Time of Music – Musiikin aika

From July 1st to 6th in Viitasaari, you’ll hear the newest music from Finland and around the world, explore soundscapes emerging from the interaction between the animal world and humans, dive into impossible opera plans, travel through space, and reflect on the state of the world today. Leading international and Finnish artists will perform, with several world premieres featured. The theme of the festival is “Time Capsules”, in the spirit of Andy Warhol – preserving today’s sounding phenomena for future generations, firmly rooted in the present.The renowned New York-based quartet Yarn/Wire opens the festival with Lisa Streich’s Orchestra of Black Butterflies, where two pianos mimic the sounds and movements of butterfly wings. The evening concludes with Simon Løffler’s Animalia Cycle, drawing inspiration from both small and large creatures. The work seeks to break away from the instrument-centered Western classical music, moving toward a space where the body itself becomes the instrument.

At Time of Music, you’ll hear Plans for Future Operas, a work defying the laws of physics and acoustics, performed by soprano Juliet Fraser and pianist Mark Knoop. Norwegian composer Øyvind Torvund presents listeners with impossible opera concepts, followed on screen.

The Finnish Saxtronauts ensemble takes the audience on a journey through the space, the biting cold of winter, and from Gregorian melodies to the future in their concerts on Thursday and Friday. Thursday’s concert is also part of the Finnish Composers’ Society’s 80th anniversary. The program consists of works by Finnish composers, including world premieres by Osmo Tapio Räihälä and Olli Moilanen.

On Saturday evening, Matthew Shlomowitz’s Lecture about Listening to Music invites the audience to reflect on how we listen to and understand music through the lens of our own backgrounds.

Time of Music presents the Finnish premiere of Cinq Regards sur 2024, by Spanish-Finnish composer Jaime Belmonte. The work brings personal and global events experienced by the composer close to the listener. Recordings of news broadcasts, home videos, phone conversations, and everyday and societal sound clips build bridges between different experiences. The composition is a co-commission by Time of Music, IRCAM and Radio France.

The Polish contemporary music pioneer Kompopolex addresses various levels of intimacy and distance in their Friday concert. The blend of live ensemble and electronics creates both virtual and real sonic environments, with soundscapes drawn from everyday life and protests.The festival culminates on Sunday with pianist Mirka Viitala’s concert, featuring Frederic Rzewski’s landmark work The People United Will Never Be Defeated!. This powerful political statement and artistic challenge is a unique listening experience every time, as the piece’s optional improvisatory sections ensure that no two performances are alike.

Open workshops on Tuesday and Thursday will invite participants to discuss and brainstorm the future of contemporary music under the theme “Where does music live?”.