Asko Hyvärinen (1963)

Asko Hyvärinen studied percussion, music theory and musicology in Helsinki and Turku. He studied composition with leading Finnish composers and attended composition master classes in Germany, in Finland and in France under guidance of Jukka Tiensuu, Helmut Lachenmann and Brian Ferneyhough. His most important works are A Lie Nation (2005-2007) for nine performers, Erg/Hamâda (2003) for percussion soloist and chamber orchestra, Spring Contours (2001) for 11 players and The Sound of Inevitability, music for piano and orchestra (2000). His work valse griffyre for solo kantele was in the UNESCO Rostrum of Composers in Vienna, 2005. Obscure Contours was selected for The 2nd International Young Composers Forum, 2002 and for “Ars Poetica Composers Competition” in 2003. Hyvärinen has received numerous scholarships, p.ex. from The National Council for Music (Artist Grant for the years 2001, 2005 and 2007-2008). His music has been performed in Europe, in Japan and in Canada. His composition concerts have been held in Helsinki, 2004 and at Järvenpää Sibelius Festival, 2002.

The central idea in my alto saxophone work Duoun is focusing at the different register areas of the instrument by using large-scale variety of material at the same time. These ideas can be divided in three main groups: Sonority (register space, playing techniques), material processing (limited selection of melodic contours) and disintegration of events (formal construct). It is also very important - especially in the solo piece - what happens in the real time, how the musician approach and focus in every detail of the piece.

www.fimic.fi/hyvarinen