Anniversary of Letters!

Exactly one year ago my second string quartet "Letters" was premiered by the amazing Brodsky Quartet at the wonderful Stift International Music Festival in Holland! Thank you once again Daniel Rowland - violin for this amazing commission and opportunity!

Since then Letters has been performed by Lapland String Quartet and at the festivals such as Musik vid havet / Meri ja musiikki (Music by the Sea, Inkoo), Kokonainen (Janakkala) and last week twice at the Tampering Festival (Tampere).

The version by Tampering ensemble is in Aamulehti's live stream available for subscribers until Friday. But I now share with you this video of last years world premiere by the Brodsky Quartet available for everyone! Hope you enjoy!

https://youtu.be/NN4ownAeCOo

Quintet "Minna" on the Radio again

Last March my first Piano Quintet "Minna - Pictures from the Life of Minna Canth" was performed by the amazing musicians of TampereRaw! It was broadcast back then  by the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle. The radio programme "Aikamme suomalaista musiikkia" ("Finnish music of our time") is playing the recording in their latest program, so it is again online and can now be streamed all around the world for the next month! A presentation of Minna (in Finnish) begins at about 8:25 min and the actual piece begins at 11:50 min. Have a listen!

The program also contains pieces by my talented colleagues Jennah Vainio and Veli Kujala. For Finnish speaking friends I recommend you to listen to the very interesting commentary by the composer Aki Yli-Salomäki! 

Find the program online by clicking here!

Photo by Marthe Veian

Time of Music 2019

What a incredibleI had at Time of Music! So much great music, great lessons, great rehearsals, great sauna evenings and most important of all: great people!

Thank you Kaija Saariaho for such an inspiring master class and Uusinta Ensemble for a great premiere of my string trio Nisus 7.7 at Time of Music!

Kaija Saariaho and me at Time of Music, Viitasaari July 7th 2019

It was quite an unforgettable moment when the bow of Max Savikangas broke in the middle of my piece...! Luckily he had a spare bow with him and all ended well and the whole piece got it's premiere.

Thank you Camilla Hoitenga, John Butcher, Uusinta Ensemble, defunensemble, Peter Herresthal, Christian Karlsen, Thomas Kellner, Aliisa Neige Barrière, Jakob Kullberg, Petri Kumela, Tuuli Lindeberg, Thomas R. Moore, Alexander Schubert, Klaas Verpoest, Thomas Lehn, Aleksi Barrière and of course Kaija Saariaho and Djuro Živković for so many great concerts!

Thank you to everyone for so many great discussions and good sauna moments!

Time of Music 2019, Viitasaari, Finland

My Choral Music in Concert

This weekend is CHOIR weekend!

EMO Ensemble © Photo by Antti Kangassalo

My latest piece Vidkänningar for female choir to the poems by Henrika Ringbom will get its premiere by Den akademiska damkören Linnea conducted by Merete Ellegaard today at 7PM in Linköping, Sweden! They are also going to perform the piece on Saturday 13.4 in Åtvindaberg, on Monday 15.4 in Brokind and on the 27.4 again in Linköping! Friends in Linköping, welcome!

Den akademiska Damkören Linnea

On Monday 15.4 at 7PM my piece Angor (which won the VocalEspoo composition competition in 2016) will be performed again by the wonderful EMO Ensemble conducted by Pasi Hyökki at Kino Soi in Kino Tapiola. A wonderful program of new choral music, a strong recommendation to all friends in Finland!

EMO Ensemble © Photo by Antti Kangassalo

Lucrum in Germany Next Month!

Very happy that my piece "Lucrum" for symphony orchestra will get its German premiere in exactly one month, conducted by the fantastic Janne Valkeajoki!

Conductor Janne Valkeajoki.
Photo by Marthe Veian Photography

This is my first piece published by Gehrmans Musikförlag, and all has worked out smoother than I could ever have dreamt about! Very thankful for everyone at the publisher Gehrmans for this!

Orchestra score and pocket score of  my piece Lucrum,
straight from the publisher to the conductor.

Valkeajoki will in the same concert also conduct Elgars's Cello Concerto played by the fantastic professor Niklas Eppinger and Brahms' First Symphony, an amazing program indeed!

Wellcome on the 9th of May at 7:30PM to Würzburg!

My Quintet "Minna" on the Radio

One week ago on the 24th of March my first Piano Quintet "Minna - Pictures from the Life of Minna Canth" was performed by the amazing musicians of TampereRaw! On Thursday the 28th of March it was radio broadcast by the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle and can now be heard all around the world for the next month! Minna begins at about 7:20 min, the concert also contains pieces by my dear colleagues Lotta Wennäkoski and Minna Leinonen, which are conducted by the wonderful Maria Itkonen. For Finnish speaking friends I can also recommend you to listen to the very interesting commentary by Kaarina Hazard! Find the program online by clicking here!

Radio recommendation: Ajassa soi

I was asked by Ainomaija Pennanen if I would like to recommend a contemporary piece of music for the radio program Ajassa soi. I chose Voice verser, one of the first piece I heard live (in Tampere) by one of my favourite composers Jukka Tiensuu. 

The program is available world wide for one month, so I warmly recommend all my friends around the globe to have a listen to Voice verser, starting at about 7:20 min though clicking here.

A picture of Jukka Tiensuu which I took at Sävellyspaja 2011, Finland.