Guitar Festival: An Andalusian Elegy
The concert presents the connection between solo guitar, dance and poetry. Visiting artists performing in the concert have collaborated with Ismo Eskelinen for several years and performed at numerous festivals
At this concert, these performances will be heard and seen for the first time in Helsinki.
Tan Dun’s musical mini-drama for solo guitar premiered in New York in November 2002. What happens when a Spanish flamenco guitar wants to be a Chinese lute, or pipa? Star dancer Minna Tervamäki contributes to the telling of this tale. In their treatment, flamenco artist Kaari Martin and Ismo Eskelinen transform Spanish flamenco music classics into miniature dramas. The language of Nobel Prize-winning author Juan Ramón Jiménez’s Andalusian elegy, “Platero and I”, flows like music in Tyyni Tuulio’s Finnish translation from 1957. The piece is a beautiful description of the friendship, memories and little joys of life experienced by a wandering poet and his loyal silver donkey. Florentine Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who later worked in the United States, composed the series for guitar and narrator based on the book in 1960. “Platero and I” conjures in the minds of the audience a magical moment, “amber-hued muscatel grapes, purple figs tipped with crystalline drops of honey”. The story is “steel and moon silver at the same time.”
Programme
- Tan Dun (1957-) Seven Desires for Guitar (2002), Ismo Eskelinen and Minna Tervamäki
- Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909), arr. Ismo Eskelinen, Asturias (Prelude from Chants d’ Espagne Op. 232)
- Manuel De Falla (1876-1946) Homenaje, pour le Tombeau de Debussy
- Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999) Invocazione y Danza, Ismo Eskelinen and Kaari Martin
Intermission
- Mario Castelnuovo – Tedesco (1895-1968), text Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881-1958) Platero y Yo (Platero and I) for narrator and guitar Op.190, Ismo Eskelinen and Jussi Vatanen
Further information: Matti Leisma
Sibelius Academy Guitar Festival 1-9 April 2022
The concert is part of the Sibelius Academy Guitar Festival. The fourth Sibelius Academy Guitar Festival showcases the artistic talents of Sibelius Academy guitar students. This time, SoloDuo, one of the world’s most prestigious guitar duos, will also be performing in in the Sibelius Academy International Visitor Programme.
At this concert, these performances will be heard and seen for the first time in Helsinki.
Tan Dun’s musical mini-drama for solo guitar premiered in New York in November 2002. What happens when a Spanish flamenco guitar wants to be a Chinese lute, or pipa? Star dancer Minna Tervamäki contributes to the telling of this tale. In their treatment, flamenco artist Kaari Martin and Ismo Eskelinen transform Spanish flamenco music classics into miniature dramas. The language of Nobel Prize-winning author Juan Ramón Jiménez’s Andalusian elegy, “Platero and I”, flows like music in Tyyni Tuulio’s Finnish translation from 1957. The piece is a beautiful description of the friendship, memories and little joys of life experienced by a wandering poet and his loyal silver donkey. Florentine Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who later worked in the United States, composed the series for guitar and narrator based on the book in 1960. “Platero and I” conjures in the minds of the audience a magical moment, “amber-hued muscatel grapes, purple figs tipped with crystalline drops of honey”. The story is “steel and moon silver at the same time.”
Programme
- Tan Dun (1957-) Seven Desires for Guitar (2002), Ismo Eskelinen and Minna Tervamäki
- Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909), arr. Ismo Eskelinen, Asturias (Prelude from Chants d’ Espagne Op. 232)
- Manuel De Falla (1876-1946) Homenaje, pour le Tombeau de Debussy
- Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999) Invocazione y Danza, Ismo Eskelinen and Kaari Martin
Intermission
- Mario Castelnuovo – Tedesco (1895-1968), text Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881-1958) Platero y Yo (Platero and I) for narrator and guitar Op.190, Ismo Eskelinen and Jussi Vatanen
Further information: Matti Leisma
Sibelius Academy Guitar Festival 1-9 April 2022
The concert is part of the Sibelius Academy Guitar Festival. The fourth Sibelius Academy Guitar Festival showcases the artistic talents of Sibelius Academy guitar students. This time, SoloDuo, one of the world’s most prestigious guitar duos, will also be performing in in the Sibelius Academy International Visitor Programme.