Category: News

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Avanti performs on April Fools’ Day on Friday 1.4. at 19.30 at the Dance House in the renovated Pannuhall. The concert is not a sham, but it’s no ordinary one either. Although the intention is to sell a pig in a poke, there is something to be revealed about the show.

Mioko Yokoyama “ s piano concerto, scored in Suvisoito 2021, has not yet been heard in Helsinki, and Sampo Kasurinen” s dystopian Helvetinkonek demands a second performance. Yokoyama, who is completing her second degree in Finland, will play the solo part in her concerto, while Kasurinen’s Helvetinkone will be played by Emil Holmström.

The concert will be conducted by young conducting talent Kristian Sallinen. A pig, Magnus Lindberg’s new work, The Mystery Musician, and a variety of surprises and freaks remain in the bag. Take a risk and surrender to Avant!

Ticket sales

Tickets for the concert at the Dance House are on sale via the new Tix sales system. Tix is an online shop where users can easily purchase a pdf ticket delivered to their email inbox without any extra delivery charges. The creation of a user account is optional. Tickets can also be purchased on the spot at the Cable Factory’s Glass Yard sales point and at the Konttor.

Ticket prices: 30 € for a basic ticket / 25 € for a pensioner / 15 € for other discount groups
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Conductor trainee Kristian Sallinen makes his Avant debut

Kristian Sallinen (b. 2001) is a Finnish conductor and violist. Sallinen studies orchestral conducting at the Sibelius Academy in the conducting class under Professor Sakari Oramo. Sallinen has conducted the Helsinki, Vaasa and Kuopio City Orchestras, the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Central Ostrobothnia Chamber Orchestra, the Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Sinfonietta.
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Founded in 1983, Avanti! is a chamber orchestra known and respected for its open-minded repertoire, featuring some of the country’s leading musicians. In addition to our winter concert series, commissioned concerts and concerts abroad, we produce the annual Suvisoitto festival in Porvoo. Avant’s artistic director is clarinetist Kari Kriikku.

Avanti! is looking for a skilled and experienced person for an indefinite employment contract.

A PRODUCER who

is responsible for the practical concert production of Avant concerts and the Suvisoitto Festival, for the score and music acquisition for productions, as well as for the scheduling, organisation and development of the rehearsal space. The Producer will contribute to the development of the orchestra’s activities, working alongside the Executive Director.

To perform your duties successfully, you must

• initiative and strong organisational skills
• good oral and written Finnish and English language skills, other language skills would be an advantage
• good digital skills
• previous experience in similar tasks
• a good knowledge of music, music life and music organisations
• the ability to learn and a “can do” attitude
• the fearlessness to take on practical tasks
• good interpersonal and communication skills
• the ability to cope with pressure and a sense of humour, working irregular hours on a regular basis

In-depth knowledge of classical music, financial and marketing communication skills and/or an appropriate university degree would be an advantage.

The contract will start in February 2022 and will be full-time (100%) for an indefinite period. The contract will have a probationary period of 6 months. Salary will be negotiated according to experience and education, we will follow the Taku Association’s salary recommendation.

Free application by Tuesday 25 January 2022 at 23.59 by e-mail to [email protected].

Inquiries Mon 10.1. at 13-14.15, Tue 11.1. at 9.30-11, Mon 17.1. at 10-11 or Thu 20.1. at 13-15 Executive Director Annika Mustonen, tel. 050 5810409.

Interviews will be held from 2-4 February 2022. Even if the interview date is not convenient, please apply anyway and mention the scheduling obstacle in your application. Interviews will be held at the Helsinki Cable Factory, subject to interest rate hedging, if interest rate pandemic restrictions allow.
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The Avant Chamber Orchestra concert on Sunday 12 December will feature modernist classics. Fellow composers Karlheinz Stockhausen and György Ligeti will be explored through chamber and solo works in the Knights’ Hall.

One of the works to be performed is Tierkreis (“Animal Track”), one of Stockhausen’s most popular compositions, composed between 1974-75. Tierkreis goes through all twelve stars of the zodiac in simple melodies that can be played on almost any instrument. Stockhausen laid down a lot of rules for his work, but on the other hand gave a lot of freedom.

The people of Avant create their own version of the work. Musicians who are not unfamiliar with Stockhausen’s music have been gathered to perform and arrange the work. Among the musicians interpreting Stockhausen are accordionist Veli Kujala, kantele player Eija Kankaanranta, saxophonist Sampo Kasurinen and Karoliina Kantelinen, who also sings in the Värttinä band.

Avant’s artistic director, clarinetist Kari Kriikku, who also plays in the work, promises a performance that may surprise not only the audience but also the musicians themselves. “In Avant’s version, the liberties taken by Stockhausen are stretched to the limit – without forgetting the rules.”

Kriikku does not deny Stockhausen’s role as one of the leading figures of modernism. “Stockhausen’s interest began with his early work. But for many devoted fans, it was too much when he started composing about constellations and planets. I find all kinds of Stockhausen interesting.”

Another true modernist classic is György Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto, with the polyrhythmic cadenzas and solo stems of the 13-piece ensemble conducted by Taavi Oramo. The chamber works will be paired with solo works, giving a different perspective on the composers’ productions. Ligeti’s intense and extremely fast Continuum for harpsichord will be performed by Sanni Antikainen and Stockhausen’s Piano Piece IX will be interpreted by Mariola Aniolek.

Modernist classics: the Stockhausen & Ligeti concert on Sunday 12.12.2021 at 18:00 at the Ritarihuone in Helsinki. Tickets 30/25/15 € + delivery fee (from 1 €) in Lippupiste’s online shop(www.lippu.fi).

Guidelines for concert audiences

Avanti! strongly recommends the use of a face mask, good hand hygiene and keeping a safe distance from other parties. Only part of the hall’s capacity is available for sale. You cannot attend the concert if you have mild symptoms of covid19 or suspect exposure to the infection.

Red Nose Company and the National Theatre bring the life and works of Aleksis Kivi to the Great Stage

The work, which is part of the 150th anniversary year of the National Theatre, will premiere on 17 February 2022.The co-production also includes the Chamber Orchestra Avanti!, the City Theatres of Jyväskylä, Lahti, Kuopio and Turku, and the Tampere Workers’ Theatre.

Aleksis Kivi is a comedy about a man who became a monument. Why has Kivi been put on a pedestal in our country? What was the price he paid for his uncompromising dedication to his art and for going his own way?

Aleksis Kivi explores themes related to the national writer, from death to love, from existentialism to money, and from nature to the problems of the modern world. The show also explores the lesser-known aspects of the writer and the people who influenced his life, allowing Kivi to be the artist he wanted to be.

Of course, the Seven Brothers and Esko of the Nummisutarians will be on stage. Kivi’s strong female roles, such as Lea, whose eponymous play (1869) is considered to be the beginning of Finnish theatre, will also have their rightful place.

Red Nose Company actors Timo Ruuskanen and Tuukka Vasama are known for their insightful interpretations of classics and seamless interplay. Their clown interpretations of works by Kari Hotakainen, Ilmari Kianno and Miguel de Cervantes have reached over 40 000 Finns. The performance will be co-directed by Linda Wallgren, whose Kivi interpretations have recently been seen in Turku and Lahti. The performance, which radiates humour and playfulness, highlights Kivi’s versatility as a user of language and a master of style. The script was created in collaboration with Eva Buchwald, dramaturg at the National Theatre. The lyrical text is accompanied by the Avant Chamber Orchestra String Quartet led by Niko Kumpuvaara.

In preparing the performance, the working group has read Kivi’s biographies, contemporary descriptions, letters and criticisms, and above all, Kivi’s complete works, together and separately. “There are many different stories about the life of Aleksis Kivi. We do not know what the truth is about him. But we do have his writings – they are the truth about him for us actors,” says Timo Ruuskanen.

“For me, the most important thing about Kivi is the language,” Tuukka Vasama reflects. “Kivi himself has said that writing is like walking in the forest. And that’s what reading his texts is for me to a large extent, walking in the Finnish landscape.”

First performance on the Great Stage of the National Theatre 17.2.2022

Ten performances at the National Theatre. The production will continue on tour from the Kansallisteatteri to various parts of Finland in autumn 2022. The co-production also includes Jyväskylä City Theatre, Lahti City Theatre, Kuopio City Theatre, Tampere Workers’ Theatre, Turku City Theatre and the chamber orchestra Avanti!

Working Group
Actors Timo Ruuskanen and Tuukka Vasama
Accordion, music direction Niko Kumpuvaara
String Quartet (Chamber Orchestra Avanti!) Eriikka Maalismaa / Terhi Paldanius / Tommi Asplund (violin), Olga Reskalenko / Santtu Podzniakov (viola) / Joasia Cieślak (cello)
Text and dramaturgy Eva Buchwald, Timo Ruuskanen, Linda Wallgren and Tuukka Vasama Direction Timo Ruuskanen, Linda Wallgren and Tuukka Vasama Dramaturg Eva Buchwald Set and costume design Tarja Simone Lighting design Ville Virtanen Make-up design Petra Kuntsi Music arrangement Marzi Nyman and Niko Kumpuvaara

Find out more about the work on the show’s website.

Red Nose Company is a Helsinki-based theatre group, one of the most sought-after touring theatres in Finland. The group’s performances of Don Quixote, Babylon, Red Line and Runway Road, as well as the family performances of The Emperor’s New Clothes and Frankenstein, have captivated audiences all over Finland. In 2019, the group broke its audience record: 22 000 spectators.

After a long hiatus that limited its activities, the chamber orchestra Avanti! will return to full concerts in the historic hall of the Knights’ Hall on 12 December. Modernist classics Karlheinz Stockhausen yes György Ligeti take centre stage in a concert that is at the heart of Avant’s approach to the work.

Fellow composers Stockhausen and Ligeti moved in different directions in their musical styles, but both can be considered equally virtuosic and futuristic. The cult figure Stockhausen gave his own twist to the signs of the zodiac with his Tierkreis. These will be transformed in an avant-garde and avant-garde style, with traditional orchestral instruments being joined by harmonica and kantele, among others, to interpret Tierkreis.

Colourful surfaces and changing textures are the delights of Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto. The 13-piece ensemble is led by the rising star of the conducting scene Taavi Oramo. The chamber works will be paired with solo works for keyboard. Ligeti’s intense micropolyphonic Continuum for harpsichord is performed by Sanni Antikainen and Stockhausen’s piano piece IX takes hold Mariola Aniolek.

Modernist classics: the Stockhausen & Ligeti concert on Sunday 12.12.2021 at 18:00 at the Ritarihuone in Helsinki. Tickets for the concert go on sale on Fri 15.10. at 12 noon in Lippupiste’s online shop. Tickets cost 30/25/15 € + delivery fee (from 1 €). www.lippu.fi).

Avanti! strongly recommends the use of a face mask and good hand and sputum hygiene.

AUF: Music for all – three orchestras together again on Tuesday 14 September at 19:00 in the Concert Hall of the Music Centre.

You can enjoy the music at the Musiikkitalo or watch the free livestream on the Helsinki Channel. The concert broadcast will be available free of charge for one month, until Tuesday 12.10.2021.

The concert will also be radioed and broadcast on Yle Radio 1 on Thursday 16.9.2021 at 19.02. The concert will also be available on Yle Arena from 16 September for 30 days.

The programme for the concert can be found here.

Avanti!, UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra & Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO)
Taavi Oramo, conductor

Three independent orchestras from the capital will join forces in a concert that crosses boundaries but combines styles and eras. Together and separately, the musicians of Avant, UMO Helsinki and FiBO will perform works that bring together old and new, light and serious. The programme includes the premiere of Sampo Kasurinen’s Do Androids Dream, composed for the unique AUF ensemble, and Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, with jazz arrangements by Ursula Reich alongside original Baroque versions.

Avant’s grand tour brought 33 concerts to Porvoo this summer – no corona infections traced to the events

Chamber Orchestra Avanti! organised a summer concert series and a five-day Summer Music Festival in Porvoo during the summer of 2021. In total, the events, which employed more than 150 music professionals, reached an audience of around 1,500, and the streaming concerts of Suvisoito attracted around 1,300 views. Despite the changing restrictions imposed by the authorities, the entire summer programme was carried out and the final audience exceeded the organisers’ expectations. Corona security was ensured.

The unique series of free concerts offered a diverse selection of concert programmes designed by musicians from all over Porvoo. Audience restrictions and security clearance requirements, especially for indoor venues, kept audience capacity quite low. As a result, almost all 13 concerts in the summer series were performed in duplicate.

The summer concerts featured music from the 1300s to the premieres of new works. The series started in early June at Bosgård Manor Bengi Canatan harp concert and ended at the end of August at the Kunsthalle Emil Holmström’s piano concerto. During the summer, the festival included a brass octet at the Kerkkoo youth club and French baroque music at the Svartbäck-Spjutsund archipelago church. Percussion music and Finnish tango were enjoyed at Porvoo’s Town Hall Square. One of the highlights of the concert series was Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting an orchestra concert in the Avanti Hall of the Art Factory.

Safe encounters with music

All Avant events were carried out in accordance with up-to-date official guidelines and regulations on safety distances and other safety measures to prevent the spread of corona. A strong mask recommendation was in place at concerts and the audience was instructed on corona safety at registration and at concert venues.

For the free concerts in the summer concert series, pre-registration was used to collect contact information and to limit audience capacity. However, there have been no contacts from the authorities regarding the tracing of corona infections and the organisers are not aware of any cases of infection linked to events organised by Avant.

Thanks to supporters and the public

The Summer Concert Series and the Suvisoito were made possible by the City of Porvoo, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Arts Promotion Centre, Aktiasäätiö Porvoo and Svenska Kulturfonden. Avant’s eventful summer has contributed to the celebration of Porvoo’s 675th anniversary.

A warm thank you to all our supporters, partners and friends of Avant for this summer!

Read more about the summer concert series here.

To read the Summer Music Festival post-event press release, click here: