Avanti! performs Kalevala-inspired works by Finnish composers
The chamber music ensemble Avanti! performs new contemporary music composed for the Finnish national epic Kalevala in February. The works that will be heard in the concert were originally composed for the ‘Taiteilijoiden Kalevala’ (‘Artists’ Kalevala’) project organized by the Finnish Kalevala society. The ten contemporary compositions that resulted from the project were premiered on Kalevala-day 2009 (February 28) for a guest audience in the Finnish National Gallery Ateneum, Helsinki.
Avanti! concert on February 26 at the Helsinki University’s Festival Hall will be the first chance for the large audience to hear the new Kalevala-inspired compositions. The works composed for the Artists’ Kalevala project and performed now by Avanti! include Lotta Wennäkoski’s Suka, Riikka Talvitie’s Mies - miekka vyöllä , Kimmo Hakola’s Kal (nine reflections from Kalevala for electric harp, chamber ensemble and electronics), Jukka Tiensuu’s Ikisyyt, Herman Rechberger’s Lumes & oscura, Olli Kortekangas' Triptych for Seven, Pekka Jalkanen’s Taivaallisen härän tappo, Einojuhani Rautavaara’s The Last Runo, Aulis Sallinen's Pianoquintet II, Op. 92 and Jovanka Trbojevic’s Three Words. Avanti! will be reinforced in the concert by soloists Lily-Marlene Puusepp, (harp), Eija Kantkaanranta (15-string kantele) and Roope Gröndahl (piano).
The Artists’ Kalevala project was organized to celebrate the Kalevala’s (1849) 160th jubilee year. Ten Finnish contemporary artists and composers were given the task of presenting their own views of Kalevala’s poems in the form of compositions and art works. The art works and composition are all gathered in a publication named ‘Taiteilijoiden Kalevala’ (in Finnish) that also includes the poems of the Kalevala. On a CD and DVD included in the publication the new compositions are performed by Avanti! and Uusi Helsinki -quartet.
Helen Metsä / Fimic
9 December, 2009