Works

Orchestral Music

Opera

A Room of One's Own (2020–2021)
six soloists, choir and orchestra

Chamber Music

Polar Pearls (2023)

concerto for chamber orchestra
24'

I Become...
II Amethyst
III Freshwater Pearl Mussel
IV Sooty-wing Butterfly
V Snowy Owl
VI Globeflower
VII Halo Sky
VIII Earth

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

The Arctic regions have warmed much faster than the rest of the world as climate change advances. Many endangered Arctic species, such as the freshwater pearl mussel and the snowy owl, are now endangered. A poem by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää views his fellow Sámi –indigenous dwellers of the Arctic zone – as such an inseparable part of their environment that the border between Man and Nature ceases to exist. Eyes are turning more and more towards the indigenous peoples as the environmental destruction caused by climate change proceeds: we are, maybe instinctively, looking to them in our search for a new model as we realise that our lifestyle and overconsumption are destroying not only Nature but us, too.

The Concerto for Chamber Orchestra Polar Pearls is like a bracelet of little character movements – tributes to our unique Arctic Nature and its delicate balance. I have dedicated the concerto to John Storgårds and the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, giving the gems in its ranks each in turn a chance to shine.

"[...] when they come
they will find his land, us
and we are stones, plants, animals, fishes,
water, wind earth, sky [...]"

–Nils-Aslak Valkeapää (translated by Ralph Salisbury and Harald Gaski)

Premiere: June 1, 2023
Salla Church, Salla, Finland: Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
June 2, 2023: Korundi Hall, Rovaniemi, Finland; Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds

The Seasons of Love (2023)

clarinet and string orchestra
19'

1. Young Love (Spring-winter*)
2. Sacrament (Spring-summer*)
3. Fruit (Autumn-summer*)
4. New Dimensions (Autumn-winter*)
5. Epilogue

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

A life-long intimate relationship is increasingly rare these days. Young love is solemnly sanctified, but if not before, many marriages stumble beneath the weight of the hectic family years. Those who survive the storms of early autumn have to regroup as the children fly the nest. The finiteness of life begins to dawn on people in the depths of winter. The Seasons of Love celebrates the power of love that changes with life’s seasons. I have dedicated it to the love of my life, Lauri Sallinen, my husband and the father of my children. The Seasons of Love is at the same time a sort of portrait of him – at different stages in life, in the past and the future – as a clarinettist and person; just as he is, as I love him. There are also some echoes in the Quintet of my Polar Pearls concerto for chamber orchestra. The version for string orchestra was commissioned by the Kymi Sinfonietta.

*There are eight seasons in the Sámi annual round: spring, summer, autumn and winter, plus spring- winter, spring-summer, autumn-summer and autumn-winter, in between the two main seasons as their names indicate.

Premiere: to be published in autumn 2023

Milky Ways (2022)

concerto for cor anglais and orchestra
20'

I The Infant Gaze
II Interplays
III At the Fountainhead of God

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

We all began life on milky ways. Milky, as the bronze-sheathed infant gaze halts and entices the Fountainhead of God to flow. The bubbling life force nourishes but is also the greatest of all forms of tenderness, closeness and primitive interaction. The skill we have practised in the secrecy of the womb lapses with the passing of the years, but the interplay it has generated never deserts us – it is the love that sustains us even after the final departure. Transporting us through the concerto is the hypnotic sound of the cor anglais that soars from Mother Earth to the celestial Milky Way; to the sweet, solid, loving cradle of life. The concerto was commissioned jointly by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras and is dedicated to Nicholas Daniel, the oboist who hypnotised me with his playing.

Premiere: March 15-16, 2023
Helsinki Music Centre, Helsinki, Finland: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, cond. Nicholas Collon; Nicholas Daniel, cor anglais
April 21-23, 2023: Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, USA; San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, cond. Christian Macelaru; Russ de Luna, cor anglais
October 27, 2023, UK premiere: Barbican, London, The United Kingdom; BBC Symphony Orchestra, cond. David Afkham; Nicholas Daniel, cor anglais

Mosaics (2021)

orchestra
15'

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

Mosaics for orchestra reflects and fantasises the musical world of my first opera, A Room of One’s Own. It was composed as part of the major Nordic, a Fragile Hope project dealing with climate change of Swedish photographer and film maker Joakim Odelberg, but also works without the visual element, as an independent piece for orchestra. Mosaics was commissioned by the Gothenburg and Oulu Symphony Orchestras.

Premiere: February 21, 2024: Gothenburg Concert House, Gothenburg, Sweden; Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, cond. Christian Karlsen

The Ring of Fire and Love (2020)

orchestra
9'

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

The Ring of Fire is a volcanic belt that surrounds the Pacific Ocean and in which most of the world’s earthquakes occur. It is also the term referring to the bright ring of sunlight around the moon at the height of a solar eclipse, when the moon covers only the central part of the sun. Yet, the same expression is also used to describe what a woman feels when, as she gives birth, the baby’s head passes through her pelvis. That moment is the most dangerous in the baby’s life, its little skull being subjected to enormous pressure, preparing it for life in a way unlike any other. The Ring of Fire and Love is a work for orchestra about this earth-shattering, creative, cataclysmic moment they travel through together. The work was commissioned by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Jyväskylä Sinfonia and Kymi Sinfonietta.

Orchestrations:
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2(2pic).2.2(bcl).2/2.2.0.0/perc/hp/str(min.7.6.5.4.3)

Premiere: March 18, 2021: Stockholm Concert House, Sweden; Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Sakari Oramo
September 8, 2021: Jyväskylä Theater, Jyväskylä, Finland; Jyväskylä Symphony, cond. Ville Matvejeff
September 9, 2021: Hankasalmi, Finland; Jyväskylä Symphony, cond. Ville Matvejeff
March 16, 2022: Stockholm Concert House, Sweden; Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. David Afkham
March 17, 2022: Stockholm Concert House, Sweden; Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. David Afkham
March 18, 2022: Gothenburg Concert House, Gothenburg, Sweden; Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. David Afkham
October 6, 2022: Madetoja Hall, Oulu, Finland; Oulu Symphony Orchestra, cond. Aliisa Neige Barriére
October 13, 2022: Nordic Music Days, Harpa, Reykjavik, Iceland; Iceland Symphony Orchestra, cond. Anna-Maria Helsinki
October 13, 2022: Lappeenranta City Orchestra, cond. Tomas Djupsjöbacka; Lappeen Maria Church, Lappeenranta, Finland
October 13, 2022: Nordic Chamber Orchestra, cond. Emilia Hoving; Tonhallen, Sundsvall, Sweden
October 14, 2022: Nordic Chamber Orchestra, cond. Emilia Hoving; Själevad Church, Själevad, Sweden
October 27, 2022: Vaasa City Orchestra and Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, cond. Tomas Djubsjöbacka; Vaasa City Hall, Vaasa, Finland
October 28, 2022: Vaasa City Orchestra and Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, cond. Tomas Djubsjöbacka; Snellman Hall, Kokkola, Finland
December 8, 2022: Norrlandsoperan, Umeå, Sweden; Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra, cond. Ville Matvejeff
January 18-19, 2023: Helsinki Music Centre, Helsinki, Finland; The Finnish Radio Orchestra, cond. Nicholas Collon
March 16, 2023: Sibelius Hall, Lahti, Finland; Lahti Symphony Orchestra, cond. Dalia Stasevska
April 14-15, 2023: Orchestra Hall, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Orchestra, cond. David Afkham
May 4-5, 2023: Tapiola Hall, Espoo Cultural Centre, Espoo, Finland; Tapiola Sinfonietta, cond. Tarmo Peltokoski

Songs of the Ice (2019)

orchestra
14'

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

Songs of the Ice is an orchestral work about ice. In the Arctic region, the ice breathes with the seasons, swelling in winter and shrinking in summer. Its age-old movement sings a song of its own: slowly surging, unrelenting and covering all beneath it. It tinkles and rumbles, squeaks and laments as our ever-warmer climate breaks Nature’s time-honoured laws, forcing the ice to give way. When I composed the piece, I was expecting our second child, due to be born in the heart of winter when the bitter cold strengthens the ice, making it powerful and solid again, and I was vividly reminded of the time after our first-born. Songs of the Ice also describes the emptiness and reclosing process that begins in a woman’s body when she parts company with the life inside her in giving birth. The work was commissioned by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and The Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

Songs of the Ice and Midnight Sun Variations can be performed as a pair, in either order, or individually.

Orchestrations:
3(pic:pic:pic).2+ca.2+bcl.2+cbsn/4.3(flg).2+btbn/1timp.3perc/hp.pf(cel)/str
2(pic:pic).1+ca.2(bcl).1+cbsn/2.2.0.0/timp.2perc/hp.pf(cel)/str

Premiere: October 2, 2020: Helsinki Music Centre, Finland; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, cond. Hannu Lintu
February 18, 2021: Concert Hall Harpa, Reykjavik, Iceland; Iceland Symphony Orchestra, cond. Eva Ollikainen
February 23, 2022: Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbour, USA; University of Michigan School of Music Symphony Orchestra, cond. Kenneth Kiesler
September 24, 2022: Southam Hall, Ottawa, Canada; National Arts Center Orchestra, cond. Alexander Shelley
March 9, 2023: Neuhaussaal, Regensburg, Germany; Regensburg Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Tom Woods
March 13, 2023: Neuhaussaal, Regensburg, Germany; Regensburg Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Tom Woods
April 12, 2023: Helsinki Music Centre, Helsinki, Finland; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, cond. Nicholas Collon

Midnight Sun Variations (2019)

orchestra
11'

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

This work for orchestra is a set of variations on the light when the sun never sets in the arctic summer night. For the northern sky above the Arctic Circle in summer reflects a rich spectrum of infinitely-nuanced hues that, as autumn draws near, become veiled in shadow until darkness slowly descends and the sun ceases to rise above the horizon. My son was born on the night when the summer’s last warm day gave way to a dawn shrouded in autumnal mist. Midnight Sun Variations is also about giving birth to new life, when the woman and the child within her part, restoring her former self as the light fades into winter. The work was commissioned by the BBC Philharmonic and The National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Midnight Sun Variations and Songs of the Ice can be performed as a pair, in either order, or individually.

Premiere: August 4, 2019: BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, London; BBC Philharmonic, cond. John Storgårds
November 21, 2019: Manchester, UK; BBC Philharmonic, cond. John Storgårds
January 17, 2020 US premiere: Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, Houston, USA; Houston Symphony, cond. John Storgårds
January 18, 2020: Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, Houston, USA; Houston Symphony, cond. John Storgårds
January 19, 2020: Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, Houston, USA; Houston Symphony, cond. John Storgårds
February 6, 2020 Finnish premiere: Turku Concert Hall, Turku, Finland; Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Jukka Untamala
February 7, 2020: Turku Concert Hall, Turku, Finland; Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Jukka Untamala
February 21, 2020: Detroit, USA; Detroit Symphony Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
February 22, 2020: Detroit, USA; Detroit Symphony Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
February 23, 2020: Detroit, USA; Detroit Symphony Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
October 15, 2021: Powell Hall, St. Louis, USA; St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
October 16, 2021: Powell Hall, St. Louis, USA; St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
November 16, 2021 German premiere: Stadthalle Hagen, Hagen, Germany; Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Joseph Trafton
November 27, 2021 Austrian premiere: Musikverein Wien, Austria; Tonkünstler-Orchester, cond. John Storgårds
November 28, 2021: Musikverein Wien, Austria; Tonkünstler-Orchester, cond. John Storgårds
November 29, 2021: Festspielhaus, St. Pölten, Austria; Tonkünstler-Orchester, cond. John Storgårds
December 6, 2021: Tampere Hall, main auditorium, Tampere, Finland; Tampere Philharmony, cond. Emilia Hoving
March 2, 2022: Madetoja Hall, Oulu, Finland; Oulu Symphony Orchestra, cond. Jukka Untamala
May 18–19, 2022 Canadian premiere: Southam Hall, Ottawa, Canada; The National Arts Centre Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
May 19, 2022: Sibelius Hall, main auditorium, Lahti, Finland; Lahti Symphony Orchestra, cond. Anna-Maria Helsing
May 20, 2022: Verkatehdas, Hämeenlinna, Finland; Lahti Symphony Orchestra, cond. Anna-Maria Helsing
November 17-19, 2022: Atlanta Symphony Hall, Atlanta, USA; Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds
February 10, 2023: Helsinki Music Centre, Helsinki, Finland; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, cond. Nicholas Collon

The Lustful Mother (2018)

song cycle for baritone, string orchestra/ string quartet and piano
version for mezzo-soprano, string quartet and piano
30'

I The Time of the Lustful Mother
II A Breath of Wind
III Night or Day
IV Still Shines Within Me
V Hallowed Be

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

Naarasäiti (The Lustful Mother) is about becoming a mother, an experience in which sexuality combines in a natural way with the birth of a new life. The texts of the cycle are from the collections of poems Äitejä, tyttäriä (Árbeeadni, The Time of the Lustful Mother, 2013) and Kylmä kumppani (Galbma rádna, My Cold Companion, 1999) by two contemporary Sámi poets, Rauni Magga Lukkari and Rose-Marie Huuva. The poems’ primitive, matriarchal beat is present throughout in the music: a dark, earthy solo viola accompanies the baritone while the sizzling, sparkling strings erupt at times in powerful textures. The work was commissioned by the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, the Hetta Music Festival and Rauma Festivo.

"And as I felt
the contractions the first time
I began to understand:
it is not me
not my mind
not the great love
that guides my life
My will is nothing
but a tiny girl
a mosquito’s step
a breath of wind
compared to the urgings
of my body”

–Rauni Magga Lukkari
English translation by Kaija Anttonen

Premiere: September 28, 2019: Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, cond. Anna-Maria Helsing; sol. Aarne Pelkonen, baritone
April 21, 2019: Hetta Music Festival, Finland; sol. Aarne Pelkonen, baritone; Kokkola Quartet; Paavali Jumppanen, piano
August 7, 2019: Rauma Festivo, Finland; sol. Aarne Pelkonen, baritone, Reetta Kataja and Siljamari Heikinheimo, violin, Riitta-Liisa Ristiluoma, viola, Samuli Peltonen, cello and Kirill Kozlovski, piano
November 2, 2021: Oulainen Music Week, Finland; sol. Virpi Räisänen, mezzo-soprano; Kokkola Quartet; Johanna Tilus, piano
November 4, 2022: FRSO's Red Nose Day -concert, Finnish Television 1; sol. Aarne Pelkonen, baritone; The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, cond. Anna-Maria Helsing
March 10, 2023: Adelaide Festival, Australia; UKARIA Cultural Centre, Mount Barker Summit, Adelaide; Judith Dodsworth, mezzo-soprano; Australian String Quartet and Konstantin Shamray, piano, cond. Jeffrey Means
July 12, 2023: Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival; Tuupala Primary School, Kuhmo, Finland; Virpi Räisänen, mezzo-soprano; Danel Quartet and Irina Zahharenkova, piano

Joye (2017)

orchestra
1'

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen
2222/2200/perc

Joye is a miniature or an orchestral fanfare, essentially bright throughout and aphoristically pithy. The title alludes to the ancient French word meaning “bliss” and “Fortune”, and my intention was to load the piece with all the elation and recklessness that flash through a person in a moment of intense happiness. The sombre, sturdy chord pillars at the beginning surge into a landscape in which first the clarinets, then the oboes and finally the trumpets lead the music to mighty ferment and a clarity that suffuses all. The work was commissioned by the Pori Sinfonietta.

Premiere: December 6, 2017: Promenade Hall, Pori, Finland; Pori Sinfonietta, cond. Janne Nisonen
April 26, 2018: Pori, Finland; Pori Sinfonietta, cond. Janne Nisonen
February 20, 2020: Carelia Concert Hall, Joensuu, Finland; Joensuu City Orchestra, cond. Eero Lehtimäki
December 8, 2020: Helsinki Music Centre, Finland; Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Tarmo Peltokoski
December 10, 2020: Vaasa Church, Vaasa, Finland; Vaasa City Orchestra, cond. Tomas Djupsjöbacka

Saivo (2016)

concerto for soprano saxophone and orchestra
28'

I Image of you
II In the water
III In the ashes
IV Reflection
V Fissure

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

The saxophone concerto Saivo paints a musical portrait of a saxophonist of a new kind. The word ”saivo” originates from the ancient Sami beliefs meaning a two-bottomed lake, where under a lake dwells another lake and another world which is inhabited by otherworldly creatures – a world that is the exact mirror image of our world. The saxophone concerto builds sonorous timbral bridges between the effected soprano saxophone and the orchestra, and grows eventually into an illusion of another reality which is similar, yet in a peculiar way different than the world we know. The work was commissioned by Tapiola Sinfonietta and it is dedicated to the saxophonist Jukka Perko.

Premiere: November 17, 2017: Tapiolasali, Espoo, Finland; Tapiola Sinfonietta, cond. Anna-Maria Helsing; Jukka Perko, soprano saxophone and effects
February 1, 2018: Rovaniemi, Finland; Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds; Jukka Perko, soprano saxophone and effects
February 2, 2018: Inari, Finland; Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds; Jukka Perko, soprano saxophone and effects
September 6, 2018: Kuopio, Finland; Kuopio City Orchestra, cond. Jaakko Kuusisto; Jukka Perko, soprano saxophone and effects
October 31, 2019: Rovaniemi, Finland; Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds; Jukka Perko, soprano saxophone and effects
February 4, 2021: Turku Concert Hall, Turku, Finland; Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Ari Rasilainen; Jukka Perko, soprano saxophone and effects
March 25, 2021: Oulu Music Festival, Oulu, Finland; Oulu Symphony Orcestra, cond. Jaakko Kuusisto; Jukka Perko, soprano saxophone and effects

The Earth, Spring's Daughter (2014–2015)

song cycle for mezzosoprano and orchestra
c. 42'

I Prologue – The Earth, spring's daughter
II In these cold lands we migrate
III Our father's property is divided today
IV This late evening hour
V Not so straight
VI Come and I will show you secretly these paths
VII I inscribe these images – Epilogue

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

Eanan, giđa nieida (in Engl. The Earth, Spring’s Daughter) is a mythical epos illustrating the core experiences of the North from the history to our times. The text is a vast collage of Sami poetry – the Sami people being the only indigenous people in the Europe. The strong mutual bond between the generations and the Sami culture’s cyclical perception of time are present also in the structure of the work: the music unfolds in layers and cycles, to be born again and again. The work was commissioned by three northernmost professional orchestras in Europe: Lapland Chamber Orchestra (FIN), Norrbotten Chamber Orchestra (SWE) and Arctic Philharmonic (NOR).

Premiere: September 1, 2016: Korundi House of Culture's Concert Hall, Rovaniemi; Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds; Virpi Räisänen, mezzosoprano
September 2, 2016: Inari, Finland; Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds; Virpi Räisänen, mezzosoprano
Swedish premiere: September 14, 2017: House of Culture, Luleå, Sweden; Norrbotten Chamber Orchestra, cond. Okko Kamu; Virpi Räisänen, mezzosoprano
September 15, 2017: Haparanda Church, Sweden; Norrbotten Chamber Orchestra, cond. Okko Kamu; Virpi Räisänen, mezzosoprano
September 16, 2017: Studio Acusticum, Piteå, Sweden; Norrbotten Chamber Orchestra, cond. Okko Kamu; Virpi Räisänen, mezzosoprano
December 4, 2017: Swedish Radio P2; Norrbotten Chamber Orchestra, cond. Okko Kamu; Virpi Räisänen, mezzosoprano
Norwegian premiere: September 13, 2018: Stormen Konserthus, Bodø, Norway; Arctic Philharmonic, cond. Tim Weiss; Virpi Räisänen, mezzosoprano
October 18, 2018: NRK Radio P2, Norway; Arctic Philharmonic, cond. Tim Weiss; Virpi Räisänen, mezzo soprano
February 18, 2021: Kuopio Music Centre, Kuopio, Finland; Kuopio City Orchestra, cond. Jaakko Kuusisto; Virpi Räisänen, mezzo-soprano
July 30, 2022: Ukko-Luosto open-air-stage, Sounds of Luosto -festival; Helsinki Chamber Orchestra, cond. Aku Sorensen; Virpi Räisänen, mezzo-soprano
September 22, 2022: Southam Hall, Ottawa, Canada; National Arts Center Orchestra, cond. Alexander Shelley; Marion Newman, mezzo-soprano

Liebklinge (2011)

soprano saxophone and orchestra
16'

Publisher: Uusinta Publishing Company
soprano saxophone + 2222/2130/ 3 perc, folk harp, celesta, strings

Liebklinge is a work for an improvising soprano saxophone and orchestra. Virtually half of the soloist's role is to improvise, following the composer's guidelines. The saxophonist glides over a restless orchestra, and at time delves into the middle of it. The work was commissioned by the Sibelius Acedemy and is partly based on improvisations by legendary jazz saxophonist David Liebman and Liebman's pianist Richie Beirach, as well as a short composition by Liebman, who performed the premiere of Liebklinge. The chamber orchestra version of the piece was commissioned by the Lapland Chamber Orchestra.

Premiere: February 4, 2012: Helsinki Music Centre Concert Hall; David Liebman, soprano saxophone; Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra, cond. Santtu Rouvali

Liebklinge (2013)

soprano saxophone and chamber orchestra
16'

Publisher: Uusinta Publishing Company
soprano saxophone + 1111/1000/perc, harp, strings (4-3-3-2-2)

Premiere: January 10, 2014: Korundi House of Culture's Concert Hall, Rovaniemi; Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds; Jukka Perko, soprano saxophone
January 11, 2014: Korundi House of Culture's Concert Hall, Rovaniemi; Lapland Chamber Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds; Jukka Perko, soprano saxophone
September 5, 2015: Young Nordic Music Festival, Helsinki; Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, cond. Jaakko Kuusisto; Jukka Perko, soprano saxophone
November 22, 2019: RUSK Festival, Pietarsaari, Finland; Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, cond. József Hárs; Jukka Perko, soprano saxophone

Into the Woodland Silence (2010)

folk/jazz mezzo-soprano and big band
17'

The first line-up alternative: folk/jazzmezzosoprano +
a.sax./flute, clar./b.clar., t.sax./flute, t.sax./clar. and b.sax./flute
4 tpts, 3 tbns, 1 b.tbn, piano, double bass, drs/perc.

The second line-up alternative: folk/jazzmezzosoprano +
a.sax./flute/clar., clar., t.sax./flute/clar., t.sax., b.clar.
4 tpts, 3 tbns, 1 b.tbn, piano, double bass, drs/perc.

Into the Woodland Silence is about human growth and the vast, unanswered question of how to become oneself, an exploration that continues throughout our lives. The lyrics were compiled from poems by renowned Finnish poets Eeva-Liisa Manner and Sirkka Turkka. A key element for the birth of the piece was Tarkiainen's long and on-going collaboration with vocalist Aili Ikonen, to whom the work is dedicated. In the piece the jazz orchestra envelopes the singer who sings, speaks, buzzes, improvises and leads the listener through shifting musical landscapes. The work was commissioned by the Umo Jazz Orchestra. Distribution: Music Finland.

Premiere: March 18, 2010: Korjaamo Cultural Factory, Helsinki; Umo Jazz Orchestra, cond. Kari Heinilä; Aili Ikonen, vocalist
September 8, 2011: Haparanda, Sweden; Norrbotten Big Band, cond. Outi Tarkiainen; Aili Ikonen, vocalist
September 9, 2011: Älvsby, Sweden; Norrbotten Big Band, cond. Outi Tarkiainen; Aili Ikonen, vocalist
September 10, 2011: Nefertiti Jazz Club, Göteborg; Norrbotten Big Band, cond. Outi Tarkiainen; Aili Ikonen, vocalist
September 11, 2011: Fasching Jazz Club, Stockholm; Norrbotten Big Band, cond. Outi Tarkiainen; Aili Ikonen, vocalist
April 21, 2012: Tampere Biennale, Tampere, Finland; Umo Jazz Orchestra, cond. Kari Heinilä; Aili Ikonen, vocalist
March 20, 2015: Piteå, Sweden; Norrbotten Big Band, cond. Outi Tarkiainen; Mirja Mäkelä, vocalist
March 21, 2015: Luleå, Sweden; Norrbotten Big Band, cond. Outi Tarkiainen; Mirja Mäkelä, vocalist

A Room of One's Own (2020-2021)

opera in three acts
60'

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen
Orchestration: 2 sopr, 2 mezzosopr, tenor, baritone, choir (SATB) and orchestra

A Room of One's Own is based on Virginia Woolf’s classic essay of the same name of 1928. The libretto is by the German opera director, dramaturge and librettist Francis Hüsers and the opera seeks to answer the question of why, from one century to another, women merely flit as shadows across the stage in the arts and history. The opera is set in 1920s England and has three main characters. Each called Mary, they are all intelligent, educated women whose seemingly light conversation leads them into ever deeper waters and who ultimately spread before the viewer’s eyes the whole gamut of human life, in all its grittiness, passions and realities.

I composed a specific musical profile for each of the characters, but the Marys are singularly interwoven, as if reflecting different aspects of the same person. Alternating as the main themes in the music are power, fate, hope and passion. The Prologue and Epilogue make references to the 17th-century Scottish ballad that originally gave Woolf, too, the idea for the cast of her essay. The ballad affords glimpses of a tragedy, infanticide, as told by Mary, former lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Scots and executed for bearing the King’s illegitimate child. Her fate is reflected from generation to generation, merely acquiring different manifestations. But hope lives on, undaunted.

Sung in English, the opera is in three Acts without an interval.

Outi Tarkiainen

The first opera by Outi Tarkiainen, “A Room of One’s Own” was commissioned by the Theater Hagen and will be premiered there on May 14, 2022 in a production by director Magdalena Fuchsberger.

CAST
Mary Beton – soprano
Mary Seton – mezzo-soprano
Mary Carmichael, author – mezzo-soprano
Judith Shakespeare/ The Young Girl – soprano
The Young Man – tenor
The Professor – baritone

Premiere: May 14, 2022: Theater Hagen, Hagen, Germany; Mary Beton: Dorothea Brandt; Mary Seton: Maria Markina; Mary Carmichael: Evelyn Krahe; Judith Shakespeare/ The Young Girl: Marie-Pierre Roy; The Young Man: Anton Kuzenok; The Professor: Kenneth Mattice; Chor Theater Hagen; Extrachor Theater Hagen; Philharmonisches Orchester Hagen, cond. Joseph Trafton
Other performances:: May 26, 2022; June 5, 2022; June 8, 2022; September 18, 2022; October 2, 2022; October 14, 2022
Finnish premiere: July 26, 2023: Savonlinna Opera Festival, Savonlinna, Finland; Mary Beton: Dorothea Brandt; Mary Seton: Maria Markina; Mary Carmichael: Evelyn Krahe; Judith Shakespeare/ The Young Girl: Marie-Pierre Roy; The Young Man: Anton Kuzenok; The Professor: Kenneth Mattice; Chor Theater Hagen; Extrachor Theater Hagen; Philharmonisches Orchester Hagen, cond. Joseph Trafton
Other performances:: July 28, 2023

The Seasons of Love (2023)

clarinet and string quartet
19'

1. Young Love (Spring-winter*)
2. Sacrament (Spring-summer*)
3. Fruit (Autumn-summer*)
4. New Dimensions (Autumn-winter*)
5. Epilogue

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

A life-long intimate relationship is increasingly rare these days. Young love is solemnly sanctified, but if not before, many marriages stumble beneath the weight of the hectic family years. Those who survive the storms of early autumn have to regroup as the children fly the nest. The finiteness of life begins to dawn on people in the depths of winter. The Clarinet Quintet The Seasons of Love celebrates the power of love that changes with life’s seasons. I have dedicated it to the love of my life, Lauri Sallinen, my husband and the father of my children. The Seasons of Love is at the same time a sort of portrait of him – at different stages in life, in the past and the future – as a clarinettist and person; just as he is, as I love him. There are also some echoes in the Quintet of my Polar Pearls concerto for chamber orchestra. The Clarinet Quintet was commissioned by the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival.

*There are eight seasons in the Sámi annual round: spring, summer, autumn and winter, plus spring- winter, spring-summer, autumn-summer and autumn-winter, in between the two main seasons as their names indicate.

Premiere: July 18, 2023: Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival; Kuhmo Church, Kuhmo, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet; Meta4 String Quartet

The Downfall of Judith Shakespeare (2023)

mezzo-soprano, oboe, violin, violoncello and piano
10'

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

The Downfall of Judith Shakespeare is based on a scene from my opera A Room of One’s Own (2020–2021). Judith is the opera’s most interesting character – supergifted, passionate and brilliant, just like her brother William Shakespeare. Yet although William did, according to a number of sources, have sisters, virtually nothing is known about their lives. Like almost all other women at that time, they have disappeared; they hover as empty shadows in a history that stars only men. A genius such as Judith could, in the present day and age, become just about anything – a head of state, a ground-breaking artist or a Nobel Prize winner. But things were different in the 16th century. In my work, the ghost of Judith tells her story, the fate envisaged for that imaginary sister by Virginia Woolf in her essay.

Premiere: July 17, 2023: Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival; Kuhmo Arts Centre, Kuhmo, Finland; Virpi Räisänen, mezzo-soprano, Blanca Gleisner, oboe, Matilda Kaul, violin; Tuomas Lehto, violoncello and Heini Kärkkäinen, piano

They Walked Side By Side (2018)

soprano/mezzosoprano and violin
7'

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

Soai vácciiga buohtalaga (They walked side-by-side) is a condensed version of the epilogue to my large-scale song cycle The Earth, Spring’s Daughter. The words are from the poem of the same name by the Sámi poet Rauni Magga Lukkari impressively describing the sometimes even supernatural communion that exists between mothers and daughters. At first, the music seems to flow of its own accord – as if it has always done so – and voice and violin walk side by side as equals throughout the piece. It may, in the space that forms around them, be possible to sense the tacit knowledge, mind space and most fragile inner voices of the foremothers.

Premiere: June 10, 2018: Silence Festival; Kittilä Church, Finland; Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano and Pekka Kuusisto, violin
June 19, 2018: Finnish Radio, Yle 1; Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano and Pekka Kuusisto, violin
May 29, 2019: Finnish Radio, Yle 1; Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano and Pekka Kuusisto, violin
August 7, 2019: Rauma Festivo, Rauma, Finland; Hannakaisa Nyrönen, soprano and Reetta Kataja, violin
August 25, 2019: Helsinki Festival; Sellosali, Espoo; Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano and Pekka Kuusisto, violin
February 2, 2020: NJORD Biennale, Copenhagen, Denmark; Koncertkirken, Copenhagen, Denmark; Maria Johansen, soprano and Anne Søe, violin
September 4, 2021: Nordic Music Days, Torshavn, Faroe Islands; Havnar Kirkja, Torshavn, Faroe Islands; Else Torp, soprano and Jón Festirstein, violin
November 2, 2021: Oulainen Music Week; Merkurius Hall, Oulainen, Finland; Virpi Räisänen, mezzosoprano and Reetta Kataja, violin
April 17, 2022: Hetta Music Days; Juhls Silvergallery, Koutokeino, Norway; Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano and violinist of Zagros Ensemble
July 10, 2023: Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival; Tuupala Primary School, Kuhmo; Virpi Räisänen, mezzosoprano and Siljamari Heikinheimo, violin

Woodland Fanfares (2021)

clarinet, violoncello and piano
2'

Woodland Fanfares is a miniature that wrests the listener into the weightless fluctuation of dark, surging waves. The energy of the mounting swell finally condenses in a collective song and subsides as it yields to the light: like a tender glade in the wilderness, a tranquil odyssey in life or a warm breast on which to lay one’s head. The work was commissioned by the City of Kuhmo.

Premiere: July 18, 2022: Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Kuhmo, Finland; Kuhmo House, Lentua-hall; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet, Trey Lee, violoncello and Matilda Kärkkäinen, piano

Beaivi (2016)

flute, violoncello, guitar and piano
9'

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen.

Beaivi is inspired by the Sami poet Nils-Aslak Valkeapää’s poem "When that time approaches", where the first encounter with light after the lengthy polar night is described with exceptional significance. The word beaivi comes from the northern Sami language meaning sun or day. The play of light – its dawn, a brief shimmering before darkening again – are characterized throughout the textures and timbres of the piece. Beaivi is dedicated to the Danish chamber music ensemble Lydenskab, who also commissioned the work.

"When that time approaches
I notice how frequently I ski
higher than necessary
and when I finally see
the peaks turn red
I am not ashamed to admit
that I go to a high place
in order to see the sun"

–Nils-Aslak Valkeapää
English translation by Ralph Salisbury

Premiere: February 2, 2017: Huset, Aalborg, Denmark; Ensemble Lydenskab; Karolina Leedo, flute, Sofia Lind Pedersen, cello,; Thea Vesti, guitar and Maria Eshpal, piano
October 29, 2017: Rønnebksholm, Denmark; Enseble Lydenskab; Karolina Leedo, flute, Sofia Lind Pedersen, cello,; Thea Vesti, guitar and Eskild Winding, piano
April 3, 2018 Swedish premiere: Klubb Krinolin, Malmö, Sweden; Enseble Lydenskab; Karolina Leedo, flute, Sofia Lind Pedersen, cello,; Thea Vesti, guitar and Eskild Winding, piano
November 22, 2019 UK premiere: Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, York, UK; The Chimera Ensemble
November 22, 2020 Finnish premiere: Keltinmäki Church, Jyväskylä, Finland; Hanna Juutilainen, flute, Harri Topi, cello,; Tuomas Niininen, piano ja Markku Laakso, guitar
November 29, 2020: Kuopio Parish Church, Kuopio, Finland; Hanna Juutilainen, flute, Harri Topi, cello,; Tuomas Niininen, piano ja Markku Laakso, guitar
December 19, 2021: YLE Christmas Concert, Kallio Church, Helsinki, Finland; Uusinta Ensemble

The Baudelaire songs (2009–2013)

soprano and piano
15'

I The Albatross
II The Abyss
III Obsession

The song cycle uses poems by Charles Baudelaire from the anthology Flowers of Evil, and is about the solitude of a visionary human being and the inner necessity of making one's way, whether those visions be grandiose or nightmarish. While composing the two first songs of the cycle I lived in London, so I chose R. J. Dent's recent English translations of Baudelaire's poems for the lyrics. The songs were commissioned by the lied-duo Heikkinen & Tilus with the support of Teosto. Publisher: Uusinta Publishing Company.

Premiere: September 21, 2009: Sibelius Academy Concert Hall, Helsinki; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Johanna Tilus, piano
February 6, 2010: Ears Open Society concert, Helsinki, Ostrobotnia Ball Room, Helsinki; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Johanna Tilus, piano
May 20, 2010: Sibelius Academy Chamber Music Hall, Helsinki; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Johanna Tilus, piano
August 22, 2011: Young Nordic Music Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Sanni Antikainen, piano
September 5, 2011: Aino Ackté Chamber Music Festival, Helsinki; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Johanna Tilus, piano
November 16, 2012: Sodankylä, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Väinö Jalkanen, piano
November 17, 2012: Rovaniemi, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Väinö Jalkanen, piano
November 18, 2012: Muonio, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Väinö Jalkanen, piano
November 18, 2012: Levi, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Väinö Jalkanen, piano
April 26, 2013: Nurmes, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Johanna Tilus, piano
April 27, 2013: Ilomantsi, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Johanna Tilus, piano
April 28, 2013: Joensuu, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Johanna Tilus, piano
August 14, 2015: Festival de Musique Classique d'Uzerche, France; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano and Paul Beynet, piano
December 8, 2017: Finnish Radio, Yle 1; Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano and Emil Holmström, piano
August 10, 2019: Rauma Festivo, Rauma, Finland; Kaisa Ranta, soprano and Kirill Kozlovski, piano

Into the Woodland Silence (2012)

soprano, clarinet, violoncello and piano
14'

Into the Woodland Silence is about human growth and the vast, unanswered question of how to become oneself, an exploration that continues throughout our lives. The lyrics were compiled from poems by renowned Finnish poets Eeva-Liisa Manner and Sirkka Turkka. Into the Woodland Silence was originally scored for jazz orchestra and folk/jazz mezzo-soprano, but this quartet version gives the work new life as chamber music, and perhaps even better portrays the intimate nature of the music. Publisher: Uusinta Publishing Company.

Premiere: August 28, 2012: Young Nordic Music Festival, Reykjavik, Iceland; Aili Ikonen, vocalist, Grímur Helgason, clarinet and Tinna Thorsteinsdóttir, piano
November 16, 2012: Sodankylä, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano, Lauri Sallinen, clarinet,; Juho Laitinen, violoncello and Väinö Jalkanen, piano
November 17, 2012: Rovaniemi, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano, Lauri Sallinen, clarinet,; Juho Laitinen, violoncello and Väinö Jalkanen, piano
November 18, 2012: Muonio, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano, Lauri Sallinen, clarinet,; Juho Laitinen, violoncello and Väinö Jalkanen, piano
November 18, 2012: Levi, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano, Lauri Sallinen, clarinet,; Juho Laitinen, violoncello and Väinö Jalkanen, piano
New Year's Concert: January 1, 2013: Kuhmo, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano, Lauri Sallinen, clarinet and Väinö Jalkanen, piano
January 3, 2013: Suomussalmi, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano, Lauri Sallinen, clarinet and Väinö Jalkanen, piano
April 26, 2013: Nurmes, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano, Lauri Sallinen, clarinet; Markus Hohti, violoncello and Johanna Tilus, piano
April 27, 2013: Ilomantsi, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano, Lauri Sallinen, clarinet; Markus Hohti, violoncello and Johanna Tilus, piano
April 28, 2013: Joensuu, Finland; Sanna Heikkinen, soprano, Lauri Sallinen, clarinet; Markus Hohti, violoncello and Johanna Tilus, piano
September 26, 2015: Nordic Music Days Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark; Ensemble Scenatet
October 9, 2016: New Music October –festival, Oulu, Finland; Uusinta Ensemble, sol. Meeri Pulakka, soprano
September 23, 2017: White Hall, Helsinki, Finland; Sibelius Academy students, sol. Anna-Maija Oka, mezzo soprano
November 12, 2017: Sinebrychoff Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland; Sibelius Academy students, sol. Anna-Maija Oka, mezzo soprano
April 18, 2018: Finnish Radio, Yle 1; Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano, Lauri Sallinen, clarinet; Markus Hohti, violoncello and Emil Holmström, piano
June 9, 2018 at 12 pm: Särestöniemi Museum, Kittilä, Finland; Curious Chamber Players, cond. Rei Munakata; Aleksi Barrière, director; sol. Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano and Viivi Roiha, aerial acrobatics
June 9, 2018 at 15 pm: Särestöniemi Museum, Kittilä, Finland; Curious Chamber Players, cond. Rei Munakata; Aleksi Barrière, director; sol. Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano and Viivi Roiha, aerial acrobatics
June 19, 2018: Finnish Radio, Yle 1; Curious Chamber Players, cond. Rei Munakata; Aleksi Barrière, director; sol. Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano
October 2, 2018: Finnish Radio, Yle 1; Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano, Lauri Sallinen, clarinet; Markus Hohti, violoncello and Emil Holmström, piano
August 10, 2019: Rauma Festivo, Rauma, Finland; Kaisa Ranta, soprano, Lauri Sallinen, clarinet; Samuli Peltonen, violoncello and Kirill Kozlovski, piano
August 12, 2022: Kamarikesä –festival, Helsinki, Finland; House of Nobility, Helsinki; Aili Ikonen, voice, Laure Paris, clarinet; Lauri Kankkunen, violoncello and Tatu Eskelinen, piano
8.6.2023: Naantali Music Festival; Naantali Church, Naantali, Finland; Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano, Matthew Hunt, clarinet; Amalie Stalheim, violoncello and Joonas Pohjonen, piano

Obsession II (2013)

flute and piano
4'

The work is based on Charles Baudelaire's poem Obsession from the anthology Flowers of Evil. Obsession II was composed as a parallel to a song for soprano and piano with the same title. In the instrumental version the original poem is present only implicitly, but certain words and syllables can be heard also on the surface of the music. Publisher: Uusinta Publishing Company.

Premiere: March 12, 2013: Helsinki Music Centre; Malla Vivolin, flute and Emil Holmström, piano
Debut Concert: September 27, 2014: AutumnFest, Tallinn, Estonia; Uusinta Ensemble; Malla Vivolin, flute and Emil Holmström, piano
September 10, 2017: Kaivos Festival, Outokumpu, Finland; Kaisa Kortelainen, flute and Väinö Jalkanen, piano
February 14, 2023: Rovaniemi Chamber Music Festival; Korundin Concert Hall, Rovaniemi, Finland; Heli Haapala, flute and Laura Heikkilä, piano

Trois poèmes (2013)

string quartet
10'

I Vision
II Désir
III Dépendance

Trois poèmes is a visually evocative trilogy loaded with transiently vivid moments, and is partly based on my Baudelaire song cycle. The delicate and sensual hues of the two first movements release in a tumultuous appassionato in the third movement. The work was commissioned by the Kamus Quartet with the support of Madetoja Foundation. Publisher: Uusinta Publishing Company.

Premiere: August 1, 2013: Our Festival, Tuusula; The Kamus Quartet
June 6, 2015: Silence Festival, Finland; The Kaamos Quartet
August 17, 2015: Festival de Musique Classique d'Uzerche, France; Quartuor Arod
June 23, 2016: University of Music and Performing Arts Wien, Austria; Pauline Kempf Quartet
February 11, 2017: Musica Nova Festival, Helsinki, Finland; The Kamus Quartet
February 22, 2017: Ajassa soi, Finnish Radio Yle 1; The Kamus Quartet
August 9, 2017: Aikamme Musiikkia, Finnish Radio Yle 1; The Kamus Quartet
September 20, 2017: Uudet levyt, Finnish Radio Yle 1; The Kamus Quartet
August 6, 2019: Rauma Festivo, Rauma, Finland; Siljamari Heikinheimo and Reetta Kataja, violin, Riitta-Liisa Ristiluoma, viola and Samuli Peltonen, cello
May 8, 2020: Helsinki Music Centre, Helsinki, Finland; The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
September 24, 2020: Culture House Korundi Concert Hall, Rovaniemi, Finland; Lapland Chamber Orchestra
February 20, 2021: Snellman Hall, Kokkola, Finland; Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchesta Concert Season; Tempera Quartet
January 12, 2023: Sibelius Academy Concert Series; Sibelius Academy Concert Hall, Helsinki, Finland; Kamus String Quartet
July 10, 2023: Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival; Kuhmo Arts Centre, Kuhmo, Finland; Kamus String Quartet

Siimes (2017)

wind quintet
13'

I In the Water
II Flash
III In the Ashes

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

Siimes is my second wind quintet and is based on the saxophone concerto Saivo. The title of the work suggests an allegorical hiding place deep in the forest, from where one can easily observe the surrounding reality. The first movement flows and swirls like diving under water, at times changing direction and always bubbling merrily. The second movement’s ethereal shimmering culminates into the last movement’s mighty chord pillars that pile up on one another like an ash cloud. Siimes is dedicated to Auriga Wind Quintet’s flautist Heli Haapala, who commissioned the work with the support of the Sibelius Foundation.

Premiere: September 10, 2017: Rovaniemi, Finland; Auriga Wind Quintet
April 3, 2018: Saariselkä, Finland; Lapland Chamber Orchestra Wind Quintet
April 8, 2018: Culture House, Smørum, Denmark; Esbjerg Ensemble
April 11, 2018: Alvar Aalto Library, Vyborg, Russia; Esbjerg Ensemble
April 15, 2018: Tampere Biennale, Finland; Esbjerg Ensemble
April 18, 2018: Syddansk Musikkonservatorium, Esbjerg, Denmark; Esbjerg Ensemble
November 7, 2018: Culture House Orrela, Teuva, Finland; Pohjamaa Wind Quintet
November 8, 2018: Seinäjoki Hall, Seinäjoki, Finland; Pohjamaa Wind Quintet
April 4, 2019: Wind Music Days, Oulu, Finland; Helmikvintet
November 22, 2019: RUSK Festival, Pietarsaari, Finland; Janne Thomsen, flute, Christoffer Sundqvist, clarinet, TBA, oboe, TBA, bassoon and József Hárs, french horn
August 21, 2020: Laurentius Hall, Lohja, Finland; Lohja City Orchestra
September 16, 2021: Seinäjoki Hall, Seinäjoki, Finland; Seinäjoki City Orchestra
November 28, 2021 UK premiere: Purcell Room, London UK; London Philharmonic Orchestra
June 8, 2023: Naantali Music Festival; Naantali Church, Naantali, Finland; Niamh McKenna, flute, Takuya Takashima, oboe; Matthew Hunt, clarinet, Jaakko Luoma, bassoon and Tanja Nisonen, horn

The Way There... (Is Sand Or Some Other Sounding Substance) (2009)

wind quintet
11'

I Allegro furioso – Adagio
II Largamente
III Con moto
IV Allegro – Adagio – Allegro

The Way There... (Is Sand Or Some Other Sounding Substance) consists of four miniature movements, each of which features a different instrument in the leading role. The whirring scenes of the first and last movements are framing the lyrical second and the undulating third movement. The title of the work has its origins in Finnish poet Sirkka Turkka's melancholy yet hopeful poem Tämä surumieli (This sorrowing mind) from the anthology Vaikka on kesä (1983). The Way There... is dedicated to the wind quintet Pasaati, who also commissioned the piece. Publisher: Uusinta Publishing Company.

Premiere: December 22, 2009: Mission Church, Helsinki; The Pasaati Wind Quintet
February 7, 2010: Lauttasaari Church, Helsinki; The Meteora Wind Quintet
February 10, 2010: Turku, Finland; The Meteora Wind Quintet
February 14, 2010: Rauma, Finland; The Meteora Wind Quintet
September 15, 2010: Rovaniemi, Finland; Lapland Chamber Orchestra Wind Quintet
September 16, 2010: Muonio, Finland; Lapland Chamber Orchestra Wind Quintet
May 25, 2011: Inaugural Concert of Korundi House of Culture; Rovaniemi, Finland; Lapland Chamber Orchestra Wind Quintet
June 14, 2013: Kallio-Kuninkala Chamber Music Festival, Järvenpää, Finland; Zagros Ensemble
February 9, 2014: Vaasa, Finland; Vaasa City Orchestra Wind Quintet
February 28, 2016: Helsinki Music Centre Organo Hall, Finland; The Helmikvintet Wind Quintet
February 8, 2017: Jyväskylä City Hall, Finland; Jyväskylä Sinfonietta Wind Quintet
October 21, 2017: Colori Wind Quintet; Porvoo Church, Finland
October 24, 2017: Colori Wind Quintet; Wäinö Aaltonen Museum, Turku, Finland
November 18, 2017: Studion Konsert & Kongress, Linköping, Sweden; Crusellkvintetten, Östgötamusiken
August 23, 2020: Helsinki Festival; Yle Teema (TV broadcast without live audience); The Helmikvintet Wind Quintet
November 4, 2021: Esbjerg Ensemble; Cafe Orsted, Esbjerg, Denmark

There is more light in this room when you are here (2018)

saxophone quartet
11'

I At the bottom of darkness
II See how the light shines within me

Publisher: Edition Wilhelm Hansen

There is more light in this room when you are here is a fervently optimistic mood piece embodying the core themes of my song cycle The Lustful Mother. The title refers to another person – maybe a lover, child or friend – whose existence makes life more meaningful. In the first movement, the music wanders through the twilight, and the solitary recitation of the tenor sax is framed by answering sighs from the soprano and alto. In the second movement, the full quartet joins in the same hopeful song, that, endlessly swaying and discreetly circling, fills the whole space with its light. The work was commissioned by the Arcis Saxophone Quartet, to which it is dedicated.

Premiere: April 23, 2020: Allerheiligen Hofkirche, Munich, Germany; Arcis Saxophone Quartet

Tenderness (2022)

piano
5'

Tenderness is a study in sound. Though imperceptible, immaterial and ephemeral, tenderness provides sustenance for all humankind. We all need tenderness – yet many never receive it. Alternating in the work are different jingling and gossamer textures that gradually converge into timbral clouds before finally dispersing in a down-to-earth hymn. I wrote the piece for the Fifth International Maj Lind Piano Competition 2022, with our smallest baby boy in my lap.

Premieres: October 20, 2022: The Fifth International Maj Lind Piano Competition; Hyelee Kang, piano; Hao Wei Lin, piano; Ke Ma, piano; Jonathan Mak, piano; David Munk-Nielsen, piano; Misora Ozaki, piano; Sibelius Academy Concert Hall, Helsinki, Finland
October 21, 2022: The Fifth International Maj Lind Piano Competition; Yuewen Yu, piano; Aleksei Zaitsev, piano; Michelle Candotti, piano; Kevin Chow, piano; Bogdan Dugalić, piano; Théotime Gillot, piano; Sibelius Academy Concert Hall, Helsinki, Finland

Without a Trace (2020)

piano
14'

Without a Trace is a solo work that looks at the nature still totally undefiled. Some peoples have succeeded in living from one millennium to another leaving hardly a trace on their environment, and they still possess the wisdom brought by a symbiotic relationship with nature. My work was inspired by the painting Immortal Prints (1978) by US artist Richard Pousette-Dart and the poem the head scatters from the collection Girddán, Seivvodan (1999) by Sámi poet Nils-Aslak Valkeapää with which I associated it in my mind. In my piece, quiet, listening episodes give way to a swiftly-flowing stream gliding steadfastly through time. Without a Trace is dedicated to pianist Paavali Jumppanen and was commissioned by the US modern art museum The Phillips Collection.

Premiere: April 18, 2021: The Phillips Collection, Washington DC, United States of America; Paavali Jumppanen, piano
January 8, 2023: Särestö Chamber Music Concert Series; Korundi Concert Hall, Rovaniemi; Paavali Jumppanen, piano
January 12, 2023: Sibelius-Academy Concert Hall, Helsinki, Finland; Paavali Jumppanen, piano
January 19, 2023: Melartin Concert Hall, Savonlinna, Finland; Paavali Jumppanen, piano
March 12, 2023 Australian premiere: Adelaide Festival, Australia; UKARIA Cultural Centre, Mount Barker Summit, Adelaide; Paavali Jumppanen, piano
May 28, 2023: Recital, University of West Australia, Perth, Australia; Paavali Jumppanen, piano

The Lustful Mother's Heart (2020)

viola
6'

The Lustful Mother’s Heart is a solo work that plumbs the depths of one of the most fundamental human instincts – the tie between a mother and her new-born child that, as day follows day, becomes less part of its mother’s body. The work develops themes from my song cycle The Lustful Mother in which long solo viola passages strike to the very heart of down-to-earth, natural womanhood. The Lustful Mother’s Heart was born at a very special moment in my life when my second child was spending his first weeks in this world. The viola song kept company with us night and day, dark and deep-rooted, at times broadening out into a hymn, weaving into our fate as through a dream. The Lustful Mother’s Heart is dedicated to violist Ellen Nisbeth, who also commissioned it.

Premiere: February 14, 2020: Konserthuset Stockholm, Sweden; Ellen Nisbeth, viola
April 14, 2020: Klubb Krinolin, Malmö, Sweden; Ellen Nisbeth, viola
November 20, 2021: Arctic Chamber Music Festival; Mine No. 3, Longeyarbyen, Norway; Ellen Nisbeth, viola
May 22, 2022: Brighton Festival; Brighton, United Kingdom; Riot Ensemble (Helene Clement, viola)

...et elles entonnèrent un chant (2015)

accordion
5'

…et elles entonnèrent un chant (in English ...and they began to sing) is a deeply contemplative yet hopeful vision of Sami poet Rauni Magga Lukkari’s poem ”They walked side by side, mother and daughter” from the anthology "The Time of the Lustful Mother" (2013). The poem illustrates in a magical way the strength of the northern women as well as the strong mutual bond between the generations. In the heart of the multi-layered music lies as a cantus firmus a well-known hymn in Scandinavia, ”Summer Hymn”, that also the protagonists of the poem join to sing. The piece was commissioned by the Festival de Musique d’Uzerche with the support of Teosto and is dedicated to the accordionist Vincent Lhermet.

Publisher: Modus musiikki

Premiere: August 14, 2015: Festival du Musique d'Uzerche, France; Vincent Lhermet, accordion
August 15, 2015: Festival de Musique Classique d'Uzerche, France; Meet the composer: Outi Tarkiainen; Vincent Lhermet, accordion
January 11, 2016: Paris, France; Vincent Lhermet, accordion
March 8, 2016: Conservatory of Paris, France; Vincent Lhermet, accordion
August 25, 2016: Rovaniemi, Finland; Heidi Luosujärvi, accordion
October 1, 2016: Langenfeld, Germany; Heidi Luosujärvi, accordion
October 8, 2016: New Music October –festival, Oulu, Finland; Veli Kujala, accordion
October 23, 2016: Essen, Germany; Heidi Luosujärvi, accordion
December 20, 2016: Folkwang Universitet der Künste, Essen-Werden, Germany; Heidi Luosujärvi, accordion
August 25, 2017: Taipalsaari Church, Finland; Heidi Luosujärvi, accordion
September 10, 2017: Kaivos Festival, Outokumpu, Finland; Henrik Sandås, accordion
September 24, 2017: Akkordeonherbst, Gelsenkirchen, Germany; Heidi Luosujärvi, accordion
October 20, 2017: Finnish Radio, Yle 1; Veli Kujala, accordion
October 25, 2017: Kuopio City Hall, Kuopio, Finland; Henrik Sandås, accordion
October 26, 2017: Hannikainen Hall, Nurmes, Finland; Henrik Sandås, accordion
July 27, 2019: Altmark Festspiele, Arendsee, Germany; Heidi Luosujärvi, accordion
July 28, 2019: Altmark Festspiele, Arendsee, Germany; Heidi Luosujärvi, accordion
September 16, 2019: Ämmänsaari Parish Hall, Suomussalmi, Finland; Henrik Sandås, accordion
September 17, 2019: Kuhmo Arts Centre, Kuhmo, Finland; Henrik Sandås, accordion
September 18, 2019: Aatos, Sotkamo, Finland; Henrik Sandås, accordion
September 19, 2019: Kouta Concert Hall, Kajaani, Finland; Henrik Sandås, accordion

Sans paroles (2012)

clarinet
8'

The solo clarinet work Sans paroles is a song without words. The piece consists of long gliding phrases interspersed with playful and sometimes jarring rhythms. The piece is dedicated to the clarinetist Lauri Sallinen. Publisher: Uusinta Publishing Company.

Premiere: December 5, 2011: KLANG Concert Series, Helsinki Music Centre; Mikko Raasakka, clarinet
Debut Concert: May 8, 2012: Helsinki Music Centre; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
November 16, 2012: Sodankylä, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
November 17, 2012: Rovaniemi, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
November 18, 2012: Muonio, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
November 18, 2012: Levi, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
April 26, 2013: Nurmes, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
April 27, 2013: Ilomantsi, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
April 28, 2013: Joensuu, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
June 15, 2013: Ingria, Russia; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
June 17, 2013: White Nights of Carelia Festival, Petrozavodsk, Russia; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
June 19, 2013: St.Petersburg, Russia; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
June 6, 2015: Silence Festival, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
August 15, 2015: Festival de Musique Classique d'Uzerche, France; David Campbell, clarinet
November 10, 2015: City University London, London, United Kingdom; David Campbell, clarinet
January 11, 2016: Cité International des Arts, Paris, France; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
August 26, 2016: Kaivos-festival, Outokumpu, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
September 26, 2016: NCCA, Moscow, Russia; Moskow Ensemble contemporary music; Oleg Tantsov, clarinet
November 19, 2016: Lux Musicae Festival, Siuntio, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
June 7, 2017: Silence Festival, Kaukonen, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
July 18, 2017: Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
August 30, 2017: Helsinki Festival, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
August 31, 2017: Helsinki Festival, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
March 28, 2018: Tampere Biennale, Tampere, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
July 31, 2018: Crusell Week, Uusikaupunki, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
January 3, 2019: Kuhmo Winter, Kuhmo, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
November 13, 2019: Ivalo Church, Ivalo, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
November 14, 2019: Inari Church, Inari, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
November 26, 2019: Sodankylä Church, Sodankylä, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
December 1, 2019: Utsjoki Church, Utsjoki, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
July 27, 2020: Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival - streamed event; Kuhmo Church, Kuhmo, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
September 14, 2021: Concert of Seinäjoki City Orchestra; Hugo Hall, Seinäjoki, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet
October 15, 2021: The Finnish Soloists' Association; Temppeliaukio Church, Helsinki, Finland; Lauri Sallinen, clarinet

Thy Words, Submerged In Stone (2011)

violoncello
8'

Sanasi, kiveen uponneet (in Engl. Thy Words, Submerged In Stone) is a vivid, energetic, but also deeply contemplative solo work. The piece plays with the traditional instrumental opportunities of cello, from time to time offering the performer a virtuosic challenge. The contemplative polyphonic sections alternate with flashy scherzo passages. The title of the piece refers to the joy that arises from trust between humans beings. Publisher: Uusinta Publishing Company.

Premiere: May 2, 2011: Sibelius Academy Concert Hall, Helsinki; Sami Mäkelä, violoncello
November 16, 2012: Sodankylä, Finland; Juho Laitinen, violoncello
November 17, 2012: Rovaniemi, Finland; Juho Laitinen, violoncello
November 18, 2012: Muonio, Finland; Juho Laitinen, violoncello
November 18, 2012: Levi, Finland; Juho Laitinen, violoncello
April 26, 2013: Nurmes, Finland; Markus Hohti, violoncello
April 27, 2013: Ilomantsi, Finland; Markus Hohti, violoncello
April 28, 2013: Joensuu, Finland; Markus Hohti, violoncello
August 15, 2015: Festival de Musique Classique d'Uzerche, France; Ivan Karizna, violoncello
October 8, 2016: New Music October –festival, Oulu, Finland; Riina Salminen, violoncello
April 9, 2017: Chamber Music Concert, Oulu Sinfonia, Oulu, Finland; Riina Salminen, violoncello
July 5, 2017: Time of Music Festival, Viitasaari, Finland; Markus Hohti, violoncello
July 25, 2017: Our Festival, Järvenpää, Finland; Ulla Lampela, violoncello
October 26, 2018: Finnish Radio, Yle 1; Markus Hohti, violoncello
November 19, 2019: RUSK Festival, Pietarsaari, Finland; Senja Rummukainen, violoncello

Until the Stone Splits (2008)

violin
5'

Kunnes kivi halkeaa (in Engl. Until the Stone Splits) is a kind of modern threnody. The piece is a musical portrait of Finnish poet Sirkka Turkka's poem "Kipu ei kasva mitään" from the anthology Vaikka on kesä (1983). In the poem the narrator laments her longing for her deceased mother. The piece is dedicated to the violinist Saana Uksila. Publisher: Uusinta Publishing Company.

Premiere: November 29, 2008: Sibelius Academy Chamber Music Hall, Helsinki; Saana Uksila, violin
November 30, 2008: Cygnaeus Gallery, Helsinki; Saana Uksila, violin
February 7, 2014: Hannover, Germany; Linnea Hurttia, violin
August 15, 2015: Festival de Musique Classique d'Uzerche, France; Fuki Fujie, violin
February 19, 2016: University of Fine Arts & Music, Nagoya, Japan; Linnea Hurttia, violin
February 20, 2016: Tokyo, Japan; Linnea Hurttia, violin
April 16, 2016: Tampere Biennale, Finland; Maria Puusaari, violin
June 11, 2016: Silence Festival, Finland; Minna Pensola, violin
March 2, 2017: The National Library of Finland, Helsinki; Siljamari Heikinheimo, violin
May 13, 2017: Club Vakiopaine, Jyväskylä, Finland; Maria Puusaari, violin
November 23, 2019: RUSK Festival, Pietarsaari, Finland; Fredrik Paulsson, violin
August 1, 2020: Our Festival, Tuusula, Finland; Terhi Paldanius, violin
November 4, 2022: FRSO's Red Nose Day -concert, Finnish Television 1; Maria Puusaari, violin; Kati Outinen, actor