This year was already the tenth anniversary of the Ajassa 2011! chamber music camp, devoted primarily to modern chamber music and organized by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Part of the purpose of the camp is to prepare students for performances in the Musica Nova festival and the Ajassa 2011! festivals in February and March, but the camp is also a way for students' to share experiences and work on this complicated repertoire in an intensive but relaxed atmosphere. This year the camp took place in the art residence Hellenikon Idyllion, in a village Selianitika close to city of Patras, at 15. - 23.1.2011.

27 professional-track students with their teachers Keijo Aho, Marko Puro, and Herman Rechberger, an Austrian born composer living in Finland, spent a creative, inspiring and work-filled eight-day session concentrating on contemporary repertoire. Rechberger also works as an official host of the residence during the winter. Works studied included pieces by York Höller, Jörg Widmann, Siegfried Matthus, Dimitri Terzakis, Mikis Theodorakis, Joakim Schneider, György Kurtag, Herman Rechberger, Juan Antonio Muro, Jovanka Trbojevic, Jukka T. Koskinen, Jukka Tiensuu, and others.

Thanks to some effective ECMTA networking, ECMTA member Pekka Helasvuo, co-editor of the Jean Sibelius Works, sent a call for information to the Music Library Association through Dr David Lasocki, former reference Librarian at the Cook Music Library of Indiana University. The search has revealed several manuscripts thought to be lost. Mr Helasvuo has authorized the posting of the following exchange. 

The English translation of the re-written version of Keijo Aho's book "The Art of Chamber Music" is now ready (contents of the book). The schedule of publishing the translation is still open.

Read more >>

Applications for Chamber Music, Violin and Contrabass Masterclasses are being accepted through the end of May

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More information + applications: www.savonlinnamusicacademy.com

• Opera I June 24 – July 2
  Kammersänger, professor Tom Krause (Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain)
• Opera II June 28 – July 4
  The Artistic Director of Savonlinna Opera Festival, tenor Jorma Silvasti (Finland)
• Contrabass July 8 – July 15
  Jiri Parviainen (Sibelius Academy, Finland)
  
• Chamber Music, Violin, Viola & Cello July 16 – July 26
  Members of Orpheus String Quartet:
  Mark Gothóni, Timothy Summers, Emile Cantor & Laurentiu Sbarcea
• Violin July 19 – July 26
  Professor Mi-kyung Lee (Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, Germany)
• Music Technology and Recording July 20 – July 26
  Professor Malte Kob (Hochschule für Musik Detmold, Germany)
  Markku Veijonsuo (Sibelius Academy, Finland)
• German Lied July 28 – August 3
  Professor Hartmut Höll (Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, Germany)
• Piano August 9 – August 13
  Paavali Jumppanen (Finland)

• Chamber Music Master Class August 10 – August 19
• Master Class for Piano, Violin, Viola and Cello August 10 – August 19
• Master Class for Opera I June 25 – July 3
• Master Class for Opera II July 2 – July 8
• Master Class for Opera III July 4 – July 11
• Master Class for Contrabass July 8 – July 15
• Master Class for Violin July 12 – July 20
• French Melodies and French / German Chanson & German Lied Master Class July 26 – August 1
• Master Class for Music Technology August 10 – August 19

The chamber music department at Metropolia University is presenting its annual first term chamber music marathon. The programs and number of students participating is a testament to the engagement of the teachers and the overall importance of chamber music in the program. Professors Keijo Aho (chamber music and oboe) and Pekka Helasvuo (chamber music, violin, orchestra) have been teaching a total of about 30 ensembles, which will present three long concerts starting 28.11. The next are 16.12. and 19.12. Although the repertoire for these first term concerts is mostly standard, concerts in the spring will include more contemporary music.

Program of the first concert >>

 Practically all of Jean Sibelius’ early chamber music is now available on CD (the Sibelius Edition volumes 2 and 9 on BIS-records). On the records are some fragments, sketches and pieces of little interest for people besides those working with musicological activities. However, in the Critical Edition of Jean Sibelius' Works published by Breitkopf & Härtel, no volumes of chamber music have yet been published, and the whole project is expected to last still many years. The most important and interesting chamber works among those composed mainly between 1888 and 1890 are the Quartets in B flat Major op. 4 (1889–90) and my favorite: A-minor JS 183 (1889) [both published by Edition Fazer/Warner bros. Company]. A very fine work is the Piano Quintet JS 159 in G-Minor (1890) [Wilhelm Hansen, Copenhagen]. Edition Fazer/Warner has published also the String Quartet E flat Major (1885), two String Trios, A-Major (1889) and G-Minor (1893–94) plus a Piano Quartet in C-Minor (1891). The composer seems to have been rather productive on the field of chamber music at that time.

The style in Sibelius' early chamber music differs quite a lot from his later music. There are still very personal features which were not quite common at that time, especially in his treatment of harmony and form. 

The works published by Edition Fazer/Warner bros. Company are today available from:

Fennica Gehrman, www.fennicagehrman.fi

PO Box 158, FIN 00121 Helsinki Finland

e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

See also :  http://www.sibelius.fi/english/musiikki/kamari_triot.htm

More information and application forms: www.savonlinnamusicacademy.com

• Master Class for Opera I June 27 - July 5
  Kammersänger Tom Krause (Escuela Superior de Musica, Madrid, Spain)
• Master Class for Opera II July 6 - July 10
  Professor Barbara Bonney (Universität Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria)
• Master Class for Violin July 12 - July 22
  Professor Mi-kyung Lee (Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, Germany)
• Master Class for Cello July 14 - July 16
  Professor Erkki Rautio (Sibelius Academy, Finland)
• Master Class for Viola (& Chamber Music) July 17 - July 26
  Professor Diemut Poppen (Hochschule für Musik Detmold, Germany)
• Chamber Music Master Class (& Violin) July 19 - July 27
  Mark Gothoni (Orpheus Quartet, Universität der Künste Berlin, Germany)
• German Lied Master Class July 22 - July 27
  Professor Hartmut Höll (Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, Germany)