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.

Conserter

Georg Malmstén & HumppAvanti! – EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT / TA DE´ LUGNT ALLA TIDER

(På svenska nedan)

HumppAvanti! and Svenska Teatern will paint a portrait of Georg Malmstén, the great entertainer of our musical history, with soloists, well-known singers and actors. Writer and director Juha Siltanen and musical director Timo Hietala want to update Malmstén’s production for the 2020s in a spectacular musical firework display on the big stage of the Svenska Teatern. The premiere is on 16 October. The ensemble includes names such as John Storgårds, Sam Huber and Anna Hultin. More top names will be announced later.

Georg Malmstén (1902-1981) is one of the cornerstones of Finnish music history. His compositions have left an indelible mark on Finnish folk music. Svenska Teatern and the chamber orchestra Avanti! will honour the beloved singer, musician and composer with a joyous concert in October.

Malmstén’s songs bring together East and West, city and countryside, sorrow and joy, uniforms and Mickey Mouse. Avant and Svenska Teatern’s performance brings these to the stage of the 2020s, in both national languages, both familiar classics and, above all, lesser-known masterpieces.

– Malmstén was our great “national figure”, but we also want to show him as a professional artist of international stature. He was an opera singer, orchestra conductor, cornetist, composer, arranger, lyricist, actor, even a film director. His work traces the development of half a century and, above all, a warmth of personality which, in our countries, is often overshadowed by sentimentality or beachside mannerisms. , says Juha Siltanen, the director and scriptwriter of the performance, who has worked with Avant on several composer portraits over the years.

HumppAvanti! has gained a cult following in its almost 20 years of operation with its artistically free-spirited approach and irrepressible humour. It has collaborated with a wide range of musicians, from classical musicians to entertainment legends and rap artists.

According to pianist and composer Timo Hietala, the whole idea of HumppAvant started in a playful way:

– We sat with Avant’s artistic director, Kari Kriiku, on the plane, trying to make the time pass. We started toying with the idea of organising a tribute concert in honour of old Finnish band culture, say Humppa-Veike. At the time, the idea seemed crazy, but after sleeping through the night, Kriikku was convinced that it had to happen. , says Hietala.

It was also from the Avant-garde side that the idea to build a performance around Malmstén’s music and personality came. The show features thirteen of the country’s leading musicians, all of whom have gone on to international careers, as well as guest soloists and actors.

Svenska Teatern introduced Georg Malmstén to the stage as early as 1979 in Sven Sid’s successful musical “The Town Dude”. In 201 performances, it held the theatre’s performance record until the HYPE musical. For Joachim Thibblin, director of the Svenska Teatern, the new production is an opportunity both to broaden the theatre’s repertoire profile and to highlight its current resources, talents and skills:

– We increasingly want to collaborate with other institutions and frontline players, both national and international. Svenska Teatern is one of Helsinki’s key cultural players. We want to open up our fine house to a wider audience so that our location , our skilled staff and modern technology will bring joy to more and more people,” says Thibblin.

Avanti! and Svenska Teatern are state-funded institutions. Joachim Thibblin believes that it is natural for two major cultural players to find common synergies.

– I am very happy that Avanti! wanted to partner with us. It’s great to be able to offer our audiences such a unique programme performed by some of the best musicians in the country.

So in October, it’s time again to go on a border-crossing trip with HumppAvant. This is the opportunity so Avanti is looking forward to! and the Svenska Teatern.

Performances on the main stage of the Svenska Teaterna on Friday 16.10.2020 at 19.00 and Saturday 17.10.2020 at 14.00 and 19.00.

Tickets

 

Svenska Teatern and Avanti! present:

Georg Malmstén & HumppAvanti! – EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT / TA DE´ LUGNT ALLA TIDER

Written and directed by Juha Siltanen
Arrangements and musical direction by Timo Hietala

On stage:
Soloists include Sam Huber, Anna Hultin (More top names to be announced later.)
Violin: John Storgårds,
Clarinet: Kari Kriikku och Heikki Nikula
Piano: Seppo Kantonen
Vibraphone: Panu Savolainen
Trumpet: Pasi Pirinen
Trombone: Valtteri Malmivirta
Tuba: Petri Keskitalo
Drums: Sami Kuoppamäki
Percussion: Mongo Aaltonen
Double bass: Timo Ahtinen
Keyboards: Timo Hietala
Electronic period instruments: Juhani Liimatainen

Svenska Teatern

HumppAvanti! and Svenska Teatern will this autumn present a portrait of Georg Malmstén, one of music history’s greatest managers, with the help of soloists, renowned singers and skådespelare. The author and director Juha Siltanen and musical director Timo Hietala want to update Malmstén’s work until 2020 with a powerful musical production on the Svenska Teaterns stora scen with a premiere on 16 October. The ensemble includes names like John Storgårds, Sam Huber and Anna Hultin. Flera toppnamn avslöjas senare.
Georg Malmstén (1902-1981) is one of the leading lights of Finnish music. Hans’ songs and tunes have given outsplånliga spårat i den finländska folksjälen. In October, the Svenska Teatern and the chamber orchestra Avanti! will celebrate this famous singer, musician and composer with a wonderful concert performance.

In Malmsténs sånger öst väst, “stadin” landsbygden och vemodet glädjen möter. In Avantis and Svenska Teaterns productions, both more and less well-known classics in both languages will be performed on the stages of 2020.

– Malmstén was a folk symbol, but we also want to present him as an internationally renowned professional artist. He was an opera singer, conductor, cornetist, composer, arranger, songwriter, skådespelare, and even a film director. In his work we see a half-second of development and, above all, a kind of personal warmth that often lies in the skuggan av sentimentalitet eller vilt leverne , says the director of the festival and manuscript writer Juha Siltanen, who has produced several composer portraits together with Avanti! during the end of the year.

During the almost ten years of its existence, HumppAvanti! has acquired a cult-like status where it has created an open-minded attitude and scrupulous humour with artistic freedom. Gruppen har samarbetat med allt från musiker inom klassisk musik till kända nöjeslegender och rapartister.

Enligt pianist och kompositör Timo Hietala började hela idén med HumppAvanti! som ett skämt.

– Me and Avantis artistic leader Kari Kriikku sat on a flygplan and wanted to let time pass. We started to play with the idea of organising a tribute concert to the old Finnish band culture, e.g. Humppa-Veikots. At the time we thought that the idea was a good one, but after having looked into the matter, Kriikku was convinced that it should be carried out, sailor Hietala.

Det var också Avanti! who came up with the idea to build up a programme about Malmstén’s music and person. The production features three of the country’s most prominent musicians, all of whom have made careers abroad, as well as well-known soloists and skådespelare.

Malmstén, who was Finnish-Swedish, was presented as early as 1979 at Svenska Teatern in Sven Sid’ssuccessful production “Stadin kundi”. It was performed 201 times and set a record for the number of performances until the musical HYPE. Svenska Teaterns teaterchef Joachim Thibblin sees the production as a way of both expanding the theatre’s repertoire and enhancing the company’s existing resources, talents and skills.

– We want to cooperate to an ever greater extent with other institutions and the leading actors, both nationally and internationally. Svenska Teatern is a central cultural actor in Helsinki. We want to open up our great theatre to a wider audience, where our location, our competent staff and modern technology can be appreciated more and more, Sawyer Thibblin.

Avanti!, like Svenska Teatern, also receives public funding. Joachim Thibblin thinks it is only natural that two major cultural actors should work in synergy.

– Jag är väldigt glad att Avanti! wanted to work with us. It’s great to be able to give our audience a unique programme presented by the country’s best musicians.

In October, it is again time to take part in HumppAvanti! and their cross-border cooperation. Something that both Avanti! and Svenska Teaterns are looking forward to.

Performances at Svenska Teaterns Stora scen on Friday 16 October at 19.00 and on Sunday 17 October at 14.00 and 19.00.

Biljetter

 

Svenska Teatern and Avanti! presenterar:

Georg Malmstén & HumppAvanti! – TA DE´ LUGNT ALLA TIDER / EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT

Manus and director: Juha Siltanen
Arrangement and musical direction: Timo Hietala

På scen:
Soloists: Sam Huber, Anna Hultin and many other top names who have been released on the map.
Violin: John Storgårds,
Clarinet: Kari Kriikku och Heikki Nikula
Piano: Seppo Kantonen
Vibraphone: Panu Savolainen
Trumpet: Pasi Pirinen
Trombon: Valtteri Malmivirta
Tuba: Petri Keskitalo
Trummor: Sami Kuoppamäki
Slaginstrument: Mongo Aaltonen
Bas: Timo Ahtinen
Tangentinstrument: Timo Hietala
Elektroniska periodinstrument: Juhani Liimatainen

Svenska Teatern

Avantin 35. Summer Music Festival moves to 2021

(På svenska nedan / In English below)

Chamber Orchestra Avant 35. The Avant Summer Music Festival will be held in Porvoo from 30.6. to 4.7.2021 and will be moved forward by one year, as decided by the Avant Board at its meeting on Monday 27.4.

“This is an unfortunate situation for everyone, and although some of Suvisoito’s events are below the 500-person limit, moving the entire festival was the most responsible course of action in these circumstances, both for the health and safety of the audience and the performers,” says Acting Executive Director Jussi Rauvola.

Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the Summer Music Festival will not take place in 2020, but music will still be available this exceptional summer. Avanti! will provide more information on the replacement programme and how it will be delivered during May and June. All official regulations and guidelines will also be strictly observed.

The 2021 festival will feature a programme designed by Austrian composer-singer-conductor HK Gruber, including a diverse selection of works by Austrian postmodernists, domestic premieres and other rarely heard contemporary music gems. Gruber himself will appear as a conductor and vocal soloist in addition to his works.

Other soloists and conductors for the 2021 Summer Festival will be announced and tickets will go on sale in autumn 2020.

 

Avantis 35th Summer Music Festival skjuts up until 2021

Kammarorkestern Avantis 35:e Sommarmusik-festival is postponed by one year and will be held in Borgå 30.6. – 4.7.2021, according to Avantis styrelses beslut måndag 27.4.

“The situation is deplorable for all parties, and even if part of the Summer Music Festival exceeds the 500-person limit, it is in these circumstances most responsible to cancel the entire festival, in view of the health and safety of both the audience and the musicians,” says Jussi Rauvola, Director of Operations.

Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the Summer Music Festival 2020 will not be held, but despite this, music will still be on the agenda during this exceptional summer. Avanti! meddelar on the summer’s replacement programme and its implementation in May-June. The organisations follow all the directives and guidelines of the authorities.

The 2021 festival will present a programme planned by Estonian singer-songwriter-conductor HK Gruber, a varied programme including works by Austrian post-modernists, indigenous composers and other recent gems in the field of contemporary music. Gruber will be performing at the festival with his own works and as a conductor and soloist.

Other soloist and conductor guests for Sommarmusik 2021 will be published and ticket sales will start in spring 2020.

 

Avanti! postpones 35th Summer Sounds festival to 2021

The 35th Summer Sounds festival of the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra is to be postponed for one year to 2021, when it will be held in Porvoo from June 30 to July 4. The decision was made by the Avanti! Board at its meeting on Monday, April 27.

“It’s a regrettable situation for everyone,” says the orchestra’s Acting Executive Director Jussi Rauvola. “Although some of the Summer Sounds events will not exceed the limit of 500 participants imposed by the Finnish government, postponing the entire festival is, in the present circumstances, the most responsible course of action in order to ensure the health and safety of both audience and performers.”

Due to the coronavirus epidemic, Summer Sounds will not therefore be held in 2020, but there will still be a chance to enjoy music in this exceptional summer. Avanti! will be announcing this summer’s alternative programme and its execution over the next two months. Again, it will be strictly observing all the official orders and directions.

The programme for the 2021 festival will be planned by Austrian composer-singer-conductor HK Gruber, with a varied menu that includes works by Austrian postmodernists, Finnish premieres and other seldom-heard gems of contemporary music. Gruber will be appearing in person at the festival, in the triple role of composer, conductor and vocalist.

The names of the other visiting soloists and conductors for the 2021 Summer Sounds festival will be announced and tickets will go on sale in autumn 2020.

Saariaho’s La Passion de Simone moves to August

Kaija Saariaho and the Paris-based musical theatre group La Chambre aux échos’ stage oratorio La Passion de Simone will be moved from Easter to next summer’s Helsinki Festival due to the corona pandemic. La Passion de Simone will be performed at Helsinki’s Musiikkitalo from 30 to 31 August.

Tickets for the new performances are on sale and tickets purchased for the April performances are valid for the new dates (Sun 12 April -> Sun 30 August and Mon 13 April -> Mon 31 August). If the new date is not suitable, Ticketmaster will refund the ticket price to the purchaser.

The home audience can enjoy the version of La Passion de Simone filmed at Tampere Hall in March 2019 during Easter – Yle Teema Fem will broadcast the recording on Good Friday 10.4. at 12.00. The performance will also be available on Yle Arena at a later date.

 

Tickets for the 30.8 concert

Tickets for the 31.8 concert

Information on ticket refunds

La Passion de Simone is an oratorio based on the ideas, life and struggle against injustice and inequality in the world of French philosopher Simone Weil(1909-1943). The young woman at the centre of the story admires Simone, while questioning her radical intransigence. Compositionally based on Bach’s passions, the work can be experienced as a collective meditation led by soprano Sayuri Araida, actress Isabelle Seleskovitch and a vocal quartet.

The Paris-based musical theatre group La Chambre aux échos commissioned a chamber orchestra version of La Passion de Simone and premiered it on 14 November 2013 at the Melos-Ethos festival in Bratislava, Slovakia. The production has since travelled to festivals (Saint-Denis, Bergen, Njord, Lublin), New York, Paris, Copenhagen and various opera houses in France.

In addition to La Chambre aux échos, the Finnish chamber orchestra Avanti! The conductor is Saariaho specialist Clément Mao-Takacs. The stage director is Aleksi Barrière.

 

Kaija Saariaho
composition

Amin Maalouf
libretto

Clément Mao-Takacs
conductor

Aleksi Barrière
steering

Chamber Orchestra Avanti!

Sayuri Araida
soprano soloist

Isabelle Seleskovitch
actress

Sandra Darcel (soprano)
vocal quartet

Marianne Seleskovitch (mezzo-soprano)
vocal quartet

Johan Viau (tenor)
vocal quartet

Romain Dayez (bass baritone)
vocal quartet

 

La Passion de Simone moves

Easter La Passion de Simone concerts at the Music Hall on 12 and 13 April, With pleasure, Avanti! – Feeling Free -concert in Musiikkitalo on 28 March and the All Time Classics concert in Tammisaari on 19 April have been cancelled in order to combat the coronavirus epidemic, in line with the Finnish government’s policy. Efforts will be made to reschedule the concerts for a later date.

La Passion de Simonen and with joy, Avanti! – Ticket refunds for the Feeling Free concert will be handled by Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster.fi

For more information on Musiikkitalo’s spring concerts, visit Musiikkitalo.fi

For more information on the All Time Classics concert, visit Ekenäs Konsertgarantiförening rf

Avanti! is closely monitoring the situation and will follow the instructions of the authorities in all its activities. We apologise for the inconvenience caused to all concerned.

All-time classics in Tammisaari 19.4.

Sun 19.4.2020 at 18.00
Tammisaari Church, Tammisaari

“CLASSIC ” means a work that has achieved a universally recognised and appreciated status, regardless of genre. The classics are not universal or typical of their time, but summarise something essential about their culture and their era. For example, the chamber orchestra Avant should be considered a classic.” (Antti Häyrynen)

Avanti! will play classics from the baroque, romantic, jazz and folk music genres at Tammisaari Church in April 2020. The concert will feature György Ligeti’s String Quartet No. 1.

The Classics of All Time concert is part of the AUF series, a joint effort by Avant, UMO and FiBO, where top orchestras from different genres invite listeners to experience a wide range of musical delicacies.

 

Anna-Leena Haikola, violin
Terhi Paldanius, violin
Riitta-Liisa Ristiluoma, viola
Mikko Ivars, cello
Kari Kriikku, clarinet
Jouko Laivuori, piano

 

Programme:

A mix of Beethoven and contemporary music:
Jukka Tiensuu: Tombeau de Beethoven

Romantic classic:
Robert Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-flat major op. 44, Part II:
In moto d’una marchia, un poco largamente

Folk music classics:
Béla Bartók’s duos for two violins and Finnish folk music pieces

Baroque classic:
Carlo Farina: Capriccio stravagante

Jazz classic:
Duke Ellington: Mood Indigo
sov. Seppo Kantonen

A new music classic:
György Ligeti: String Quartet No. 1, “Métamorphoses nocturnes”

Allegro grazioso
Vivace, capriccioso
Adagio, mesto
Presto
Andante tranquillo
Tempo di Valse, moderato, con eleganza, un poco capriccioso
Allegretto, un poco gioviale
Prestissimo

 

The concert is organised by Ekenäs Konsertgarantiförening rf

AUF: ALL THE MUSIC OF THE WORLD – From Baroque to Hollywood

Tue 15.9.2020 at 19.00
Music House, Helsinki

Heikki Kossi, foley artist
Antti Tikkanen, violin
Chamber Orchestra Avanti!
UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra
Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO)

Three top orchestras – Chamber Orchestra Avanti!, UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO) – will once again perform in a joint autumn concert, offering surprising treats and a wide range of skills to delight and inspire the audience! 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?

Avanti! and the world’s first foley concert
Jack and the Specifics, composed by Sami Klemola, is for foley artist and chamber orchestra. It is reportedly the first time that the solo parts of the concerto have been written for a foley artist, in this case Heikki Koss. Kossi is a sound artist who creates soundtracks for films, including the sound of footsteps and doors creaking. Kossi has worked on dozens of Finnish films and has also enjoyed international success. He performs foley sounds live in a concert situation. There is a strong visual element when Kossi, performing with Avant, brings a huge kiosk full of merchandise with him to produce the sounds.

UMO Helsinki and two ever-renewing maestros
Afro-Bossa is one of Duke Ellington’s most remarkable and original compositions. It’s a stunning demonstration of how the retired maestro still found new ways to travel the world of blues. Despite its name, the work makes no reference to Brazilian music, but is instead an abstract blend of African and Latin influences that, propelled by a bolero rhythm, reach an explosive climax like an approaching procession.

In addition to a piece by Duke Ellington, the UMO will perform a tickling piece by Jukka Tiensuu called Umori. As always with Jukka Tiensuu, he once again showed the music world his unfailing visionary talents when he musically reinvented the big band ensemble in Umori. However, the work is not an antithesis or negation of the big band tradition, but rather an astonishingly unforced glowing update of the unused resources of the big jazz orchestra.

UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra plays a wide range of music from jazz to soul and classical music, surprisingly combining new and old.
umohelsinki.fi

A Finnish baroque orchestra combines past and present
The distance between past and present is short – sometimes a hair’s breadth. A more familiar version of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons will open the ears of baroque lovers when 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 a deafening and intelligently realized ambient Vivaldi.
Antti Tikkanen and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra will interpret the work this year in Helsinki’s Musiikkitalo as well as in Central Europe.

The Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO) is known for its skilful performances, bold and innovative working methods and creative repertoire design.
fibo.fi

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

Before the concert, there will be a Get more out of the performance event in the main hall of the Music Hall at 18:00.

 

15.9.2020 at 19.00 Helsinki Music Hall
At 18 Päälämpiö – More out of the performance (20 min)

UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra

Duke Ellington: Afro-Bossa (1963, 4:30)

Jukka Tiensuu: UMORI (2004, 19:00)
1. Kumous / Riscossa
2. Umous / Ahnung
3. Kumotus / Clair de lune
4. Kuumotus / Fever

Chamber Orchestra Avanti!
Heikki Kossi, foley artist

Sami Klemola (1973): Jack and the Specifics (2017, 22:00)
1. The Forest
2. Man in the Cabin
3. The Crash
4. Intermezzo
5. Friction
6. Underwater
7. Message deleted
8. Tom, Jack and bipolar Jerry
9. Machina
10. Cadenza
11. Exit
12. Still life

Interim

Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO)
Antti Tikkanen, violin

Max Richter (1966-): Four Seasons Recomposed (2012, 45:00)
1. Spring
2. Summer
3. Autumn
4. Winter

 

Tickets: ticketmaster.fi