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.
