Prior to studying with Kokkonen, Salmenhaara had already written several tonal pieces, including the 17 Small Pieces for Piano (1957–1960). In the early 1960s, he was associated with the modernist
Finnish Musical Youth. Beginning in the 1970s, Salmenhaara's works began to be characterized by frequent repetition of triadic motives with gradual changes in harmony. Although this led to his being linked to the movement in music known as
minimalism, Salmenhaara nonetheless denied this connection. Like the works of the
Dutch minimalist composer
Simeon ten Holt, Salmenhaara's works from this period utilize a musical language closely related to that of the
Romantic period of classical music, giving his music a decidedly European aesthetic. Salmenhaara's compositions include several
symphonic works,
chamber music pieces,
choral works, songs for solo instrument, and vocal arts songs. He also wrote one
opera,
Portugalin nainen (The Portuguese Woman) which premiered at the
Suomen Kansallisooppera in February 1976. Salmenhaara's published writings include a textbook on music theory, a history of
20th-century music, monographs on Ligeti,
Jean Sibelius's
Tapiola and the Brahms symphonies, biographies of Jean Sibelius and
Leevi Madetoja, and a history of the
Society of Finnish Composers. He also contributed to
Erik W. Tawaststjerna's comprehensive biography of Sibelius. His most significant literary work was his contribution to a four-volume history of Finnish music (published in 1995–1996), writing about the period from the
Romantic era to the
Second World War. In addition, from 1963 to 1973, he served as a critic for the leading Finnish newspaper
Helsingin Sanomat. == Discography ==