Freaky music at the Art Factory – XXXVI Summer Festival ticket sale starts

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.

AUF Day concerts continue in the summer in the Paavo Hall of the Helsinki Music Centre

Veli Kujala

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].

Looking ahead to the Summer Music Festival

In celebration of Easter and the sunny spring weather, here’s some happy news!

Avanti! looks forward to the coming summer with hope. The planning for the summer festival is in full swing, and the festival will take place in Porvoo from 30 June to 4 July 2021, one way or another. Due to the uncertain situation, we don’t dare to publish our programme just yet. We will let you know more about what the festival will look like in the spring. So stay tuned!

So now is the perfect time to revisit the atmosphere of last summer’s Little Summer Play with the compilation video below.

 

Black Box Music concerts 9.2.2021 go online

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.

Avanti! is looking for a project producer for a fixed-term contract

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.

“Hand Concerto” at Black Box Music Avant in February

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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With pleasure, Avanti! – Feeling Free at Musiikkitalo 18.9.2020

The concert has been moved from spring to Friday 18 September 2020. To allow for safety gaps, the audience will be divided into three performances at 13, 14:30 and 16.

To allow for safety gaps, the audience will be divided into three performances and the concerts will be held at 13:00, 14:30 and 16:00. All customers must exchange their tickets for new seats free of charge at the Music Hall ticket office or by calling 020 7070 437 Mon-Fri 9-11 on weekdays. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please contact Musiikkitalo as soon as possible to confirm your new seat for the performance at the time of your choice. Seats will be allocated as they become available and old tickets will not be accepted. Serial ticket holders will also need a new ticket for this concert.

The duration of the concert is 1 hour, no intermission.

House of Music

With pleasure, Avanti! – Feeling Free
18.9.2020 at 13.00, 14.30 and 16.00
Music House, Paavo Hall

Guitarist Marzi Nyman, vibraphonist Arttu Takalo and French horn player Tero Toivonen join forces again with the Avant String Quartet. The concert’s repertoire, consisting mostly of compositions by the soloist trio, is a juicy fusion of jazz, classical and popular music. As has been said before about this septet: nothing is what it seems, but everything is what it sounds.

Guitarist Marzi Nyman is known as an incredibly versatile musician. Over the years, Nyman has played guitar in leading jazz bands, composed orchestral works, worked for television and film, and served as conductor of the Espoo Big Band. Nyman has collaborated with Avant several times and at the 2018 Summer Festival Nyman performed as organist together with soprano Anu Koms.

Multi-talented vibraphonist and composer Arttu Takalo came to prominence in the XL band founded by Jarmo Saari, and has also been heard in many other bands and touring ensembles. As a composer who combines styles, Takalo has written music for big bands, chamber and symphony orchestras and arranged music for Ismo Alango, among others. Takalo has released several solo albums, most recently L’Alliance Takalo in 2017.

Tero Toivonen is a versatile musician who plays in the Tapiola Sinfonietta, works as a lecturer of French horn music at the University of the Arts, and is the sound director of the Avant Chamber Orchestra and the Vantaa Entertainment Orchestra’s French horn section. In addition, Toivonen regularly collaborates with rhythm music professionals both in the studio and on concert stages. As a doctor of music, Toivonen has also specialised in public work, which she has done especially with young people all over Finland.

The concert is part of the AUF series, a collaboration between Avant, the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO). Top orchestras from different genres invite listeners to a day-long concert to discover a wide range of musical delicacies.

Marzi Nyman, guitar
Arttu Takalo, vibraphone
Tero Toivonen, French horn
Maija Linkola, violin
Mikaela Palmu, violin
Tuula Riisalo, viola
Iida Vilhelmiina Sinivalo, cello

Changes to the AUF concert on 15.9.2020 at Musiikkitalo

The joint concert of three top orchestras – Chamber Orchestra Avant, UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and Finnish Baroque Orchestra FiBO – at the Helsinki Music Centre on Tue 15 September will undergo changes to ensure a safe concert experience for the audience, musicians and staff alike.

The concert’s intermission and pre-registration will be cancelled. The concert starts at 19:00 and ends at approximately 20:30.

UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra’s repertoire will be changed and the size of the orchestra will be reduced to allow for a performance without intermission and to allow for safety clearances for the musicians in the backstage area. The Avant and FiBO programmes will remain unchanged. Read more details about the programme below.

The seating in the auditorium is on a safety row, with only a very limited number of concert tickets sold in the hall. For this reason, anyone who has previously purchased a ticket will need to exchange their ticket. Customers can exchange their tickets for new seats free of charge by visiting or calling the Music Hall ticket office.

  • The Music Hall ticket office is available by phone for ticket exchanges on weekdays Mon-Fri 9-11 at 020 7070 437. Call rates: from a landline 8,35 cents/phone + 7,02 cents/min, from a mobile phone 8,35 cents/phone + 17,17 cents/min, from abroad standard international call rates. A ticket exchanged by phone will be delivered as an e-ticket to your e-mail.
  • On-site ticket sales at the Music Hall are open on weekdays Mon-Fri 9-18 and Sat 10-17.

More information about the event

Security instructions for the Music Hall

 

How does a recycled refrain sound on a foley artist’s kiosk, what does Vivaldi sound like in a minimalist remix version and what links can be found between the works in the concert and the world of cinema?

UMO Helsinki Duo and film music from two eras

The original repertoire of the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra will change. Instead of a big band ensemble, the duo Kasperi Sarikoski (trombone) and Seppo Kantonen (piano) from UMO Helsinki will perform film music from two different eras.

The UMO Helsinki Duo will open the concert with Bob Telson’s Calling You (1987) from the film Bagdad Cafe. Originally recorded by Jevetta Steele and later covered by Celine Dion, Natalie Cole, Paul Young and others, this delicate ballad is reborn in a union of trombone and piano.

From bazaar ballad to 1920s jazz with Black and Tan Fantasy (1927) by Duke Ellington and James “Bubber” Miley. This early Ellington work, in which Miley’s melodic ideas are unleashed, was later used in the short film Black and Tan.

Chamber Orchestra Avanti! and the world’s first foley concert

Sami Klemola’s composition Jack and the Specifics is written for foley artist and chamber orchestra. The composer explains: “Exploring the interfaces and points of contact between the arts has long been an interest of mine. The combination of the sound arts, sound art (broadly speaking) and concert music, creates interesting friction situations, with the friction that forms at the interfaces providing energy, intensity and new directions for my compositional work.”

The work is reportedly the first time that the solo parts of a concerto have been written for a foley artist, in this case Heikki Koss. Kossi is a sound artist who creates soundtracks for films, including footsteps and creaking doors. Kossi has worked on dozens of Finnish films and has also enjoyed international success. Heikki Kossi performs foley sounds live in concert. There is a strong visual element as he brings along a huge kiosk full of stuff to produce the sounds. The piece also features dancer Emmi Pennanen.

Finnish baroque orchestra combines past and present

The distance between the past and the present is short – sometimes a hair’s breadth. A more familiar version of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons will be an ear-opener for baroque lovers as the Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO) concludes the concert with Max Richter’s Four Seasons Recomposed, premiered in 2012. It models the Four Seasons concertos as minimalist remixes. Sometimes Vivaldi and Richter walk in lockstep, sometimes Richter jerks the music into an insightful angle or stretches it through repetition into cosmic baroque landscapes. The result of recolored harmonic bases and surfaces reminiscent of electronic sound mats is deafening and intelligently executed ambient Vivaldi. Antti Tikkanen and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra’s interpretation of the work will take FiBO to Central Europe next year, corona conditions permitting.

The concert is part of the AUF collaboration between the Avanti! chamber orchestra, the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra since autumn 2017.

 

Programme:

 

UMO Helsinki Duo: Kasperi Sarikoski & Seppo Kantonen

Bob Telson: Calling You (1987)

Duke Ellington & James “Bubber” Miley: Black Tan Fantasy (1927)

 

Chamber Orchestra Avanti!

Tomas Djupsjöbacka, conductor

Heikki Kossi, foley artist

Emmi Pennanen, dance

Sami Klemola: Jack and the Specifics (2017)

The Forest

Man in the Cabin

The Crash

Intermezzo

Friction

Underwater

Message deleted

Tom, Jack and bipolar Jerry

Machina

Cadenza

Exit

Still life

 

Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO)

Antti Tikkanen, violin

Max Richter: Four Seasons Recomposed (2012)

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

No summer without music – Avant’s Little Summer Play in Porvoo on 25 June

No summer without music – Avant’s Little Summer Play in Porvoo on 25 June

(in Swedish below)

This year, Avant’s Suvisoitto festival, postponed to 2021, will be replaced by a one-day mini-festival on Thursday 25 June 2020. The day will include several chamber music and solo concerts, culminating in the closing concert FOG at the Art Factory, led by Avant’s founding conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen.

The idea for a music event to take over the city was taken from the first Suvisoito in 1986. During the day, Avant’s soloists and bands perform in cafés in Old Porvoo and in the courtyards, gardens and squares of the suburbs. The programme ranges from baroque to contemporary music, jazz and tango. Configurations range from a solo harp to a wind octet and a Brassa på brass band touring the city. A fanfare echoes from the roof of the Arts Centre just before the evening’s concert.

You can also participate in the concerts via video and radio: the evening concert will be broadcast live from the Porvoo Art Factory on Avant’s YouTube channel and Porvoo Live. The concert will be broadcast live on Yle radio and later on Yle Arena. Recordings of the day’s other concerts will be published after the event on Avant’s YouTube channel, and the day’s atmosphere will also be shared on Avant’s social media channels.

To ensure the safety of the audience and performers, the number of people attending indoor concerts is limited to 1-25, depending on the concert. To be admitted to the concert, you can enter a free prize draw by Monday 15 June. Ticket winners will be notified during the Midsummer week. There will also be a few free seats available at the doors of the concert venues, which will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis no earlier than half an hour before the concert starts. Avant’s music can also be heard in cafés, streets and shopping centres throughout the day.

The first half of the concert will feature Aino Tenkanen’s string trio Uneen falloan, Heidi Hassinen’s electrically amplified trio Kato and Veli Kujala’s Accordeon Hyperoriental for microphone accordion and backing tape. Jukka Tiensuu’s nemo, ploughing the musical oceans, closes the first part. The second part begins with the premiere of Juho Kangka’s Secondi e Strumenti for bass clarinet, guitar and double bass. This will be followed by four scenes from Mari Sainio’s monologue opera The Raven, based on Edgar Allan Poe’s classic poem of the same name. The soloist is baritone Henri Tikkanen. The concert will close with the Finnish premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Fog.

Concerts

Ingen sommar utan musik – Avanti! organises mini-summer music in Borgå on 25 June

The Avantis Summer Music Festival has been postponed until summer 2021, but instead a mini-festival will be organised on Thursday 25 June 2020. Several chamber music and solo concerts will be held on the same day, as well as the closing concert FOG at Konstfabriken. The concert will be conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, one of Avantis’ founders.

The idea of a music festival spreading throughout the city has been around since the very first Summer Music Festival in 1986. Avanti soloists and ensembles can be found at the end of the day in the cafés in Gamla Borgå, in the old town’s gardens and gardens and in the trädgårdar. The repertoire ranges from baroque via all kinds of music to jazz and tango. The ensembles vary from solo harp to brass octet and the brass ensemble Brassa på, which performs in various parts of the city. Strax innan kvällens konzert blir det också en fanfar från Konstfabrikens tak.

You can also participate in the concerts via video and radio spots: the evening concert at Borgå Konstfabrik will be broadcast live via Avantis YouTube channel and Borgå Live. Yle spels in the concert and broadcasts it at a later time on the radio and via Yle Arena. Inspirations from the day’s other concerts will be published after the event on Avantis YouTube channel and the highlights of the day will also be shared on Avantis social media channels.

In order to ensure safe conditions for both the audience and the musicians, the number of audience members at indoor concerts is limited to 1-25 people, depending on the concert. The seats for the concert audience will be allocated by lottery, so please participate in the free ticket allocation by Monday 15.6. We will contact the audience during the summer quarter. There are a few free seats available at the doors to the concert venues, which will be distributed to the public on arrival at least half an hour before the concert begins. During the rest of the day, you can also hear Avanti play in the cafes, on the canal and in the city centre.

The evening concerts at Konstfabriken will feature Aino Tenkanen’s string trio Uneen putoan, Heidi Hassinen’s electronically enhanced trio Kato and Veli Kujala’s work Accordeon Hyperoriental for microtonal accordion and ljudband. The first section will be closed with Jukka Tiensuu’s Nemo, which will show musical worlds. Den andra avdelningen inleds med ett uruppförande: Juho Kanga’s Secondi e Strumenti för basklarinett, gitarr och kontrabas. This is followed by four scenes from Mari Sainio’s monologue opera The Raven, based on Edgar Allan Poe’s classic poem of the same name. The soloist is baritone Henri Tikkanen. The concert will end with Esa-Pekka Salonen’s opera Fog, which is being performed for the first time in Finland.

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