Category: News

Avant’s unique summer concert series in Porvoo will come to an end in August. However, there are still many great concerts to come for music lovers of all kinds.

Esa-Pekka Salonen, who is often seen conducting the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and top European orchestras, will also spend time in Finland this summer, something the Avant-garde are very excited about. One of Avant’s founding members, Salonen will conduct the Finnish premiere of the conductor-composer’s Saltat Sobrius on Sunday 15 August in the Avanti Hall of the Art Factory. In a concert that evokes the Middle Ages, Avant’s wind ensembles will tackle a rarely heard Richard Strauss symphony for wind instruments and chamber ensembles will perform works by Anneli Arho and Guillaume de Machaut.

At Porvoo’s Town Hall Square, Avanti will be offering music on two occasions next week. On Thursday 5 August, the square will be taken over by the Daytime Dances, when bassoonist Erkki Suomalainen and violist Wu Pei-Yi will lead the audience into the atmosphere of Finnish tangos. On Friday 6 August, Avant’s percussionists Antti Suoranta, Antti Ohenoja and Walter Witick will take over the soundscape of the market square.

For children and child lovers, on Saturday 28 August there will be a concert called Touch the Music. Designed by public relations professional and music educator Tuula Jukola-Nuorteva, this children’s concert will bring music within touching distance. Avant’s musicians will inspire children to draw and paint in this concert combining visual arts and music.

The summer concert series will culminate at the end of August on Sunday 29 August in the Avanti Hall of the Art Factory, where piano virtuoso Emil Holmström will perform Sampo Kasurinen’s work Helvetinkone for disclavier piano. Maurice Ravel’s Scarbo from Gaspard de la nuit, described as the most difficult piano work in the world, will open the concert.

Safe access to music experiences

The summer of 2021 in Avant Garda has been exceptional in many ways. The summer concert series has already featured eight days of double concerts in Porvoo, offering a wide variety of concert experiences for small but all the more loving audiences. In addition, our Suvisoitto festival from 30 June to 4 July attracted an impressive number of listeners to a total of nine concerts, two of which were sold out. This busy summer has shown how important art is to both audiences and artists.

For future concerts, Avanti also strongly recommends wearing a face mask and maintaining good hand and cough hygiene. Audiences are also advised to keep a safe distance from other patrons in the lobby and in queuing situations. Seating in the hall is at safety intervals. Thank you for working with us to make events safe!

One exception for free concerts

Open-air concerts at the Town Hall Square are free of charge and admission is free. The Children’s Concert and Helvetinkone require advance booking due to limited capacity. An exception to the free summer concerts is the 15 August concert by Avant & Esa-Pekka Salonen, for which ticket sales start on Fri 30 July at 9am in Lippupiste’s online shop.

The summer concert series is made possible by the City of Porvoo, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Arts Promotion Centre, Aktiasäätiö Porvoo and Svenska Kulturfonden. The summer concerts are part of Porvoo’s 675th anniversary year.

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.

“Freaky music” themed Suvisoitto XXXVI kicks off next week in Porvoo! After a long wait, it will be possible to listen to the fantastic HK Gruber-designed festival programme live at the concert venues. Avanti! wants to bring the festival atmosphere to home auditoriums as well.

We broadcast live online concerts on YouTube:

• Thursday 1.7. at 19, Frankenstein!! concert
  • HK Gruber, conductor & chansonnier
  • Eriikka Maalismaa, violin
  • Programme:
    Bernd Richard Deutsch: Dr. Futurity
    Jouni Hirvelä: Rakka (premiere)
    media
    HK Gruber: Frankenstein!! Pan-demonium for singer and orchestra to poems by H. C. Artmann

You can watch the concert here:

• Sunday 4.7. at 18, Closing concert
  • John Storgårds, conductor
  • HK Gruber, baritone
  • Pipoka Trio:
    Veli Kujala, accordion
    Jarmo Julkunen, guitar & banjo
    Petri Keskitalo, tuba
  • Programme:
    Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 27
    Markus Fagerudd: Stream & River Motion
    väliaika
    HK Gruber: Manhattan Broadcasts
    Kurt Schwertsik: Starckdeutsche Lieder und Tänze

Links to the webcasts will be published in this newsletter and on the individual concert pages.

Welcome to join us!

The audience capacity for all Avant Garda Summer Festival concerts has been increased thanks to the favourable situation. More tickets will go on sale tomorrow Friday 18.6. at 12 noon In the Lippupiste online store.

Please note that we will continue to follow the general guidelines on safety distances and hygiene. We recommend the use of a face mask.

* We have managed to increase the audience capacity of the concerts and more tickets will be on sale on friday 18.6 kl. 12. For sale via Lippupistes webbutik.

Please note that we follow the general instructions on safety and hygiene. Vi rekommenderar att använda munskydd.

The capital’s independent orchestras Avanti!, UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO) will join forces again in an AUF collaboration. The September concert “Music for All – Three Orchestras Together Again” will break boundaries but combine different eras and styles. Together and separately, the orchestras will play works that combine old and new, light and serious. The concert will be conducted by Taavi Oramo, a multi-instrumentalist.

The crowning glory of the concert will be Sampo Kasurinen’s new premiere work, tailored for the AUF orchestras’ unique line-up. The composer promises a work that incorporates influences from jazz music, the baroque tradition and contemporary music: “My aim is to find a compositional whole that would bring the orchestras together rather than create stylistic contrasts.”

Baroque and jazz also collide in Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen. Alongside original versions performed by the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, you can hear how Baroque dances are turned into jazz by UMO Helsinki. The jazz arrangements are by Austrian composer Ursula Reicher.

The Avanti! quartet will take up Helena Winkelman’s string quartet Papa Haydn’s Parrot, which explores the themes of Haydn’s “Bird” quartet from an original and contemporary perspective. The musicians, drawn together from the ranks of the AUF orchestras, will also perform Arvo Pärt’s enchanting composition Fratres and Michael Torke’s Adjustable Wrench, in which instrumental combinations and energy are adjusted as if by turning a wrench.

“Music for All – Three Orchestras Together Again” in the Concert Hall of the Helsinki Music Centre on Tuesday 14 September at 19.00. Tickets go on sale on 16 June at 9.00 with limited quantities subject to security and safety at: https://www.ticketmaster.fi/event/295483

Chamber Orchestra Avanti!, UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO), AUF Orchestras have been collaborating since 2017.

 

Avant’s Accordion Expanded concert is postponed to September. The new date is 23.9.2021 at 13.00. Tickets already purchased (for the previous concert on 10.6.) are automatically transferred to the new concert date. If the new concert date is not suitable, tickets can be returned until 30.6.2021, and returns will be handled by Ticketmaster. Instructions for returning tickets can be found here. All ticket purchasers who have provided their email address at the time of purchase have also been sent an email with instructions.

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Chamber orchestra Avanti!, UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO) continue their AUF collaboration with a series of day concerts in the Paavo Hall of the Helsinki Music Centre. The Avant Accordion Expanded concert will take place on 23.9.2021 at 13.00.

The concert will feature works in which the accordion plays many roles, performed by the Avant String Quartet and accordionist Veli Kujala.

Adios Nonino, one of the most famous works by Astor Piazzolla, who celebrated his 100th birthday in March, will open the programme of concerts spanning eras and genres. Piazzolla composed the piece as a funeral piece for his father in 1959. Adios Nonino is written for bandoneon, as is Lotta Wennäkoski’s Amorti, the accordion version of which will be premiered at the concert.

Contemporary works include Hans Abrahamsen’s Nocturnes, the fourth movement of Wolfgang Rihm’s “patchwork” series Fetzen 4 and Georg Katzer’s snappy duo SaitenZungenspiel. Veli Kujala’s own composition, MiXi, is scored for harmonica and string quartet. The work will be performed as the closing number of the concert.

Antonín Dvořák’s bagatelles weld the concert programme together. The harmonic parts of the bagatelles will be played on the accordion, which belongs to the same family of free-form keyboard instruments as the harmonica.

The concert will be seated in a secure queue, tickets will be sold as non-numbered tickets and only a limited number of tickets will be available. To see the concert programme and buy tickets, please visit: https://musiikkitalo.fi/tapahtumat/auf-avanti-accordion-expanded/

The Music Hall group sales office is open Mon-Fri 10-14 on tel. 020 707 0426 and by email [email protected].

The Concert Concerto, found in the manuscripts of our national composer Jean Sibelius, will be premiered after 120 years. The orchestral piece, referred to in the newspapers as the “Neito tornissa” (Maiden in the Tower), was premiered at the Turku Fire Brigade Hall on 7 April 1900 by the composer himself, after which it was soon forgotten.

Conductor and Sibelius scholar Tuomas Hannikainen found this 12-minute composition in Sibelius’ manuscript collection. According to Hannikainen, “the work is based on the music of Sibelius’s stage work Jungfrun i tornet and was found hidden, as it were, in its original scores. Against this background, the original innocence and lightness of the work are not surprising”.

Now, more than 120 years later, Hannikainen’s edited Concert Concerto is awakened from its Sleeping Beauty sleep and made part of Sibelius’s published output. The unique work is woven into a performance of Masked Musicians, reflecting the Corona period, recorded in the majestic Knights “Hall without an audience. Avanti! will perform Sibelius” works in addition to the Concert Concerto, the melodrama Portrait of the Countess and parts of the music for the play The Feasts of Belshazzar.

Edgar Allan Poe’s famous short story The Masque of the Red Death, about a desperate escape from a plague to a knight’s castle, has inspired artists from visual arts to music. These include French composer André Caplet‘s poem Conte Fantastique, which will be heard arranged for narrator, harp and string orchestra. The harp part will be played by Laura Hynninen.

Conductor Tuomas Hannikainen has designed, arranged, directed and dramatised an ensemble that combines music, theatre and coat of arms. The texts are interpreted by actor Timo Torikka.

“The period of social isolation has made me wonder what the role of art could be in the new world. How can we use classical music, so strongly rooted in tradition, to mirror our own time and draw creativity from the phenomena of our time?” says conductor Hannikainen. “Masked Musicians is one attempt to answer such questions.”

The radio broadcast was heard on Wednesday 26 May at 19:00 on Radio 1 and on Yle Arena, where it will be available for 30 days. You can watch the video recording of the concert below. A video recording of the entire concert will be available on Sunday 30 May at 19:00 on the orchestra’s YouTube channel.

This summer, the concerts will be multiplied, as in addition to the familiar Suvisoitto festival, Avanti! is organising a series of summer concerts in Porvoo. The unique concert series will be spread around the city and its villages, where musicians will perform in intimate concerts in small groups. Ticket sales for the Summer Concert and reservations for the free June concerts start on Friday 21 May at 12 noon.

A series of summer concerts with programmes designed by musicians

During the summer, Avanti! a unique series of free concerts will take place all over Porvoo. The music will be performed in mansions, concert halls and markets. The orchestra’s artistic director Kari Kriikku promises fun, serious, absurd and surprising concert programmes, each with the designers’ own voice. “The enthusiastic team of Avant’s musicians has been the driving force behind the design. We are thrilled with the impressive venues for the concerts we have found with the guidance of the people of Porvoo.”

The series kicks off in the first week of June at Bosgård Manor, where young harp prodigy Bengi Canatan offers the enchanting sounds of the harp. The next concert at Villa Albert will see the harmonica stretched to new dimensions by Veli Kujala and the Avanti! quartet. The municipal elections in Porvoo will not be without music either, as Duo Matalata will lift the mood on polling day with tuba and bass clarinet tunes. In June, there will also be French baroque music and tunes from the Middle Ages to the present day, performed by various ensembles.

After the summer concert in July, you can hear how early Baroque is intertwined with contemporary works, when the Hittiparit concert in Näsinmäki Chapel will feature Baroque hits with premieres by young Finnish composers. The July and August programme is rounded off with a varied selection of concerts, each creating its own universe. The summer concerts culminate in a surprising spectacle of disco piano and piano flute at the end of August.

All concerts in the Summer Concert Series are free and take place at safe intervals. Due to limited capacity, seats must be booked in advance.

Reservations for summer concerts
Free concerts are booked in advance and registration starts on 21 May at 12.00. The August programme will be completed during the summer. For registration instructions and updated information, please visit www.avantimusic.fi/kesakonsertit

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In addition to the Summer Music Festival, Avanti! will also be organising a summer concert series in Borgå, a unique series of concerts that will take place in the city and its villages, where the musicians will perform intimate concerts in small ensembles. Ticket sales for Sommarmusik and bookings for the free concerts start on Friday 21.5 kl. 12

Summer concert series bjuder på program planerat av musikerna själva

During the summer, Avanti! will perform a unique series of free concerts, which will be held in Borgå, both in herrgårdar and concert halls as well as on the town square. The orchestra’s artistic director, Kari Kriikku, will devise a rousing, controversial, absurd and overwhelming concert programme, in which the voice of the planning partners will be heard. “Avantimusikernas ivriga gäng har varit en bärande kraft i planeringen. Vi är helt exalterade över hur imponerande konzertutrymmen vi hittat med borgåbornas hjälp.”

The concert series starts the first week of June at Bosgård, where young harpist Bengi Canatan will be performing a series of harp songs. At the next concert in Villa Albert we will hear Veli Kujala’s accordion seek new dimensions together with the Avanti! quartet. Inte heller kommunalvalet i Borgå går tonlöst förbi. Duo Matalata raises the tone on election day with music on tuba and bass clarinet in the vicinity of several polling stations. In June there will also be French baroque music and tunes from medieval times to the present with various instrumental ensembles.

After Sommarmusik, the concert Hitpar in Näsebackens kapell presents baroque hits hand in hand with original performances of works by young Finnish composers. The programme in July and August will be completed with a wide range of concerts, each creating its own universe. The summer concerts will culminate at the end of August with a disco-piano-flying spectacle full of vibrations.

All concerts in the summer concert series are free of charge and are arranged with security clearance. Due to the limited capacity of the concert venues, seats are booked in advance.

Chamber Orchestra Avanti! organises the 36th edition of the Suvisoitto Festival, bringing a varied concert coverage to Porvoo from 30 June to 4 July.The festival is organised in accordance with the latest official guidelines and the safety of both the audience and the musicians is ensured. “There is a very limited number of tickets available initially, which we hope to increase as the festival approaches. Thus, we promise that some of the concerts will be streamed anyway,” said Annika Mustonen, Avant’s Executive Director.

This year, the festival is being organised by Austrian composer, singer and conductor Heinz Karl “Nali” Gruber. In keeping with Gruber’s style, the theme of the summer concert is “Freche Musik – Freaky Music”, a reference to music that is bold or cheeky. Gruber, who composed his international breakthrough Frankenstein!!, is at once popular and challenging, entertaining but serious in his sharp music.

The festival will feature postmodern music by Gruber and his Viennese colleagues, accompanied by new Finnish works and a diverse selection of chamber music. The summer concert will premiere Jouni Hirvelä’s violin concerto Rakka with Eriikka Maalismaa as soloist and a commissioned work by pianist-composer Mioko Yokoyama. Saturday evening will be in the Avanti! club atmosphere with the orchestra’s characteristically experimental chamber music by Anna Meredith and Jukka Tiensuuu, among others, and a swinging show by Pipoka-trio.

In addition to artistic designer Gruber, the festival concerts will be conducted by John Storgårds and Håkan Hardenberger, who will also naturally move into soloist roles – even in the middle of a concert. In a traditional Baroque concert, the Thirty Years’ War is explored through period compositions in the magnificent Pernajan Church, with soprano Tuuli Lindeberg interpreting the vocal parts. The festival’s opening fanfare will ring out at Porvoo’s Town Hall Square on Thursday 1 July at 12 noon.

Tickets for the Summer Play
Tickets for Avant’s Summer Play XXXVI: Frekkki Musiikkia will go on sale on 21 May at 12 noon at Lippupiste outlets and at www.lippu.fi. Concert programmes can be found at www.avantimusic.fi/suvisoiton-ohjelma

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Fresh music at Konstfabriken

Chamber orchestra Avanti! is organising for the 36th time its Sommarmusik festival with a long-term concert schedule in Borgå 30.6-4.7. The festival programme complies to the letter with current government directives and the safety of both the audience and the musicians is in safe hands. “To start with, we have a very limited number of tickets, and we can increase the number as the festival approaches. We would also like to stream as many of the concerts as possible,” comments Avantis operations manager Annika Mustonen.

The artistic planning of the festival is the responsibility of the Austrian singer, songwriter and conductor Heinz Karl “Nali” Gruber. The theme for Sommarmusik fits Gruber’s style, namely “Fräck Musik”. Gruber got his international breakthrough with the composition Frankenstein!!! and his music is at the same time popular and intriguing, understated but all-encompassing.

The main focus of the festival will be on the postmodern music of Gruber and his Viennese colleagues, combined with new Finnish compositions and a wide range of chamber music. Vid Sommarmusik uruppförs Jouni Hirveläs violin concerto Rakka med Eriikka Maalismaa som solist samt ett beställningsverk av pianisten-tonsättaren Mioko Yokoyama. På lördag kväll blir det Avanti! -klubb med för orkestern typisk experimentell kammarmusik, bl.a. av Anna Meredith och Jukka Tiensuu samt Pipoka-trios svängiga show.

In addition to artistic planner Gruber, the conductors of the festival concerts are John Storgårds and Håkan Hardenberger, who naturally move between the roles of conductor and soloist – up to and including the concert. In the traditional baroque concert, the trettioåriga kriget will be explored in both compositions in the magnificent church in Pernå, with soprano Tuuli Lindeberg as soloist. The opening fanfare of the festival will take place at Rådhustorget in Borgå on Thursday 1 July at 11.00. 12.

Ticket sales for Sommarmusik
Tickets for the Avantis festival Sommarmusik XXXVI: Fräck Musik will be sold on 21.5 at 12 noon via Lippupistes sales points and www.lippu.fi. Concert programmes can be found on the Avantis website www.avantimusic.fi/suvisoiton-ohjelma.

Chamber orchestra Avanti!, UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO) continue their AUF collaboration with a series of day concerts in the Paavo Hall of the Helsinki Music Centre. The Avant Accordion Expanded concert will take place on 10.6.2021 at 13.00.

The concert will feature works in which the accordion plays many roles, performed by the Avant String Quartet and accordionist Veli Kujala.

Adios Nonino, one of the most famous works by Astor Piazzolla, who celebrated his 100th birthday in March, will open the programme of concerts spanning eras and genres. Piazzolla composed the piece as a funeral piece for his father in 1959. Adios Nonino is written for bandoneon, as is Lotta Wennäkoski’s Amorti, the accordion version of which will be premiered at the concert.

Contemporary works include Hans Abrahamsen’s Nocturnes, the fourth movement of Wolfgang Rihm’s “patchwork” series Fetzen 4 and Georg Katzer’s snappy duo SaitenZungenspiel. Veli Kujala’s own composition, MiXi, is scored for harmonica and string quartet. The work will be performed as the closing number of the concert.

Antonín Dvořák’s bagatelles weld the concert programme together. The harmonic parts of the bagatelles will be played on the accordion, which belongs to the same family of free-form keyboard instruments as the harmonica.

The concert will be seated in a secure queue, tickets will be sold as non-numbered tickets and only a limited number of tickets will be available. To see the concert programme and buy tickets, please visit: https://musiikkitalo.fi/tapahtumat/auf-avanti-accordion-expanded/

The Music Hall group sales office is open Mon-Fri 10-14 on tel. 020 707 0426 and by email [email protected].