Clair II

September 1, 2021

“Music is a space where one can go to find calm,” says composer Markku Klami.

“I experience composing as a form of escapism from today’s turbulent and hectic world. Over the past ten years, I’ve been particularly interested in how music affects our experience of time and space. My pieces often unfold slowly and have a meditative quality, which I see as a conscious commentary on modern life.”

That’s how Markku Klami (b. 1979) describes his artistic starting point. This September, his new music will be featured in two different events. Clair II for clarinet and large ensemble will be premiered on September 16 in Seinäjoki, with Lauri Sallinen as the soloist alongside the Seinäjoki City Orchestra. Beginning September 27, Patrik Kleemola’s YouTube channel will present Klami’s 10-movement Etudes for guitar, released one piece per week.

Klami has long-standing collaborations with both Sallinen and Kleemola. One of his career’s key works so far has been the clarinet concerto FUME written for Sallinen, which was included in the jury’s recommendation list at the Uuno Klami Composition Competition in 2009. Other milestones include his first orchestral work Flow for string orchestra (2004), the children’s opera Tulevaisuuden retki (A Journey to the Future, 2010), and the puppet opera Croak (2016–18). His next large-scale project is a Requiem for violin and orchestra commissioned by Maria Puusaari.

Clair II (2020–21), written for Lauri Sallinen, represents the third phase in a series of works built around shared material.

“The first piece in the cycle was Clair Sketches (2012) for clarinet, bandoneon, and string quartet, which I wrote for Lauri’s debut concert at the Sibelius Academy. I had leftover material, which I later used in a larger version titled Clair for the same instrumentation. Then Lauri asked if it could be adapted for a slightly larger ensemble including winds. While that would have been possible, the material instead evolved into a new piece. I’d say this final version consists roughly 50/50 of new and previously existing material,” Klami explains.

For Klami, finding the right title is an essential part of the creative process.

“I can’t even begin sketching unless I have a title and a general vision in mind. The name Clair just came to me—and in some language, it means bright, glowing, or transparent.”

Though Clair II is a single-movement piece lasting about fifteen minutes, it contains many contrasting sections.

“The clarinet plays a more prominent role than the other instruments, but this is not a traditional concerto setting. At times, the clarinet blends into the ensemble,” says Klami.

Collaboration with performers is a vital source of inspiration in Klami’s compositional work.

Klami has worked with guitarist Patrik Kleemola for nearly two decades. Guitar is familiar terrain for Klami, as he studied the instrument for about four years during his composition studies, including lessons with Timo Korhonen and Ismo Eskelinen.

Kleemola premiered four of the ten Etudes (2020–21) at the Sibelius Museum in Turku in November 2020. Now, the complete cycle will be released on Kleemola’s YouTube channel. Each performance will be accompanied by a conversation video between Klami and Kleemola, discussing both pedagogical and compositional aspects of the music and highlighting the collaborative process between composer and performer.

While the premiere format might seem like a response to the pandemic, that wasn’t the case.

“This approach suits the COVID era well, but we actually decided back in 2017 that the etudes would be published on YouTube,” Klami notes.

Each etude focuses on a specific texture or technical aspect.

“I wanted to address certain technical topics, but I also definitely intended for these to work as concert pieces. They can be performed as a full suite or individually.”

“The etudes increase in difficulty as the cycle progresses. The first five or six pieces are playable by advanced music students, while the later ones pose challenges even for professionals. The final etude was specifically requested by Patrik for himself, so I was free to include anything as difficult as possible,” Klami explains.

“Some etudes also explore unconventional playing techniques, helping performers gain access to the language of new music. Many extended techniques aren’t inherently difficult—they just need to be known.”

In addition to the video series, the dissemination of the Etudes is supported by their publication by the esteemed Edition Wilhelm Hansen.

Text: Kimmo Korhonen