A 10-week release event of Markku Klami's Etudes for guitar (2021) begins on Monday, September 27, 2021 and will run until Monday, November 29, 2021 on Patrik Kleemola's YouTube channel. The videos continue to be accessible on Kleemola's YouTube channel after the release event.
An introduction video to the Etudes project with Patrik Kleemola and Markku Klami, released on YouTube on September 20, 2021.
Welcome to follow the YouTube premiere of Markku Klami’s Etudes for guitar on Mondays at 7pm (UTC+03), beginning on September 27 and continuing until November 29, 2021 on guitarist Patrik Kleemola’s YouTube channel. On Monday, September 20, 2021 Klami and Kleemola released an introduction video to the Etudes project.
Each Monday from September 27 until November 29, 2021, a new video performance of the 10 etudes will be released on YouTube, coupled with a discussion video with Kleemola and Klami, where they talk about the pedagogical and musical aspect of the pieces. This also gives a glimpse into the cooperation between the musician and the composer – which may usually remain obscure to a wider audience.
Etudes for guitar continues Klami’s long collaboration with Kleemola. The initial idea for a set of new etudes for guitar came up in a conversation Klami had with Kleemola back in 2017. In addition to Kleemola’s career as a guitarist and Klami’s career as a composer of contemporary music, they both have a long working experience as educators.
Kleemola gives tuition in guitar playing at the Turku Conservatory of Music and Turku Music Institute, and Klami gives tuition in composition and music theory at the Helsinki Conservatory of Music, the Espoo Music Institute and the East Helsinki Music Institute.
Kleemola’s and Klami’s mutual point of view was that contemporary music doesn’t play a substantial part in the repertoire of students in music institutes. In fact, the vast and rich oeuvre of today’s composers is something that students only come across during their academic studies in music.
As Kleemola and Klami see it, the situation is more or less the same around the world. Their wish was to address this issue and contribute to the availability of contemporary music in the repertoires of students, also younger students.
Although Etudes is pedagogically designed to target different playing techniques—both traditional and unconventional—Klami’s aim was just as much to compose pieces that would be suitable for concert use by students and professional guitarists alike. The result is a collection of ten etudes covering a wealth of moods, styles and sonic possibilities of a solo guitar.
The technical difficulty level increases gradually as one progress through the etudes. The first etudes are suitable for younger and more experienced students alike, whereas the last etudes are primarily targeted at professional guitarists and students pursuing their professional degree in music.
Sheet music for Klami’s Etudes is available from Edition Wilhelm Hansen (part of Wise Music Classical).
Patrik Kleemola’s website: www.patrikkleemola.com