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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].

Chamber orchestra Avant Musica nova: Black Box Music concerts on 9 February 2021 will go online due to assembly restrictions that prevent the physical presence of the audience at the concerts. Those who have purchased tickets for the concerts are kindly requested to return them to https://web.lippu.fi/palautus

A free livestream of the concert will be broadcast on Tuesday 9.2.2021 at 18.00 on the Avant Chamber Orchestra Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_ffgc_HeqY

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the cancellation.

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 seasonal and subscription concerts, 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 a fixed-term contract.

PROJECT PRODUCER,

responsible for the practical production of the Suvisoitto festival in Porvoo from 30 June to 4 July 2021, the summer concert series for small bands in Porvoo in May-August 2021 and the concert visit in early August, together with Avant’s producer and executive director. The Project Producer will be responsible for the production work of the festival, including liaising with musicians, organising the sheet music, tendering service contracts, assisting with marketing and sales, training volunteers and production assistants, liaising with stakeholders, providing customer service to the public and implementing the security measures required by the corona pandemic restrictions. For the summer concert series for small ensembles, in addition to the above, the project producer will be responsible for planning the schedule of concerts and rehearsals, identifying concert venues and the practical implementation of the concerts, including acting as an orchestra organiser. The Project Producer will also assist with Avant’s spring season concerts.

To perform your duties successfully, you must

• initiative, responsibility and strong organisational skills
• good oral and written Finnish and English language skills, Swedish language skills would be an advantage
• good digital skills
• ability to work independently
• previous experience in similar tasks
• extensive experience of working with music
• 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

Experience of working in an orchestral environment, a driving licence, basic knowledge of audio engineering and an appropriate education would be an advantage.

The fixed-term contract will start as soon as possible in February 2021 and run until 6 September 2021. The contract will be part-time, working on average 80% (30 h/week). The hours of work will sometimes be irregular and this will be managed jointly through a working time plan agreed in advance. There will also be occasional evening and weekend work, which will always be agreed in advance. The salary is €2 350/month. In the spring it is occasionally possible to work remotely and in May and August the work is mainly done at concert venues in Porvoo and/or at Avant’s rehearsal hall and office at Kaapelitehtata in Helsinki.

Free-form applications with curriculum vitae must be submitted by 24:00 on Wed 13.1.2021 to annika.mustonen / at / avantimusic.fi.

Inquiries Fri 18.12.2020 at 12-14, Mon 11.1.2021 at 14-16 and Tue 12.1.2021 at 10-12 Executive Director Annika Mustonen, tel. 050 5810409.

We aim to hold interviews Mon-Thu 25-26 Jan 2021. 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.

Avanti! will perform Danish composer Simon Steen-Andersen’s Black Box Music (2012) in February as part of the Musica nova festival. The Nordic Music Council award-winning work features videoed hands appearing from behind a puppet-like curtain, leading a live orchestra of 15 musicians spread out around the audience. The hands are the conductor and soloist of the performance, and their stage – a black box – is also one of the instruments. Norwegian percussionist Håkon Stene will be the “hands soloist” commanding Avant.

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