Southwest Tavastian Music Days

Unfortunately, Southwest Tavastian Musicdays 2024 has had to be canceled due to unexpected and unforeseen financial reasons. We apologize on behalf of all those who had eagerly planned to attend our carefully crafted festival to enjoy its excellent and high-quality program.

The theme for our festival in 2024 was 'Glass and Music - Reflections and Radiance.' Fragile and delicate glass are reflections of their materials and times. In the creative process, both involve a similar unpredictability; materials seem to choose for themselves how they want to take shape. No two works are alike. Both also possess brilliance and fragility.

On a broader scale, our theme for next summer highlighted different cultures and the bridges built between them, which is crucial and timely during this era of increased racism and mental compartmentalization among people. We wanted to continue to support Ukraine and its brave people in their fight for freedom. The folk music group Bozhychi brings out the country's long history and connection to Europe, while the skilled NotaBene ensemble conveys the emotions of war through their performance of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time.

Visiting from Italy was the Goldberg String Quartet, composed of younger generation musicians who have garnered numerous accolades and competition victories. The themes of the quartet's concerts, in their own words, were:

1. Nations in the Mirror ("We often talk about nations and how they are perceived. In this case, we challenge the audience to recognize real and false stereotypes from different national styles in our quartet concert.")
2. Kaleidoscopic Sounds ("We selected three composers from different eras and styles who aim to transform contemporary music characteristics through the expressive power of popular music.")
3. Sequence Shot ("The film world has always captured the attention of classical music artists. Here is a 'sequence shot' of some famous composers who have spiced up their works with a glance at film scores and world music.")

The Portuguese world music group Albaluna, like the previous ensembles, were visiting Finland for the first time. Their music reflects various cultures, incorporating influences from both the East and the West, from the Silk Road to European metropolises.

Concerto Malaga, a chamber orchestra specializing in classical Spanish music. In addition to showcasing the music of their homeland, the orchestra serves as a cultural ambassador for other countries in Spain and has previously performed works by Kalevi Aho and Sibelius.

Bridges between nations and history are also created by Spanish flamenco dancer and guitarist, whose performances echo the history of the entire Andalusian province. To attract a broader audience to our festival, we are introducing an easily accessible folk music section at the beginning of the festival. In this section, our skilled and distinctive guests Albaluna, Bozhychi, and Finnish groups Akkajee and Frigg will engage in a cultural dialogue with each other, the audience, and the historical environment of the region. Additionally, our guests will also perform separately in other concerts.

Of course, we didn`t forget Finnish culture at our festival. The Finnish Baroque Orchestra's FiBO-players ensemble were once again visit us, as well as the traditional jazz virtuoso Wade Mikkola's Summer Night AllStars ensemble. The JazzZoom ensemble, consisting of Finnish jazz legends Sakari Kukko, Mika Mylläri, Heikki Sarmanto, Eerik Siikasaari, and Tomi Parkkonen, and Pepe Willberg with his ensemble, will also be our guests, along with the beloved women's choir Philomela.

Despite the serious themes, our festival next summer would have been be audience-friendly, filled with joy and hope for the future.