Avanti

The theme for the contemporary music festival Musica nova Helsinki this year (2–10 February) is Polytopia, referring to a plurality of locations and performance practices. The programme features world premieres, spatial art, evocative soundscapes and a societal dimension. Events with live audiences cannot be held due to the coronavirus restrictions still in place, but the festival is going ahead with a roster of online performances and radio broadcasts.

At first it looked like all summer festivals would be lost this year, but now that restrictions are being eased, there are signs of revitalisation everywhere, and the field of culture is no exception. In the wake of a string of cancellation announcements, streaming events and live concerts for limited audiences are being prepared near and far. While this is a classic case of ‘watch this space for further developments’, what is Finland’s exceptional classical music festival summer looking like as of now?

The Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO) emerged as a pioneer in its field in Finland. Now, this nimble ensemble is adopting a new, democratic leadership model. With two artistic planners and an executive director, the orchestra aims to become a tighter-knit team competent not only in performance but also in audience outreach.

Composer Ville Raasakka creates hyper-realistic music using sources ranging from individual sounds collected in everyday life to entire concerts. His work Hypermarket and hypercommodity for shopping items, piano and chamber orchestra highlights the utter insanity of consumerism.

Music is strongly associated with the Romani people. Singing was always a part of travelling with horse-drawn wagons or sleighs, or resting by the campfire. Music still occupies a large role in the lives of many Romani today, even as traditional lifestyles are being replaced by modern ones.

Avanti! was formed – with an exclamation mark – in April 1983. At that time, Finland was ruled by Urho Kekkonen and Finnish music by Joonas Kokkonen. Consensus was the name of the game, and any deviation was regarded as childish provocation.

Dima Slobodeniouk will begin his post as the Principal Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra this autumn. It is a busy time for the conductor who has climbed to the top the long way. His hectic lifestyle is balanced by his passion for aviation.