Description

Etudes for guitar continues my long collaboration with the Finnish guitarist Patrik Kleemola. The initial idea for a set of new etudes for guitar came up in a conversation I had with Kleemola back in 2017. Our mutual point of view was that contemporary music doesn’t play a substantial part in the repertoire of students in music institutes. In fact, the vast and rich oeuvre of today’s composers is something that students only come across during their academic studies in music. As we see it, the situation is more or less the same around the world. Our wish was to address this issue and contribute to the availability of contemporary music in the repertoires of students, also younger students.

Although Etudes is pedagogically designed to target different playing techniques—both traditional and unconventional—my aim was just as much to compose pieces that would be suitable for concert use by students and professional guitarists alike. The result is a collection of ten etudes covering a wealth of moods, styles and sonic possibilities of a solo guitar.

The technical difficulty level increases gradually as you progress through the etudes. The first etudes are suitable for younger and more experienced students alike, whereas the last etudes are primarily targeted at professional guitarists and students pursuing their professional degree in music.

Since the beginning of this project, Kleemola and I had agreed to make video recordings of each etude, which will be published on Kleemola’s YouTube channel. Targeted to an international audience, each performance video is accompanied by a conversation video with Kleemola and me, where we further explain the pedagogical and musical aims of the individual etudes. These videos will be published each Monday on Kleemola’s YouTube channel from September 27 through November 29, 2021. The videos continue to be accessible on Kleemola's YouTube channel after the premiere period.

Etudes for guitar is dedicated to Patrik Kleemola, and it was written with support from The Finnish Cultural Foundation and The Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

– Markku Klami, 2021

Instrumentation

guit

Category

Works for Solo Instrument

Premiere

Premiere of the whole series on Patrik Kleemola's YouTube channel from September 27 through November 29, 2021.

Kleemola premiered the etudes No. 2, 4, 5 and 6 in his concert on November 11, 2020 at Sibelius Museum, Turku, Finland.

Movements

Etude No. 1: Arioso; Etude No. 2: Memoria (Remembrance); Etude No. 3: Riite; Etude No. 4: Agitato nervosamente; Etude No. 5: Nocturno. Väre (Ripple); Etude No. 6: Puro (Stream); Etude No. 7: Unisono; Etude No. 8: Avautuen (Unfolding); Etude No. 9: Kangastus (Mirage); Etude No. 10: Roihu (Blaze)

Commisioned by / dedications

Dedicated to Patrik Kleemola

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