Browse Markku Klami’s complete catalogue—from solo to orchestral, vocal to electronic. Discover detailed information, score availability, recordings, composer’s notes, reviews, and interviews related to each work. Music Browse by ensemble Chamber music Electro-acoustic Electronics Opera Orchestra Orchestra / ensemble with soloist Solo Vocal / choral Browse by ensemble Archipelago T. Guitar and orchestra Butterfly String quartet (young players) Fractured (Memoria II) Decacorde Ambience I: Burning Clarinet and electronics Violin Concerto: A Requiem Violin and orchestra Elegia Soprano and ensemble into the deep peace Mixed choir Etudes Guitar Clair II Clarinet and large ensemble verweilen Soundtrack Colori Violin Voyage Flute, clarinet and guitar Karui Quartertone clarinet and quartertone accordion Croak Opera: 5 soloists, choir and orchestra Clair Clarinet, bandoneón and string quartet Värein Piano, 4 percussionists and string orchestra (young players) afore Piano aava Guitar and electronics karu Guitar trio ripples Piano Clair sketches Clarinet, bandoneón and string quartet REPEAT Flute, electronics and video red moon String quartet ...and there's always music in the air." Flute and string quartet Tulevaisuuden retki Children's opera: 2 soloists, reciter, ensemble

Archipelago T. Guitar and orchestra Composed: 2026 Instrumentation and duration Guitar and orchestra Duration: c. 26 minutes Movements I. Utö II. Seili III. Aura Commission / dedications Written for Patrik Kleemola First performance Patrik Kleemola, guitar, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Gudrun Dahlkvist, Fuuga Music Centre, Turku, January 21, 2027 Composer's Notes The work draws inspiration from the Turku archipelago and its maritime landscapes, which also become a metaphor for humanity and the relationships between people. < Back to Music

Violin Concerto: A Requiem Violin and orchestra Composed: 2023 Watch / listen Maria Puusaari , violin, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra , cond. Ruut Kiiski World premiere performance, recorded by the Finnish Broadcasting Company at Tampere Biennale Festival on April 17, 2026 Full concert recording. Klami's Violin Concerto begins at time 12:24, and ends at 40:30. Score / parts Edition Wilhelm Hansen Instrumentation and duration Solo violin and orchestra: 2(pic).2.2(bcl)2./2.2.0.0/perc./Str. (minimum 6.4.4.2.2, preferred: 8.6.6.4.3) Duration: 26 minutes Movements I. De profundis II. Alcheringa III. Ad lucem Commission / dedications Commissioned by Maria Puusaari with support from Madetoja Foundation and Teosto Commission Fund. Dedicated to Maria Puusaari Publisher Edition Wilhelm Hansen / Wise Music Classical Accolades Awarded with Finnish Music Publishers Association's Composer of the Year 2026 Award in large-scale work category First performance Maria Puusaari, violin, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Ruut Kiiski, Tampere Biennale Festival, Tampere Hall, Tampere, Finland, April 17, 2026 Reflections Concert review, published on Aamulehti by Harri Hautala April 18, 2026 From [Suvisoitto for flute and tape by Usko] Meriläinen , the program moved directly to Markku Klami’s new violin concerto Requiem . The listener may or may not keep in mind the theme of involuntary childlessness that underlies the work, but as pure music the concerto made a deep impression. It does not strive for outward display; instead, it speaks powerfully through its inner voices. In this concerto, Klami has created an exceptionally refined sound world, in which the rich orchestral writing and the solo violin communicate with sensitivity and natural ease. Stylistically, the musical language even approaches neo-Romanticism or neo-Classicism, yet feels fresh and avoids cliché. The interplay of light and shadow resonated movingly and beautifully, both in the orchestra and in the nuanced performance of violinist Maria Puusaari . Concert review, published on Kulttuuritoimitus by Kikka Holmberg April 19, 2026 Klami’s Violin Concerto Requiem was heard in the concert as a world premiere. This finely nuanced work, at times almost otherworldly in its beauty, received an airtight and highly charged interpretation from violinist Maria Puusaari and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Ruut Kiiski . Concert review, published on Simpukka Society website by Pirkko Heimonen April 22, 2026 Markku Klami’s Violin Concerto: A Requiem tells a personal story from a seven-year journey through childlessness. He hopes the work will offer comfort to others who have experienced involuntary childlessness. Violinist Maria Puusaari interprets the piece with great artistry together with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Ruut Kiiski . The work is divided into three movements: De profundis (From the Depths), Alcheringa (Dreamtime), and Ad lucem (Toward the Light). Klami did not wish to give explicit listening instructions; instead, he encouraged listeners to focus on the emotions evoked by the music. He specified that the piece does not follow a particular theoretical framework, but is shaped by the emotions he experienced during his journey—from frustration to acceptance. At the beginning, one hears the rumble of thunder. The music surges with anger, frustration, and anxiety—perhaps even disbelief. There is a sense of escape, of running away from something. A rapid violin figure conveying dark emotional tones recurs throughout the work, especially in the first movement. The acoustics of the large hall carry all the nuances of the music clearly to the listener. The transition between the first and second movements is clearly perceptible. The music calms. Low, tranquil textures convey a deeply moving sorrow that resonates with the listener. A little later, a bubbling sense of hope emerges—like a spring stream and birdsong. At times, the music brings in mind film scores. One can hear hope flickering on and off. Toward the end, there is a gentle rocking motion, the mood perhaps cautiously serene. The third movement begins grandly. Once again, we find ourselves amid storm and surging emotions. At times, the work is open to interpretation. Does the now-calmer music express serenity or the fatigue of struggle? Those who have experienced childlessness may identify with the ebb and flow of emotions. The music rises, and a faster, more joyful tempo begins. If at the start one was running away from something, this feels like a springtime dash toward something. At the end, the same melancholy heard at the beginning returns, and the piece concludes with a deep sigh—acceptance? Markku Klami describes his feelings after the concert: “Expectations were high, and the violin soloist, the conductor, and the orchestra all gave a magnificent and deeply moving premiere. It will take time to process all of this, as many years of a journey were crystallized into that evening. I feel happy and grateful.” Concert review, published on Jälkikaikuja Korvakäytävillä by Jari Hoffrén April 23, 2026 Usko Meriläinen’s significance as the first artistic director and guiding force of the Tampere Biennale is unquestionable. The celebratory Suvisoitto was composed for solo flute and tape; throughout the hall drifted the sounds of crickets and cicadas—some originating as far away as Japan—while Malla Vivolin evoked a summery atmosphere from the back of the elegantly lit hall. The transition into Markku Klami’s Violin Concerto: A Requiem was strikingly clear, as the angry and frustrated violin motif ignited by Maria Puusaari propelled the music into an entirely different emotional world. The work has received more public attention than usual (including a lengthy interview with the composer on the Kulttuuritoimitus website) because of its subject: a composer who has struggled with long-term childlessness—so the program notes tell us—channeling his feelings into the concerto as a “personal therapeutic work.” The notion of a “therapeutic work” is itself a label that invites reflection; Gustav Mahler , at least, readily comes to mind as a candidate for composing such pieces. Markku Klami thus clearly defined both the starting points and the style of the concerto: when one wishes to convey comfort and hope, “certain stylistic devices of contemporary music are not particularly suited to that purpose”—what matters is a striving for “unashamed beauty.” (Possibly for this reason, the orchestration is economical: there are only three double basses, and even they remain silent for extended passages.) The concerto indeed unfolds in line with these premises as a listening experience in which the dramatic arc and contrasts are clearly mirrored on the emotional level, the texture remains easy to follow, and at times richly adorned with finely crafted, miniature-like details. Overall, the work breathes a delicate fragility, an alternation between hope and despair, while the solo part offers the violinist much to play; Maria Puusaari, a tireless interpreter of contemporary music, performed excellently. The rich continuum of Romantic tradition has thus gained another Finnish violin concerto—one that admirers of the style can certainly appreciate even without any knowledge of its background; in this sense, the work succeeds in touching on something broadly human. Concert review, published on Kompositio by Jari Kallio June 10, 2026 The gravitational center of the program was formed by two world premieres that were quite different in character, yet equally compelling in their own ways: Markku Klami’s deeply affecting Violin Concerto: Requiem (2023), commissioned by Maria Puusaari, and Matilda Seppälä’s The Moment We Notice Each Other (2026), which insightfully transcends the boundaries of traditional orchestral expression. Klami’s three-movement concerto, lasting nearly half an hour, resounded as a requiem for unborn life. Although the work’s extra-musical origins lie in a deeply personal process of grief, its musical logic functions as a compelling narrative in its own right, and familiarity with the background is by no means necessary to engage with the piece. At the center of the concerto stands a fully written-out cadenza that develops earlier material while introducing ideas that later come to the fore in the second half of the work. This concertante requiem does not seek to reinvent the genre; instead, it finds its own distinctive voice remarkably successfully within a traditional large-scale framework. Nor does Klami make a virtue of virtuosity, even though the solo part written for Puusaari is far from undemanding. The soloist, the [Tampere Philharmonic] orchestra, and conductor Ruut Kiiski delivered a premiere performance of the highest caliber. Composer's Notes My Violin Concerto is a Requiem to an unborn life. A deeply personal work for me, this concerto draws its inspiration from such profound personal experiences as unwanted infertility, and the experiences and thoughts that arose during this very difficult journey of dealing with unwanted childlessness. The music progresses from anger and frustration in the first movement, De profundis , to a dreamlike state in the second movement, Alcheringa* , where glimpses of hope emerge, only to disappear again. In the last movement, Ad lucem , the music embarks on a journey, trying to reach the light, reminding of one's need to hold on to hope. Violin Concerto: A Requiem was commissioned by Maria Puusaari and is dedicated to her. The commission was made possible with kind support from Madetoja Foundation and Teosto Commission Fund. *Alcheringa , an Arandic language term, refers to Australian Aboriginal beliefs of Dreaming, Dreamtime, or "Everywhen", a myth of creation and, in a larger context, a concept that embraces past, present and future. Another definition suggests that Dreaming represents how the relationships between people, animals, plants and the land came to be and how they need to be maintained. It is argued that the term itself is based on a misunderstanding or mistranslation, and that the closer meaning of Alcheringa could be "eternal" or "uncreated". < Back to Music

TWIRL Clarinet Composed: 2008 Watch / listen Lucy Abrams-Husso performing TWIRL at Helsinki Music Centre's Organo hall in November 2018 Score / parts Music Finland Instrumentation and duration Clarinet Duration: 7 minutes Commission / dedications For Juulia and Christian First performance Original version: Marko Portin, clarinet, Time of Music Festival, Viitasaari, Finland, July 8, 2008 Final version: Lauri Sallinen, clarinet, Concert of Ears Open Society, Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, Finland, November 29, 2008 Reflections Lucy Abrams-Husso's work commentary on TWIRL for her first doctoral recital at the Sibelius Academy November, 2019 Markku Klami composed TWIRL in 2008 while still studying at the Sibelius Academy. The inspiration for TWIRL was primarily the clarinet itself, especially the dynamic and sonorous possibilities of the instrument. The work has a gentle start, through which Klami leads the listener to a quick and sparkling introduction to clarinet's timbral qualities. The action-packed and lively parts quickly change into soft, mysterious episodes. TWIRL was written at a stage in Klami's studies where he felt his creativity was "blocked"; according to his own words, he felt "stuck" and unable to compose. As a performer, I take this aspect into consideration when I play, trying to sound like I'm experimenting and improvising and developing the music as I play. The listener may be able to sense how Klami's creative process unfolds throughout this work as he plays with both form and instrumentation. < Back to Music

trompetgeskal Brass quintet Composed: 2006 Score / parts Music Finland Instrumentation and duration Brass quintet Duration: 2 minutes Commission / dedications Commissioned by Finnish Student Health Service, Turku, for their 50th anniversary First performance Finnish Student Health Service Turku 50th anniversary gala, Brass quintet of Sohon Torwet, VPK House, Turku, Finland, February 3, 2006 < Back to Music

night signal Male choir Composed: 2009 Watch / listen Kuunteletko Sinä The Polytech Choir, cond. Juha Kuivanen World premiere recording The Polytech Choir (2013) Choral Album of the Year 2013 Award (Finnish Choral Conductors’ Association and Sulasol Society) Sheet music nkoda Music Finland Instrumentation and duration Male choir divided in four groups (TTBB TTBB TTBB TTBB) around the audience Duration: 3 minutes Text Phonetic text by the composer Commission / dedications Commissioned by the Polytech Choir First performance Polytech Choir, cond. Juha Kuivanen, The 5th International Leevi Madetoja Male Voice Choir Competition, Tapiola Church, Espoo, Finland, April 16, 2010 World premiere recording Kuunteletko sinä , The Polytech Choir, cond. Juha Kuivanen (2013). The album received the Vocal Album of the Year Award in 2014, given by the Society of Finnish Choir Conductors and Sulasol Society. Reflections Album review of Kuunteletko sinä, published on Helsingin Sanomat by Samuli Tiikkaja July 10, 2013 The former conductor of the Polytech Choir, Tapani Länsiö , sums up the essence of the album in his liner notes: this is a snapshot of Finland in the early 2000s. The choir has recorded music by contemporary composers, set to texts by contemporary poets. In much the same way, the core repertoire of male choir music from a hundred years ago was born from collaborations between national romantic composers and poets. Today, however, the challenges are different: instead of rich textures and soaring melodic lines, choirs must now master glissandi and speech-like rhythmic phrasing. The Polytech Choir is conducted on the album by Juha Kuivanen . Their interpretations are confident, and the variety of composers brings a welcome diversity to the recording. Maija Hynninen’s Mielen tasapainolajit (“Mental Balancing Acts”) gives a witty musical take on Janne Nummela’s poetry, while Markku Klami’s night signal dispenses with text entirely, gliding through overtone series shaped by pure vowel sounds. Album review of Kuunteletko sinä, published on Suomen Kuvalehti by Lauri Kilpiö August 30, 2013 Contemporary art music is famously marked by a diversity of styles, and this variety is clearly reflected on Kuunteletko sinä (“Do You Listen”). Olli Kortekangas’s freely tonal and naturally flowing Anna niskasi niellä kynteni jälki offers a poignant exploration of the relationship between father and son. Mikko Sidoroff’s gently resonant, nature-themed Talvi, tule vasta leans into the traditional virtues of choral music. In Kyklooppi , Riikka Talvitie treats Mikko Rimminen’s poetry with freedom and creativity, yet with respect for rhythm and intelligibility. The delightfully arched composition spans a range of expression from melodic modernism to the wild rhythms of a spoken-word chorus verging on rap. Tiina Myllärinen builds vivid sonic textures in the compact Kaikki kuuluu värinä , though Henriikka Tavi’s lengthy poem proves nearly impossible to follow in its entirety. Maija Hynninen cleverly combines two poems by Janne Nummela in her rich and imaginative Mielen tasapainolajit (“Mental Balancing Acts”). Markku Klami , by contrast, uses no text at all in his miniature night signal : in this concise and luminously captivating piece, shifting vowels take the place of words. The Polytech Choir, under the direction of Juha Kuivanen, performs each work with boldness, precision, and nuance—delivering interpretations that reflect the choir’s ever-rising artistic standard. < Back to Music

Croak Opera: 5 soloists, choir and orchestra Composed: 2018 Score / parts Music Finland Instrumentation and duration Opera: 5 soloists (soprano, tenor, mezzo-soprano, counter-tenor, and bass baritone), SATB choir, orchestra: 2.2.2.2/2.2.0.0./perc./Str. Duration: 2 hours Libretto Libretto by Mikhail Brashinsky Acts / scenes Opera in two acts with 16 scenes Commission / dedications Commissioned by Mixed Art Society Poike and Pori Opera Society First performance Directed by Anna Ivanova-Brashinskaya Puppets and visual design by Viktor Antonov Joonas Eloranta, tenor, Anna-Kristiina Kaappola, soprano, Teppo Lampela, counter-tenor, Merja Mäkelä, mezzo-soprano, Jouni Kokora, bass-baritone, Pori Opera Choir, Pori Sinfonietta, cond. Nils Schweckendiek, Promenade Hall, Pori, Finland, March 9, 2018 Reflections Concert review, published on Satakunnan Kansa by Juha-Pekka Peltonen March 12, 2018 Even Joseph Haydn , known as the father of musical Classicism, composed several puppet operas for his employer, the Esterházy court. Another well-known puppet opera is Master Peter’s Puppet Show by Spanish composer Manuel de Falla . Its libretto is based on a visually imaginative puppet-theater episode from Miguel de Cervantes’s novel Don Quixote . So, there are some precedents for the opera Croak . However, what makes the Pori production unique is, at the very least, the fact that the opera has two composers. As a listener, I felt it wasn’t necessary to know which composer had written the music for which scene. The composers had clearly agreed on a unified approach, and both were unquestionably capable of setting the dramatic turns of the libretto to music in a way that captured the listener’s interest. Tonality and slightly entertainment-leaning colors were not avoided, yet the musical language remained sophisticated, skillful, and expressive from beginning to end. Under the baton of Nils Schweckendiek , the Pori Sinfonietta brought the orchestral fabric vividly to life, and the Pori Opera Choir—also key in producing many of the opera’s effects—performed with determination, strength, and full dedication. The puppets, created by Viktor Antonov and representing the St. Petersburg tradition, had already generated interest in Pori prior to the actual Croak performances. The puppeteers were seven students of director Anna Ivanova-Brashinskaya , all trained in puppet theater. During the first act, I found myself wishing the puppets had been given even more prominence. From the balcony, the live singers occasionally overshadowed the delicate-looking puppets under certain lighting conditions. Still, the puppets truly came into their own in the scenes where Croak—having made a pact with the devil-wolf and gained a seductively magnificent singing voice—commits murders of young women. The second act, which focused on the love story between Croak and Olivia, featured stunningly sophisticated puppet sequences—such as the lovers riding together, and at the very end, Croak’s severed head floating after being killed by Olivia. Every singing role was performed by a top-tier artist. Joonas Eloranta as Croak, Jouni Kokora as the Prince, and Merja Mäkelä as the Princess all delivered strong performances throughout. Countertenor Teppo Lampela’s vocal brilliance in the role of the wolf stole the spotlight. And soprano Anna-Kristiina Kaappola brought an extraordinary sense of authority to her role, her connection to the Olivia puppet figure seeming almost magical. To borrow a phrase from Master Peter in Don Quixote , Pori’s Croak can truly be called “one of the most remarkable sights of our time.” Interview, published on Satakunnan Kansa by Hanna Laasanen March 6, 2018 How did the collaboration between two composers work in the opera Croak? Premiering this Friday in Pori, Croak is an opera with two composers: Maria Kallionpää and Markku Klami . Or more precisely, they split the opera evenly, dividing the scenes between them. The composers have known each other for a long time. They studied composition at the Sibelius Academy during the same period, have collaborated previously, and are also friends. Originally, the opera was to be composed by Jouni Kaipainen . After his passing, Kallionpää and Klami began discussing the idea of working together. Neither had enough time to write a full opera on their own alongside other professional commitments. The result, heard in Croak ’s rehearsals, is strikingly varied and richly textured. The music captures the opera’s quick shifts in atmosphere with vivid clarity, supporting the darkly fairytale-like, drama-filled story—one that is not short on corpses. The composer doesn’t change with every scene, but roughly every 20 minutes. At times, this transition was a creative advantage. For example, in the seventh scene, the stage fills with the bodies of women. This is followed by a comedic bar scene. “It was a good moment to also change composers, because the atmosphere shifts so dramatically,” says Klami. Their work began two years ago. The two composers tied their sections together with shared musical motifs and harmonic ideas. They began by creating short musical sketches to represent characters and situations, then exchanged them with one another. Each worked independently but shared MIDI drafts throughout the process. Klami is cautious about the idea of collective composing, which has become more common in contemporary music. “Composing takes you deep into your own subconscious—how can you really share something that comes from that level? If everyone brings their own deepest layers into the process, the resulting work may suffer from compromise. In this case, it worked well because we both had the freedom to create our own interpretations.” Both composers also sang through the vocal music they had written, to ensure it fit naturally with the voice. “I studied classical singing when I was younger. I wouldn’t perform these pieces myself, but it’s helpful to be able to try them out,” Kallionpää says. Conductor Nils Schweckendiek finds the dual-composer approach fascinating. He believes audiences will be able to tell who composed which parts, as the composers’ musical languages are quite distinct. “Markku is an elegant composer whose harmonies blend smoothly from one to the next. Maria’s musical language is a bit more angular. She stays very close to the text and focuses intently on the expression of each moment, whereas Markku paints in broader strokes,” Schweckendiek explains. Kallionpää also employs the full orchestra more often in her scenes compared to Klami. “Having two composers brings variety to the orchestra, but it also presents a challenge when the style changes from scene to scene. The performers need to adapt their playing as well.” Croak has a musical language entirely its own, though at times its textures, harmonies, and structures reminded Schweckendiek of Czech composer Leoš Janáček . Work commentary Markku Klami and Maria Kallionpää co-composed Croak , each independently writing their pre-assigned scenes. The opera is a commission by the Pori Opera Society and Mixed-art Society Poike. Originally the opera was commissioned from Jouni Kaipainen (1956-2015), whose work was left unfinished. The new composers started from a scratch and begun composing a new opera in 2016. They divided the opera into sections where every scene is composed by only one composer. Croak – or the Unexpected Joys and Perils of Singing is the first full-length opera work by Klami and Kallionpää. < Back to Music

Fractured (Memoria II) Decacorde Composed: 2024 Watch / listen Markku Klami: Fractured (Memoria II) Passing Shadows Mari Mäntylä, decacorde World premiere recording Alba Records (2025) Score / parts Music Finland Instrumentation and duration Decacorde Duration: 6 minutes Commission / dedications Commissioned by and dedicated to Mari Mäntylä First performance Mari Mäntylä, decacorde, Lentua hall, Kuhmo Arts Centre, Kuhmo, Finland, January 30, 2025 World premiere recording Passing Shadows - Mari Mäntylä, decacorde (Alba Records, Finland, 2025) Composer's Notes Fractured (Memoria II) is a reworked, or extended version of my Etude No. 2: Memoria (Remembrance) from Etudes for guitar cycle, written for Patrik Kleemola between 2020 and 2021. The idea for this extended version with new musical material, also making use of decacorde's extended bass register, was proposed to me by decacordist Mari Mäntylä in 2024. It didn't take me long to get interested in arranging my original Memoria etude for decacorde's 10 strings. I also shared Mari's feeling that the reworked version should throw in new, contrasting music to the original etude. While the original Memoria nods at the aesthtetic of Baroque music, its sound is now further enhanced with the new sonic possibilities offered by decacorde's bass strings. The new, contrasting material heard at the beginning of the piece and again between measures 42 and 64, is based on the series of arpeggios and rich use of harmonics, to be interpreted freely and with continuous rubato manner. < Back to Music

red moon String quartet Composed: 2011 Score / parts Music Finland Instrumentation and duration String quartet Duration: 18 minutes Movements / sections I. Introduction II. Ignition III. Illumination IV. ad Infinitum Commission / dedications Commissioned by Uusinta Chamber Ensemble with support from Madetoja Foundation and Teosto Commission Fund First performance Uusinta String Quartet: Maria Puusaari, violin, Teija Kivinen, violin, Max Savikangas, viola, Markus Hohti, cello, Suså Festival, Grønnegade Barracks Arts Centre, Næstved, Denmark, September 4, 2011 Reflections Concert review, published on Seismograf by Martin Nygaard Hansen-Chernetskiy September 2011 Markku Klami's red moon is characterized by abrupt sections mixed with atmospheric, motionless chords, but the dynamics and timbre results in an shimmering texture. There is momentary melodic phrases and figurative outbreak. A heavy, solemn passage sets in and transforms gradually into a lighter, lyrical character that ends up in an ethereal sound. From the silent flickering of actions the piece ends in a crackling climax. Composer's Notes red moon was commissioned by Uusinta Chamber Ensemble. Being my first work for a string quartet, I wanted to stay away from getting in panic with the burden generated by the enormous repertoire written for this ensemble throughout the centuries. Of course, one needs to be aware of the past and the history of this ensemble of an almost transcendent beauty, fragility and overwhelming power, all simultaneously. red moon is a string quartet in a single movement, divided into four sections entitled Introduction, Ignition, Illumination and ad Infinitum . I want to thank Uusinta Chamber Ensemble for this great opportunity to write a new work for the top-of-the-line Finnish string quartet and Madetoja Foundation and Teosto Commission Fund for financial support towards this commission. < Back to Music

Colori Violin Composed: 2020 Instrumentation and duration Violin (young players) Duration: 2 minutes Commission / dedications For Kiira on her 10th birthday < Back to Music

JÄÄ Guitar duo Composed: 2006 Watch / listen The Helsinki Guitar Duo ( Mikko Ikäheimo and Rody van Gemert ) Live recording from Musica nova Helsinki Festival, March 12, 2007 Score / parts Music Finland Instrumentation and duration Guitar duo Duration: 6 minutes Commission / dedications Commissioned by the Helsinki Guitar Society. Dedicated to Helsinki Guitar Duo First performance Rody van Gemert, guitar, Otto Tolonen, guitar, Temppeliaukio Church, Helsinki, Finland, December 23, 2006 Reflections Concert review, published on Helsingin Sanomat by Hannu-Ilari Lampila February 20, 2010 Leaning towards tradition, Jennah Vainio’s Eldsjälen comes across as a lightly cheerful and energetic piece for flute, violin, viola, and cello—just as Markku Klami’s JÄÄ , a shimmering, ice-themed poem for two guitars, glistens with evocative clarity. Composer's Notes JÄÄ was commissioned by the Helsinki Guitar Society and written for the Helsinki Guitar Duo: Mikko Ikäheimo and Rody van Gemert . The music is a setting to a poem "JÄÄ" by the composer himself. < Back to Music

...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 to Music