Uusinta Ensemble
Malla Vivolin, flutes
Helmi Malmgren, clarinets
Anna-Sofia Anttonen, bariton saxophone
Emil Holmström, piano
Maria Puusaari, violin
Max Savikangas, viola
Pinja Nuñez, cello
Jarkko Hartikainen, artistic director
Mioko Yokoyama Mineralization, 14’ (2023)
Olli Moilanen Trapeze, 15’ (2023)
Liisa Hirsch Twilights, 15’ (2026, world premiere)
Jouni Hirvelä Hohka, 12’ (2026)
Tara Valkonen die ganze Welt ist nur ein Hospiz, 18’ (2025)
Uusinta Ensemble is a Grammy Award-winning contemporary music phenomenon founded in 1998 in Helsinki, Finland, celebrating the creative diversity of contemporary music.
The name of the ensemble carries several meanings that together define its mission:
(1) “newest” – demonstrated by the world premiere performance of a new work by Liisa Hirsch, which lies at the heart of the programme;
(2) “replay” – demonstrated by the Finnish works that have all not only been commissioned and premiered by Uusinta but are also receiving many subsequent performances by the ensemble; and
(3) “renewal” – demonstrated by the expansion of the concert format in different ways, exemplified by the theatrical piece by Tara Valkonen that concludes the evening.
The other Finnish works are by the 2025 Teosto Prize winner Mioko Yokoyama, the noise- and Gagaku-inspired electroacoustic composer Jouni Hirvelä, and the eclectic, poetic visionary Olli Moilanen.