Chamber Orchestra Avanti! begins its spring season with two European performances. HumppAvanti! performed in Germany as a guest of the renowned Kölner Philharmonie (Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra) on 16.1. with bass Matti Salminen and M.A. Numminen as soloists. will perform in Denmark as orchestral guest of the new NJORD Biennale. The programme includes the premiere of a new chamber arrangement of Kaija Saariaho’s “La Passion de Simone” oratorio.
The concert in Cologne was a true HumppAvant, which M.A. Numminen’s storyline made understandable to the German audience. Cologne is also Matti Salminen’s former hometown, and during the exhilarating evening, the audience was able to hear compositions by M.A. Numminen and Unto Mononen as well as Schubert and Wagner in the style of HumppAvant. Numminen and Salminen duetted “Satumaa”, for example.
The NJORD Festival, taking place for the first time in Copenhagen from 28 January to 1 February 2016, is a new biennial focusing on Nordic contemporary art. Kaija Saariaho will be the guest composer for the event and her works will be performed by Avanti! on two evenings. Avanti! will perform for the first time in Denmark.
At the opening concert on Thursday 28.1. Avanti! and the French group La Chambre aux échos will perform a new chamber version of Saariaho’s “La Passion de Simone” oratorio, directed by Aleksi Barrière. The conductor is Clément Mao-Tacacs, who will also conduct the concert on 29 January. In addition to Saariaho’s “Lichtbogen” (1986) and “Notes on Light” (2006), the concert will feature Niilo Tarnanen’s “Schwebe” (2013) and the premiere of “Stringed Spaces II” by the Danish composer Hans Peter Stubbe Teglbjaerg. Danish cellist Jakob Kullberg will be the soloist in the concert. The concert will be broadcast by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation.
Chamber Orchestra Avanti! will perform in Hämeenlinna in Finland on 19 March, in Helsinki in Temppeliaukio Church on 18 April and in Arabia’s Lume Theatre in Petri Kokoni Company’s new dance production on 13-21 May.The spring concerts will be updated on our website soon.
The programme for the 31st edition of the Suvisoitto Festival, which will be held in Porvoo from 29 June to 3 July, will be published in March. Conductor Dima Slobodeniouk is in charge of the festival’s programming.
