enrico Bossi, in addition to studying in Leipzig and Paris. in 1910 he began conducting an orchestra in Oulu, and moved on to conductor other orchestras until his death in 1918.

Kuula is primarily known for his works for voice and orchestra, but he also wrote for violin, organ, and piano, including the work Lampaanpolska. Translated as "A Sheep's Polonaise", it's a Finnish folk tune based on a European tune La Folia. Kuula's version of this folksong goes through interesting variations. He first states the theme, and then it repeats with some interesting chords underneath. He later embellishes the melody. and then plays the theme in both hands as a long, thick chords. It's a brief, though very interesting theme and variations.

Here are some recordings of this work for you to enjoy!

Jouni Somero
Izumi Tateno