Avant’s Summer Play brought an eight-concert festival programme to sunny Porvoo, designed by Austrian composer, conductor and chansonnier HK Gruber. The programme, postponed for a year, was announced when restrictions lifted in May made it possible to bring live music back to the public.
After a long break, the concert and especially the interaction with the audience has been a great experience for the whole orchestra. The number of tickets on sale was very limited compared to the total capacity. “We are extremely happy that the festival could be held safely. In terms of audience numbers, we met our target and the atmosphere was great – despite the exceptional times”, says Annika Mustonen, Avant’s Executive Director.
Avant’s XXXVI Summer Music Festival was held in Porvoo and Pernaja from 30.6.-4.7.2021.The programme, with the theme “Freaky Music”, included cheeky music for both large orchestra and smaller chamber ensembles. The conductors, in addition to Suvisoito’s artistic designer HK Gruber, were John Storgårds and Håkan Hardenberger, all of whom were also seen in captivating solo roles.
The Baroque concert in Pernaja Church was a musical journey to the 30-year war, accompanied by soprano Tuuli Lindeberg. The festival premiered Jouni Hirvelä’s violin concerto Rakka with Eriikka Maalismaa as soloist and the piano concerto by composer-pianist Mioko Yokoyama. Other soloists in the Suvisoito were pianist Mirka Viitala, accordionists Niko Kumpuvaara and Veli Kujala, banjoist Jarmo Julkunen and tuba player Petri Keskitalo. Saturday’s chamber concerts featured skilful performances by small ensembles. A real surprise act at the festival was violinist Pekka Kuusisto with his recital.
Some of the concerts were streamed
Due to limited audience capacity, Thursday’s opening concert Frankenstein!! and Sunday night’s closing concert were broadcast live online. The concerts will be available for two months on the orchestra’s YouTube channel.
Looking ahead to next summer
The XXXVII Avant’s Summer Play will take place 29.6.-3.7.2022 in Porvoo and the artistic design of the festival is the responsibility of Julia Wolfe.
Julia Wolfe (born 1958) is an American composer and professor of music at New York University. Wolfe has composed a significant number of works especially for strings, from quartet to full orchestra. The composer draws inspiration from folk, art and rock music, bringing a modern sensibility to each genre – while breaking down the walls between them. Wolfe was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2015 and was a 2016 MacArthur Fellow. Julia Wolfe is the founder and one of the artistic directors of the legendary New York-based music collective Bang on a Can.
