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...and there's always music in the air." Flute and string quartet Composed: 2011 Score / parts Music Finland Instrumentation and duration Flute and string quartet Duration: 15 minutes Movements I. Shadow of a twisted arm across my house II. Garden in the city of industry III. I see myself Commission / dedications Hommage to David Lynch First performance Johanna Kärkkäinen, flute, Into String Quartet: Linda Suolahti, violin, Sirja Puurtinen, violin, Mari Viluksela, viola, Jarkko Launonen, cello, Ajassa 2011! Festival, Kapsäkki Music Theatre, Helsinki, Finland, March 15, 2011 Composer's Notes March 15, 2011 The immaculately polished façades and the simmering tensions and traumas beneath—sometimes culminating in harrowingly perverse events and devastating human fates triggered by the collapse of those façades—seem to lie at the very core of David Lynch’s (1946-2025) surreal and dreamlike cinematic storytelling. They are the fuel that keeps his creative flame alive. Onto this stage, where the theatre of self-centered—thus deeply human—artificiality and superficial well-being inevitably collides with merciless truth, Lynch casts game pieces in the form of characters that are often absurd and highly stylized. Yet these characters, with painful precision, illuminate the deepest traits of the human condition. Crippled by their own weaknesses, or sometimes crushed by faceless structural violence, they reflect a bleak picture of the society we live in even today. In Lynch’s stark visions, the horror of recognizing—or denying—truth can, at its worst, completely shatter the mind, leaving one lost in the shadows, as happens to Fred in Lost Highway (1996). Often, physical death becomes the only release from pain and hopeless dead ends. “In heaven, everything is fine,” sings a woman in Lynch’s first feature-length film Eraserhead (1976). Similarly, in Mulholland Drive (2001), Diane, overwhelmed by a bleak past and unbearable guilt over a horrifying deed, chooses irreversible detachment from her suffering and burdens. What remains is only eternal peace and silence— silencio . Having followed Lynch’s films, television projects, paintings, photography, writings, and other endeavors since the 1990s, I’ve long been drawn to the idea of exploring the intense thoughts and emotions these works have stirred in me through musical means—not by interpreting, explaining, or deconstructing them, but by creating a kind of “musical state of being,” a personal sonic response or echo to the images and feelings they’ve evoked in me. I recall already considering such a project in the autumn of 2003, so the idea has been gestating for a long time. The process has started and stalled many times, and the instrumentation has changed repeatedly along the way. Other, more clearly defined projects have often taken priority, and my thoughts on this work have remained in constant flux. Yet the idea always returned to me, resurfacing from time to time. A fitting opportunity to finally realize the piece arose when I was invited to contribute a work to this evening’s concert. The instrumentation changed once more, but the combination of flute and string quartet felt like a natural fit for the ideas that had been with me for so many years. This piece is dedicated, with my deepest respect, to the great visionary, thinker, and humanist David Lynch. < Back

Tulevaisuuden retki Children's opera: 2 soloists, reciter, ensemble Composed: 2010 Score / parts Music Finland Instrumentation and duration Children's opera: soprano, tenor, reciter, ensemble: clarinet, horn, percussion, piano, violin, cello Duration: 1 hour Libretto Libretto by Emma Puikkonen Acts / scenes One act: Introduction and eight scenes. Scene 7 includes two alternative versions, with the audience choosing during the performance which one will be performed. Commission / dedications Commissioned by ArtSoppa Society and Turku 2011 European Capital of Culture First performance Kirsti Tuominen, soprano, Timo Turunen, tenor, chamber ensemble, cond. Pasi Helin, Linna Theatre, Turku Music Festival & European Capital of Culture 2011, Turku, Finland, August 6, 2011 Reflections Concert review, published on Turun Sanomat by Katariina Norontaus February 2, 2011 A Children’s Opera That Doesn’t Underestimate Its Audience An unusual world premiere took place on Tuesday morning at Pääskyvuori School. The children’s opera Tulevaisuuden retki ("Journey to the Future"), part of the European Capital of Culture programme, tells the story of Jaspriina Akuliina Harvahammas Möttönen, who is given a mission by the President: to travel into the future and bring back something exciting, something to brighten up everyday life—and a pickle jar opener. Produced by the Turku 3011 Children’s Opera team and ArtSoppa Society, the opera aims to introduce children to the world of modern opera both as audience members and creators. Workshops related to the opera were held last semester in twelve elementary schools. “We specifically wanted to include schools without any special emphasis or focus areas, and that are located outside the city centre,” says producer Krista Leivo . Six classes participated in composition workshops, while three classes contributed to the set design and libretto. The latter groups’ creative input is strongly reflected in the final production. A Libretto with Child's Logic An hour of modern atonal music might sound like a tough listen—even for most adults. But composer Markku Klami , who composed Tulevaisuuden retki , has found through teaching and workshops that children tend to approach music with more openness than adults. “That’s why I didn’t try to write music that sounded like children’s songs—I approached it from a completely different angle.” Director Tapio Väntsi is also pleased with how the children received the hour-long performance. “There was some fidgeting in the front row—that’s where the youngest kids were sitting. One teacher even said there haven’t been many performances that students have watched so still and focused.” Emma Puikkonen , who wrote the libretto based on texts by the children, noticed that the same things that made them laugh in class also worked in the audience. < Back

Sibelius Academy: Music of Our Time lecture series January 29, 2026 Markku Klami The materials on this page are provided solely for study purposes. Any copying, reproduction, distribution, or other use of these materials without prior written permission is strictly prohibited. Markku Klami: Etudes for guitar (2021) Markku Klami: Violin Concerto: A Requiem for violin and orchestra (2023)

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