Max Savikangas :: 31 March 1969

Max Savikangas, a composer and viola player, received his M. Mus. degree from the Sibelius Academy in 1998, after completing studies in theory, composition, viola and electro-acoustic music. His output (in April 2008) consists of 72 works: instrumental, vocal and electroacoustic compositions, multi-disciplinary works and combinations of these. Uusinta Publishing Company released in January 2004 a double cd of his compositions, entitled "Extraterrestrial", with 21 compositions, total duration of the album reaching more than two and a half hours. As viola soloist and chamber musician Savikangas concentrates mostly on contemporary music - also improvised - having so far premiered quite a large number of contemporary pieces. He is a founding member of the Uusinta Chamber Ensemble and also plays regularily in the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra. In 2000 and 2001 he was a full time violist in the Finnish National Opera Orchestra.

Some of the latest works of Savikangas include "Sofa is Womb" for mixed choir and two percussionists (2008), "Pussyhead 69" for viola solo with live electronics, chamber ensemble and video sclupting (2007), "Black Metal" for baritone saxophone (2007), "Disparitions" for viola and live electronics (2007), sonata for violoncello and piano "Blood Brain Barrier" (2004-2007), "Gene-enhanced Väinämöinen sings cyborg Joukahainen into the black hole of virtual space" for kantele, live electronics and chamber ensemble (2006), sound landscape for a pedestrian street Janne (2006), "ZooMusic" for string orchestra for a short film directed by Salla Tykkä (2006), "Kranker Matthäus" for flute and viola (2006), sound installation for visually impaired "Hammer, Anvil, Stirrup" (2005), "Badminton Opera" into texts (and directed by) Juha-Pekka Hotinen and Teemu Mäki (2005), "LA-DA" for reciter and chamber ensemble (2005), "Kaliki" for violoncello solo (2003) and a triple chamber concertante "White Dwarf" for string trio, live electronics and chamber ensemble (2003).

Currently Savikangas is working on a concerto for viola and chamber orchestra, a duo for viola and kantele, a quintet for kantele, live electronics and string quartet and as well as on a saxophone quartet.

Concerts dedicated to Savikangas' compositions have been given at Järvenpää Sibelius Weeks in 2001, at Kallio-Kuninkala Music Festival 2004 as well as in a four-concert tour with Ensemble88 in Holland in 2007. In all these events he also played the viola. In addition, his compositions have been played at several festivals, events and radio channels: the ICMC festival in Copenhagen, Denmark (2007), the International Viola Congresses (2005 Reykjavik, Iceland and 2007 Adelaide, Australia), the Ung Nordisk Musik (Young Nordic Music) in Copenhagen, Denmark (1996) and in Oslo, Norway (1997), the Helsinki Biennale, the Helsinki Festival, the Musica Nova Helsinki Festival, Time of Music festival in Viitasaari, Finland, Turku Music Festival, the Finnish Radio Broadcasting channel YLE1, the Danish Radio, and concerts given by Uusinta Chamber Ensemble, Avanti! Chamber Orchestra and Zagros Ensemble, Ears Open Society, concerts at the Ateneum Art Museum and various other museums, in various contemporary dance performances (eg. Zodiak Dance Theatre, Helsinki), as part of installations, video works, multi-disciplinary works, art workshops and even performance art. Outside Filnland the music of Savikangas has been played in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Holland, Hungary, Russia, USA, Canada and Australia. His publisher is Uusinta Publishing Company, Finland.

In addition to composing and playing the viola, Savikangas has been involved in multi-disciplinary co-projects often utilising sound, image and information technology. Largest such project was the composition workhop for children in connection to the Hugo Simberg exhibition at the Ateneum Art Museum (2000). Other multi-disciplinary work in progress is entitled Ääninen, which is an internet-based Finnish sound vocabulary and compositional environment for children, published on the internet in 2002 (www.siba.fi/aaninen). Ääninen was also modified into a reduced, three-language version for Music Exhibition at Heureka, The Finnish Science Centre in Helsinki, Finland (2005-2006).

Savikangas’ largest work so far is a 7-hour electroacoustic sound installation entitled "Hammer, Anvil, Stirrup" (2005), which is permanently installed into Iiris, the centre for visually impaired in Helsinki. It was nominated as one of the Teosto Prise winner candidates in 2005.

Savikangas is very interested in developing the viola as an instrument. He plays on a viola model which he has been developing with the Finnish luthier Pekka Mikael Laine since 1998, utilising computer spectral analysis (an article about the project in English on the internet: http://www.saunalahti.fi/pekklai/strings/laine-viola/laine-viola.html)

Savikangas is a member of The Society of Finnish Composers, The Finnish Viola Society and the MUU association. He was nominated as the executive secretary of The International Viola Society Presidency for the three-year term 2008-2010.