Avanti!’s Suvisoitto 2026, curated by the orchestra’s Artistic Director and pianist Joonas Ahonen, attracted nearly 1,600 visitors to Porvoo over four days of outstanding contemporary music, world premieres and Finnish premieres. On the festival’s closing day, Estonian composer Helena Tulve was announced as the artistic curator of the 2027 edition.
This year’s Suvisoitto brought together leading Finnish and international contemporary musicians, an enthusiastic and inquisitive audience, and an exceptionally ambitious artistic programme. Once again, the festival reinforced its position as one of Finland’s foremost events dedicated to new music, presenting world premieres, Finnish premieres and meaningful encounters between artists and audiences.
During the festival week, audiences attended 13 concerts, alongside discussions and accompanying events, attracting a total audience of nearly 1,600 people. Performing alongside the musicians of Avanti! were distinguished international guests, including American composer Eric Wubbels, American cellist Mariel Roberts, Iranian-born composer Anahita Abbasi, German soprano Johanna Zimmer, and Swedish violinist Cecilia Zilliacus.
Bold Artistic Programming Won Over Audiences
Joonas Ahonen’s first Suvisoitto as Artistic Director centred around the music of American composer Eric Wubbels. The festival featured five of his works, including four Finnish premieres and one world premiere, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience a broad cross-section of the work of one of today’s most compelling American composers.
A second major theme, schubert retouché, explored the music of Franz Schubert through the lens of contemporary composers, presenting works that borrowed from, reimagined and transformed Schubert’s musical language.
The programme offered a wide-ranging survey of today’s international contemporary music scene. The opening concert, conducted by Emilia Hoving, featured Sarah Nemtsov’s Sacrifice Suite as its centrepiece. Festival highlights also included two performances of Steven Kazuo Takasugi’s music theatre work Sideshow. Bernhard Lang’s The Cold Tripprovided a striking microtonal reinterpretation of Schubert’s Winterreise. The concert was broadcast live on Yle Radio 1and is now available on Yle Areena.
The festival also presented two world premieres: Eric Wubbels’ piano work Auditory Distortion Products in Equal Temperament, composed for Joonas Ahonen, and Tiina Myllärinen’s Shades, premiered by the Kekkonen Quartet on Saturday at Porvoo Cathedral during the concert With Guitars and Bassoons.
The Festival Concluded with a Memorable Finale
Suvisoitto culminated on Sunday, 28 June, with a closing concert featuring Helena Tulve’s Passage Secret for two clarinets as a surprise addition to the programme, alongside Ruth Crawford’s Music for Small Orchestra and Eric Wubbels’ Auditory Scene Analysis II for wind quintet.
Conducted by Janne Nisonen, the concert also included Franz Schubert’s Gesang der Geister über den Wassern for eight male voices and low strings, bringing a moment of tranquillity to the Avanti Hall before the festival concluded with an Avanti! classic, Magnus Lindberg’s Ritratto.
Altogether, the programme featured around a dozen Finnish premieres, further strengthening Suvisoitto’s position as Finland’s leading international platform for contemporary music.
Free Events Drew Large Audiences
This year, Suvisoitto expanded further into Porvoo’s historic Old Town, with its churches, concert venues and market square providing an inspiring setting for the festival.
The free events attracted large audiences to venues including Vanha 123, Porvoo City Hall and the VPK House. Alongside the concerts, audiences took part in discussions on current topics in contemporary music, held at both the Porvoo City Library and the Art Factory (Taidetehdas).
Helena Tulve Appointed Artistic Curator of Suvisoitto 2027
The festival’s closing day also marked the announcement of the artistic curator for Suvisoitto 2027. The role will be taken on by Estonian composer Helena Tulve, one of the Baltic region’s most distinguished contemporary composers. Her music is renowned for its distinctive sonic language, exploring continuous transformation and the relationships between nature, sound and silence.
Visiting Suvisoitto for the first time this summer, Tulve said she was deeply impressed by both the atmosphere of the festival and the openness of its audience:
“The audience seems to be very attentive, curious, and enthusiastic about discovering new things. They are not afraid of hearing something they have never heard before, totally the opposite.”
For Tulve, curating Suvisoitto offers an opportunity to shape a festival around her own artistic vision:
“If Joonas trusts me with such a task, I have to ask myself: What is my identity, and what is in my backpack? What do I present?”
Planning for the 2027 edition will begin following the inspiration gained from her visit to Finland. She describes the key themes of the upcoming festival as different ways of listening and the search for the new. Estonian musical traditions, and especially the country’s rich choral culture, are also likely to influence her artistic thinking.
The next edition of Avanti!’s Suvisoitto will take place in Porvoo from 1–4 July 2027.
Avanti! Thanks Everyone Who Made the Festival Possible
Avanti! warmly thanks its audiences, artists, partners, funding bodies and everyone involved in making Suvisoitto 2026 such a successful festival.
Special thanks go to:
- City of Porvoo
- Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland
- Aktia
- Svenska kulturfonden
- Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation
- Kaapelitehdas
- Taidetehdas
- Runo Hotel Porvoo
- Hotel Sparre
- Porvoo Jazz Festival
- Visit Porvoo
- Porvoo Region Music Institute
- Porvoo City Library
- Vanha 123