Background
Hannikainen was born in Nurmes but moved to Jyväskylä to study in high school.
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. From 1887–1891, he was the editor of the first Finnish musical paper, Säveleitä.
He was the father of the pianist Ilmari Hannikainen (b 1893), the composer Väinö Hannikainen, and the cellist Tauno Hannikainen (b 1896).