Performers & composers

Riikka Talvitie

Riikka Talvitie, born in 1970 in Finland, studied the oboe with Aale Lindgren and Sven-Erik Paananen at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and later with Jean-Louis Capezzali at the Conservatory of Paris. She obtained her oboe diploma in 1997. At the same time she began her composition studies with Tapio Nevanlinna and Paavo Heininen at the Sibelius Academy, completing her studies in 2002. She continued her studies at the one-year-course at Ircam in 2001-02. She has taken part in several UNM (Young Nordic Music) festivals in Scandinavia and attended masterclasses of Magnus Lindberg, Jouni Kaipainen and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Talvitie has composed a lot of works with text working together with living poets like Mikko Rimminen in a piece Tulen värinä (2002) for male choir and Helena Sinervo in piece Jako (1998) for female choir. Her piece for orchestra Selim‚s Smiles (2001) was played in 2001 by Pori Sinfonietta in Finland and by Aarhus Symphony Orchestra in Danmark. Her oboe concerto Tululuikku (2002) was premiered in the festival of Musica Nova in Helsinki in 2002. Talvitie has lately shown a particular interes in electro-acoustic music which could be seen in works: Luonnonoikku (2002) for violin and electornics, Matches (2004) for piano and CD and Présent crénélé∑ (2004) for soprano, piano and tape.

LUONNONOIKKU

Premiered 2002.
Once a friend of mine asked me: does art pass over or under the nature. Why should these two compete with each other? I was confused. At that time I didn‚t know that the question was based on the discussion of art and esthetics in the 18th century. It was thought that the task of art was to imitate nature. But did art remain subordinate to the nature or did it add something to the perception which changed art to more sublime than nature itself.

Nowadays we don‚t ask the question of mimesis in the same way. We talk about modeling of natural phenomenons, we try to simulate chaos of nature and get our hands on sound itself. But the question still exists, especially therefore that recording has become really precise and straightforward means of imitation.

In my piece I approach the nature from two direction from inside and outside. I have selected four concrete sounds each of which represents different matters: glass, metal, wood and water. I have analyzed different characteristics of these matters: a spectrum, an envelope and rhythmic gestures. With this information I have tried to cross sounds with each other, for example the inharmonic spectrum of glass is simulated by arpeggio of a violin or a drop of water is played in the resonance of metal. The sounds have been separated from their origins to become abstact matter. But the nature will interfere in the course of events in much larger scale. In all its recognizability it suprises, interrupts, participates and so it defines the form of the piece. However, in order to let the art win the competition at the end, I give the power to controle nature to the violinist.