Akusmata Sound Art Gallery is collaborating with the Minimalism Unbounded! conference and curates content for the Music & Installation Program.

 
 

Minimalism Unbounded! The Fifth International Conference on Minimalist Music

At this conference we will encourage new debates about the sounds and cultural meanings of minimalist music.

Usually associated with the North American style propagated since the 1960s by composers like Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley and La Monte Young, the influence of minimalism on musical life and cross-arts practices extends beyond these now canonical figures and arguably also predates them. This conference will continue to direct focused attention towards the core repertory, but will also encourage work which challenges our assumptions about the boundaries of the style and its significance.

Minimalism Unbounded! will focus above all on the relevance of the minimalist style in the 21st century. The influence of minimalism is especially evident in music performed in multimodal and cross-artistic settings, including film, musical theatre, sound, installation and performance art. It has disseminated and transformed beyond its reductive origins in the musical avant-garde and is today heard in diverse settings, some of them recognisably postminimalist, informed by environmental concerns, inspired by spiritual or mystical ideas, and permeating popular styles and forms including film scores, ambient and drone music, glitch and IDM.

We welcome musicologists and composers, cultural theorists and philosophers, inter-arts researchers and music theorists with a view to stimulating lively debate about the past and current state of the art in minimalist music and cognate artistic practices.

Minimalism Unbounded! will be a dynamic academic and cultural event staged in two cities, Turku and Helsinki. It will include performances of recent and older music, workshops for composers, public talks and debates, and high-level academic presentations and discussions.

Music & Installation Program

Wed 23.9
8:00 pm CYCLES
Sirkkala (lobby between Artium & Minerva buildings), University of Turku
Performers: E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr, Slow Floe, Atte Häkkinen
Terry Riley: Keyboard Studies II (arrangement for two synthesizers), performed by E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr
E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr: Sequencer variations (from Keyboard Studies II)
John Richardson: The Fold (song cycle in five parts), performed by Slow Floe
Atte Häkkinen: Loop impro (solo)

Thu 24.9
9:00 pm EGGS AND BASKETS
Sibelius Museum, Turku
Performers: Veli Kujala accordion, Tom Johnson narrator, and students of TUAS Arts Academy, coached by Mikko Luoma: Orestis Willemen, guitar, Freya Annina Frinschknecht, flute, Vadim Grumeza, violin, Anna-Maria Huohvanainen, violin.Erkki Salmenhaara: Sonatine for Flute and Guitar (10′, 1981)
Morton Feldman: Trio for Flutes (4’,30”, 1972)
Erkki Salmenhhara: Sonatine for Two Violins (12’, 1972)
Kyle Gann: Reticent Behemoth for quarter-tone accordion (6′, 2015, world premiere)
Tom Johnson: Eggs And Baskets for narrator, guitar and violin (12′, 1987)
Philip Glass: Head-on for piano trio (4′, 1967)

Fri 25 Sep
8:30 pm ÄÄNIVÄKEÄ – SOUND PEOPLE
Wegelius hall, Sibelius Academy, Töölönkatu 28, Helsinki
Performers: Eija Kankaanranta, Juulia Pölönen, Emma Kuntsi, Sarah Palu, kantele, Petri Kuljuntausta & Äänikuoro (sound choir), Assi Karttunen harpsichord, Antti Tolvi, pianoAntti Tolvi: Ääniväki (Sound Elves) (25’, 2012)
Hannu Saha: Arndt for 5-string kanteles (5′, 1986), performed by Eija Kankaanranta, Emma Kuntsi & Sarah Palu
Pekka Jalkanen: Toccata for kantele (8′, 1992), performed by Juulia Pölönen
John Bull, In nomine for harpsichord (4′, 16th Century), performed by Assi Karttunen
Katri Nironen: Agadir (extract) (6′, 1965),
Charlie Morrow: Counting to 9 – Toadfish Language (1973), performed by Petri Kuljuntausta & Äänikuoro
John Adams, China Gates (5′, 1977), arr. for kantele and harpsichord
Matthew Whittall: Wine-dark Sea for kantele and harpsichord (15’, 2008) performed by Eija Kankaanranta & Assi Karttunen
Tom Johnson: Counting To Seven (6′, 2012), performed by Petri Kuljuntausta & Äänikuoro

Sat 26.9. 
3:30-5:00 pm
Helsinki Music Centre, main entrance
Meri Kytö: Soundwalk (soundscape listening tour)
6:00-6:40 pm
Akusmata Sound Art Gallery (Tukholmankatu 7K, Helsinki)
Marko Timlin: Musta monoliitti (Black monolite) (30-40′, 2015), solo for äänilevykone.
7:30 pm FOCUS KYLE GANN
Black Box, Helsinki Music Centre
Performers: Emil Holmström, keyboard, Veli Kujala, quarter-tone accordion, Eija Kankaanranta, electric kantele, Antti Ohenoja, Jussi Markkanen, Petteri Kippo, Aleksi Haapaniemi, percussion, Jon-Patrik Kuhlefelt, sound7:30 pm
Kyle Gann interviewed by Matthew Whittall
8 pm
Kyle Gann: Unquiet Night (Mechanical Piano Study No. 10) (16’, 2004)
Tom Johnson: Tango, arrangement for 5-string kantele and accordion (4’, 1984)
Kyle Gann: Reticent Behemoth for quarter-tone accordion (6′, 2015)
Kyle Gann: The Unnameable for keyboard sampler and soundfile (12’, 2012)
Juhani Nuorvala: Concertino for electric kantele and soundtrack (7′, 2000/2014)
Kyle Gann: Snake Dance No. 2 for percussion quartet (12’, 1995)

Wed 23 – Sun 27

SOUND INSTALLATIONS

Juha van Ingen & Janne Särkelä ‘ASLAP. A 1000 year long animated GIF loop’ (Hommagé to John Cage) (2015). Fish Gallery (Alppikatu 17 lh2, Helsinki) Installation open only on Sat 26th, 2-7 pm.

Marko Timlin
‘Bits and Bytes’ (2015). Akusmata Sound Art Gallery (Tukholmankatu 7K, Helsinki)​
Installation open 2-6 pm daily

Petri Kuljuntausta
‘Transporter’ (2015), Sirkkala, University of Turku
Installation open Wed-Fri 8 am-8 pm, Sat-Sun 8 am-4 pm