In this concert, Hanna Hohti will perform two of the most interesting recent works composed for viola and electronics: Sola by the Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Seidr by Josefine Opsahl from Denmark. Both pieces are strongly connected to the nature that surrounds us.
The concert starts with Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s composition Sola (2019) for solo viola and electronics, for which the composer drew inspiration from the idea of loneliness and peace amid chaos. The electronic elements ebb and flow from the shadows into the limelight only to fall back again, creating a dialogue with the lone viola. Over her career, Thorvaldsdottir has created a unique sound that resonates with audiences around the world.
Josefine Opsahl’s Seidr (2022) is a piece commissioned by Hanna Hohti herself, based on the Old Norse magic practice of seiðr, which was used to tell and shape the future. In the composition, the viola is the conjurer, which with its musical tongue summons powers from other worlds and dimensions. As the piece progresses, the barriers between the real world and the world of timelessness – represented here by the electronics – melts away as a consequence of the rituals conducted by the violist. Opsahl is a cellist and composer whose career is on a meteoric rise. In 2022 she received the Danish Crown Prince Couple’s Stardust Award.
In Hanna Hohti’s artistic work, viola-playing is ineluctably intertwined with artistic design. At the heart of all her operations is the creation of diverse and interesting performances for the free performing arts field. Hanna’s current major projects are the electroacoustic solo concert Seidr, which premièred in August 2022 at the Helsinki Festival; bringing to light early-twentieth-century British chamber music and recording it together with pianist Anna Kuvaja; setting up Kino Soi! concerts in a Functionalist-style cinema in Espoo, Finland; and organising Kotilo concerts, which combine chamber music with social discourse, together with violinist Terhi Paldanius. Hanna Hohti has received funding for her artistic work from the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike), and the Kone Foundation.
Free entry. There are 40 seats available, which will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. We do not accept advance bookings but to reserve a seat, you may pick up a ticket at Kirpilä on the Sunday from 12 pm onwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Photo by Teemu Mattsson