ARTISTIC PORTFOLIO
Kaija Saariaho: Émilie (2008)
New production premiered at Avanti! Suvisoitto Festival on June 26 and 28, 2025
ÉMILIE, Opera in Nine Scenes, by Amin Maalouf (libretto) and Kaija Saariaho (music).
Pia Freund & Meeri Pulakka, sopranos
Ada Freund & Janne Marja-aho, dance and choreography
Sanni Antikainen, harpsichord
Avanti! Chamber Orchestra
Aliisa Neige Barrière, conductor
Aleksi Barrière, stage direction, dramaturgy, video
Étienne Exbrayat, set and lighting design
Timo Kurkikangas, sound design
Satu Muurinen, costume design
Teija Paananen, tayloring
Alisa Kaksonen, hair and makeup
Rehearsal pianists: Tiina Karakorpi, Elias Miettinen, Joel Papinoja
Production by Kokonainen/Musequal, Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, Dialogia -festivaali ry
Linda Suolahti, artistic curator, executive producer
Sera Syvänen, project coordinator
Anni Kallioniemi, media manager
Unrecorded. - debut album 2023
My debut album Unrecorded. was released in 2023 for Finnish leading classical music record label Alba Records. Previously unrecorded selected works by Finnish female composers' Helvi Leiviskä, Ann-Elise Hannikainen and Cecilia Damström from 1928 to 2016.
Linda Suolahti, violin, Tiina Karakorpi, piano, Mari Viluksela, viola
Unrecorded album series aims to tell the stories of less-heard pieces and to bring overlooked Finnish compositions to life by making manuscripts available as easily accessible recordings. Publishing recordings of marginalised works is crucial as it raises awareness of this beautiful music, leaving it to resonate with future generations.
Second album will be released in 2026.
Kokonainen/Musequal since 2016
From 2016 Kokonainen/Musequal foundation has been spreading the word of equality in music by pointing out unknown and forgotten female composers and composers representing minorities. Commissioning new music, programming premiers outside of the musical canon.
Visit the webpage for more info, videos and photos: www.kokonainenfestival.fi
Composers in residence:
2016-2021 Cecilia Damström
2022-2024 Rouzbeh Rafie
Organization founded and artistically run by Linda Suolahti.
Commissions of new music (since 2016)
Projects with composer Cecilia Damström (www.ceciliadamstrom.com)
CELESTIAL BEINGS (2016) duo for violin and viola, recorded in 2023
https://open.spotify.com/track/6LY3dxxDvsNZ69S0eNqd6H?si=7e05e5e8770f4bfb
https://open.spotify.com/track/14z0hiIfSnLMhaYvMKmi9f?si=53712c6a66444b54
https://open.spotify.com/track/6sfRzXMTMncMcwChDaXaGB?si=89f95737446b43e1
WOMAN'S FATE - TRILOGY (2017-2020), will be recorded in October 2025
I Minna https://ceciliadamstrom.com/minna/
II Aino https://ceciliadamstrom.com/aino/
III Helene https://ceciliadamstrom.com/helene/
The Woman's Fate trilogy tells about the lives and inner lives of Minna Canth, Aino Sibelius and Helene Schjerfbeck. These three represent Finland's most important figures in literature, music and visual arts.
The first part "Minna" is composed for piano quintet and was premiered by Kokonainen/Musequal festival in 2017. Since then there have been several performances, also abroad such as in Sweden and Estonia.
The second part "Aino" is composed for the Pierrot ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano) and premiered in Kokonainen/Musequal festival in 2018.
The last part of the trilogy, "Helene", is composed for wind quartet and piano. "Helene" premiered in the Kokonainen/Musequal festival 2020. The entire trilogy is 90 minutes long. It can be presented as a whole or each work as separate presentations. Every part includes an admissional dance choreography.
Projects with composer Rouzbeh Rafie (www.rouzbehrafie.com)
BASHŌ SONGS (2024)
Instrumentation: Soprano voice, Violin, Viola, Cello & Piano
Text: Matsuo Bashō, In Japanese
Duration : 18' ca.
TRIO D'ARCHI, CINQUE IMMAGINI DA UN CANTO DELLA TENEBRA (String trio, Five images from a twilight song for string trio with electronics (2023) 25'
Rouzbeh Rafie:
“Have you ever wondered what a movement in music is? How does it differ from independent one-movement pieces or different sections of a single piece with the "Attacca subito" annotation at the end? These subtle differences are not just abstract concepts, but tangible parameters that make up sound structures. The string trio strives to create an interconnected network of musical images through various movements that stand on their own yet rely on each other. While they may be closed systems, they alone cannot fully express what needs to be conveyed. Several years ago, I came across a poem by Dino Campana that left an indelible impression on me. Its haunting quality has stayed with me despite my repeated readings and learning about the author's tragic life. The title of this captivating piece is "Il canto della tenebra." My musical trio seeks to portray five vivid images described in the poem through sound.”
Projects with composer Elisar Riddelin (www.elisarriddelin.com)
VUOLAHATAR for string quartet, percussion and machine hammer (2021)
According to one Finnish myth, Vuolahatar was a goddess who became pregnant from the wind and gave birth to iron. The work combines the sound of a machine hammer with the legends of iron. The tape recording is a live recording of my belated father working in his forge. The video recording is a bit poor quality because it is recorded at my fathers memorial service.
IHTIRIEKKO JA SIELUNLINTU solo piece for violin (2016) (dedicated and composed for me), will be recorded in 2025
TASMATAMMI Violin Concerto (2018) dedicated and composed to me, second movement premiered in Helsinki festival. This movement can be performed with two live violins or solo with a pre recorded tape. Score includes a crystal-like sound making porcelain installation by finnish sculpture artist Mari Paikkari.
SUITE FOR VIOLIN AND HARP (2021), premiere broadcasted by Finnish Broadcast Company YLE
Salty - Composing and improvising
I compose music with violin, voice and looper under the artist name Salty. Partly composed, partly improvised. Pieces with lyrics and plain instrumental.
Young Artist of the Spring 2021 (Sibelius Academy alumni concert)
Programme:
Mieczysław Weinberg: Rhapsody on Moldavian themes op 47/1 (8’) (1949)
Kaija Saariaho: Tocar (7’) (2010)
Georges Enescu: Impressions d’enfance Op.28 (25’) (1940)
Bela Bartók: Sonata no. 1 for violin and piano Sz.75 (35’) (1921)
"The programme of the concert is a depiction of estranged souls that wander in parallel through a life coloured by feelings of love and fear and by utter uncertainty. It is up to the listener to decide who these wanderers are. The moods are jarring and violent, yet the pieces also contain a deep solace, beautiful memories and stories of a shared past. These lend the strength to continue. The music is very earthy, and for all its technical complexity it is thus accessible and compelling." -LS
Linda Suolahti, violin
Marko Hilpo, piano
“My restless, mercurial soul
traverses the dark waters staggering,
sometimes skimming the surface,
sometimes touching the seabed.
It glances around lowly like a newborn birch tree.
Human figure, touch – physical or mental –
and its absence
create impressions that make us think,
make us identify,
make us draw conclusions.
A grotesque dance filled with backbeats conjures forth emotion in the musical medley of life
where I lie, longing.
To you, my love. Greetings from the no-man’s-land between love and fear.
– me.”
Poem: Linda Suolahti
Musequal Composer Competition 2021
In 2020 I decided to create an anonymous composer competition to find a new composer in residence for Kokonainen/Musequal. In February 2021, the Musequal Composer Competition took place in Helsinki, Kulttuurikeskus Caisa as part of the Musica nova festival.
37 composers from all over the world applied for the competition, of which 6 were selected for the final.
This competition was a completely unique event in the field of art music, because it is the only composer-in-residence competition in Finland and, as far as we know, the only anonymous competition in the whole world.
Picture: Maarit Kytöharju