The Finnish Institute in Berlin, Germany will arrange a concert series of Finnish contemporary solo works this autumn. Titled “SOOLO”, the concerts will present three Finnish soloists who have specialized in contemporary music – cellists Eeva Rysä and Juho Laitinen, and pianist Joonas Ahonen.

The first concert on 31 October will feature Eeva Rysä playing solo cello music by Kaija Saariaho, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Veli-Matti Puumala as well as works by their younger colleagues, Olli Virtaperko, Jarkko Hartikainen and Jouni Hirvelä. The oldest work is Salonen’s Yta III from 1987, but most of the works have been written in the last few years. The programme includes also E by French composer Mark Andre, a work that Rysä premiered in 2012.

The possibilities of solo cello are explored further in Juho Laitinen’s concert on 27 November. Laitinen, also a composer and a specialist in improvisation and electro-acoustic music, will play solo cello works by Maija Hynninen, Max Savikangas, Pekka Jalkanen and Tapio Tuomela, along with his own works. The works have deep roots in experimental music and electronics is used as a “virtual chamber music partner”.

On 12 December the stage will be taken by pianist Joonas Ahonen, a well-known contemporary music specialist and a current member of Klangforum Wien. Ahonen’s programme is based on modern classics like Anton Webern’s Variationen für Klavier op. 27 (1936), György Ligeti’s Etüden II and Salvatore Sciarrino’s Nocturno Nr. 2 (1998). They are coupled with two virtuosic piano works from Finland, Lauri Kilpiö’s Strata (2002), and Ari Romppanen’s Rho Cas (2005-2006).

The concert series is produced in collaboration with Unerhörte Musik, a well-established Berlin-based weekly concert series of contemporary music. All of the concerts take place in the premises of the Finnish Institute.

The Finnish Institute in Berlin