This year, four composers, four kannel players, and six string players from various countries were invited to collaborate with the British composer Julian Anderson, the Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen, and the Finnish kannel player Eija Kankaanranta. The composers wrote pieces for strings and kannel, kokle, and kanklės (traditional instruments), and the instrumentalists played new compositions and repertoire pieces by Julian Anderson and the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. We also improvised together. All the pieces that were studied during the workshop were performed at the final concert at Helsinki’s Musiikkitalo concert hall on 8 July.

Tension

I was very tense before this workshop. Since I had never attended a masterclass or a workshop of this kind outside of Japan and Austria, I couldn’t imagine communicating solely in English. After I decided to participate in this workshop, I spent a month studying English and Finnish very intensively, but this just made me more anxious.

On the first day of the workshop, all of the participants met for dinner. We all introduced ourselves, and I did my best to speak to everyone in my poor English. I remember that everyone was very friendly, and that I immediately felt less afraid.

New, new, new…

During the workshops, our activities were primarily practising on our own (for instrumentalists), composing (for composers), and rehearsing. In the morning, we had the rehearsals for repertoire pieces, and the composers wrote their own pieces. In the afternoon, the instrumentalists and composers worked together on their new compositions and tried out the ideas that the composers had written that day. That meant that at every rehearsal, the instrumentalists had to sight-read everything, and no one knew at the beginning of the rehearsal what difficulties there would be, what techniques would be required, or how a harmony would sound. After the rehearsal, we practised the new compositions ourselves, but of course they could be changed the next day or become even more difficult. This happened because the scores called for unusual traditional instruments like the kannel. This process of trying out various sounds and techniques in order to get close to an ideal sound was very interesting for me.

Free improvisation

I think that the greatest attraction of this workshop for me was the improvisation. Instrumentalists and composers played together not only with instruments, but also with their voice, breath, body, and even with stuffed animals.

The time the musicians of various nationalities, languages, and instruments spent communicating with each other without a specific theme and without a score, but only with music and their emotions, was truly moving. An improvisation that can only evolve in the moment can be a wonderful tool for teaching us the essence of music.

Eating, sauna, Ainola…

We spent our time not only rehearsing and practising but also eating, enjoying leisure-time activities, and exploring the Finnish nature. What surprised me most: we had five meals a day. In Kallio-Kuninkala, there is also a café that is open only in the summer months and serves healthy and delicious homemade food every day.

We enjoyed the Finnish sauna as well. July is the time of the “white nights” in Finland, and the sunset around 11 p.m. was fantastic.

About a fifteen-minute walk from Kallio-Kuninkala is the “Ainola” museum, the house where Jean Sibelius and his wife, Aino, lived. There, we were able to learn about the composer’s lifestyle and the environment in which he wrote his music. This experience will be very valuable for me when I perform his works in the future.

Prayers for the composer Kaija Saarioho

On 2 June 2023, very sad news reached us: the Finnish composer and founder of Creative Dialogue, Kaija Saariaho, had died. We quickly changed the repertoire and dedicated the workshops and the concert to her.

I played her piece Aure for violin and viola. Anssi Karttunen, who led the workshop, told us a story about her. We learned a great deal about the composer’s character and life. We cannot read this in the score, but this knowledge enabled us to play with a different interpretation. I will never forget that I played her piece in Finland with my prayers.

The concert was a great success. In addition to Aure, I also played the third movement of Julian Anderson’s Third String Quartet and two new compositions and improvisations. All of us had to learn the contemporary repertoire within ten days, but it was all of a very high quality.

We promised each other that we would meet again somewhere and make music together.

The final concert on youtube

Summary

I am a shy person who was always afraid of the world that was different from my everyday life. That is why this event was a great challenge, but there were many new discoveries for me as well. The music that I got to know at Creative Dialogue has been reflected in my compositional style ever since. Not only the music but also Finland’s nature and landscapes gave me the opportunity to expand my musical thoughts. This is important for all musicians, regardless of one’s instrument.

From now on I will not be afraid of the world; I will actively challenge myself, for I want to become an artist who can always make progress for her own sake.

To conclude, I would like to thank the mdw and the Sibelius Academy for providing me with this wonderful opportunity.

Photo credits, if not mentioned otherwise: Anssi Karttunen