The Quatuor Bozzini string quartet bring a spatial work to Viitasaari – a concert in which anyone can be a part of the performance. This year’s theme at Time of Music, Voices and Spaces, also manifests itself through a concert in a pitch-dark concert hall. John Cage’s visit 40 years ago will be remembered in a photo exhibition.
On Saturday 8th of July, the Viitasaari church will host a unique community concert in which anyone can participate in the performance, regardless of instrument or musical genre. James Tenney‘s In a Large Open Space, which will be performed in guidance of Quatuor Bozzini, is also a spatial work, during which the audience can move freely in the church, surrounded by music. The event will be produced in collaboration between Time of Music and the Viitasaari Music Institute. Participation instructions and detailed information can be found on our website.
Light and darkness join hands in Georg Friedrich Haas‘ work Solstices, which will be heard at Viitasaari Areena in the late evening concert on the same day. During the piece performed by Riot Ensemble, the concert hall will be completely darkened.
“The piece is both a rewarding and a challenging sound bath. It is where the festival’s two themes meet: Voices and Spaces”, describes Johan Tallgren, artistic director of Time of Music. “When performed in the middle of the Finnish summer, a work related to light and darkness is absurd and completely logical at the same time,” he continues.
This summer it is exactly 40 years since composer John Cage‘s iconic visit to Time of Music. The visit will be commemorated in an exhibition of Cage-related photos by the Viitasaari-based photographer Mauri Kuokkanen. The exhibition is on display at the Viitasaari library until the end of July.
Cage’s music will also be heard at the festival. Lecture on the Weather (1976), which is one of the first musical works dealing with environmental crisis, will be performed by Riot Ensemble at the Viitasaari church on Friday 7th of July. Cage’s Song Books will be heard at the end of the festival, on 9th of July, performed by students of the Time of Music courses under the direction of composer and sound artist Joan La Barbara. There are still places available for the John Cage: Song Books course organized at the festival, and registration instructions can be found on our website.
Held in Viitasaari, Finland, on July 4–9, the Time of Music festival of contemporary music will be opened with the previously announced concerts of London Sinfonietta at Viitasaari Areena on July 4–5. The entire festival program will be published at the turn of May-June.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Communications coordinator Sampsa Heiniö, press.musiikinaika@gmail.com +358 40 671 2977
Artistic director Johan Tallgren, johan.tallgren@musiikinaika.org, +358 40 742 6345