Time of Music Festival at Viitasaari, Finland presents James Dillon as guest composer, world premieres from young Finnish composers Sebastian Hilli and Jouni Hirvelä and contemporary music masterworks never before performed in Finland. Time of Music is the yearly lookout to contemporary music that includes summer academy courses and a cutting edge festival programme. The festival dates are 4-9 July.
At the opening concert 4th of July Talea Ensemble from New York, visiting Finland for the first time, presents Steven Kazuo Takasugi’s piece Sideshow. The work, premiered in 2015, was composed for Talea and has drawn great attention as a performative freak show of our time. The ensemble will also present James Dillon’s The New York Triptych later in concert during the festival. Guest composer Dillon has been associated with the new complexity school, but the pieces presented at the festival for the first time in Finland, give the audience a chance to hear the later development of his style and oeuvre. Another major piece by Dillon heard at the festival will be the extensive piano cycle The Book of Elements played by pianist Noriko Kawai.
Contemporary music specialist, soprano Juliet Fraser performs with pianist Mark Knoop Michael Finnissy’s Andersen-Liederkreis from 2016 and music from Peter Ablinger and Bernhard Lang. Other visiting ensembles are Canadian Quatuor Bozzini and Norwegian trio POING, who will among other pieces present Bent Sørensen’s work De Fire Årstider for ensemble and an actor with text by Norwegian contemporary writer Tomas Espedal.
During the portrait concert of young Finnish composer Sebastian Hilli we hear the world premiere of his guitar concerto confluence/divergence. The guitar soloist is Petri Kumela with the Finnish Uusinta Ensemble. Final concerts of the conductor course led by Susanna Mälkki form their own remarkable entity with masterworks by Magnus Lindberg, Veli-Matti Puumala, Pierre Boulez, Harrison Birtwistle and others.
The programme is available at https://musiikinaika.org/ohjelma-2/?lang=en. It will be completed with side programme and course concerts.