Description

The composition process of Play was one of the most pleasant ones I've ever experienced. It was commissioned by one of the finest festivals, Kuhmo Chamber Music, for a combination of instruments that I felt comfortable with, and, on top of it all, I knew all along that I would have the opportunity to premiére the piece with the best possible colleagues I could imagine: Asko Heiskanen, clarinet, Marko Ylönen, cello, and Paavali Jumppanen, piano.

Inspiration for the music came easily; my experiences of the Kuhmo festival and the Finnish summer came together in a combination of hectic rhytms, drama, and the summer nights where the sun never sets. My music has always been rhytmical; here I wanted to combine that with broad melodies and lush harmonies, with some reference to American music, due to my studies there some years before.

Knowing in advance who the musicians would be, it was important for me to make the piece enjoyable to play. There are no impossible technical traps, but each part is soloistic in its own way, trying to demonstrate the best of the instrument. All in all, when playing this music (or listening to it), it is important to keep in mind all possible different meanings the title can take.

© Jaakko Kuusisto 8/2002

Instrumentation

cl, vln, vlc, pno

Category

Chamber Works

Opus no.

op. 10

Premiere

Asko Heiskanen, clarinet, Jaakko Kuusisto, violin, Marko Ylönen, cello, Paavali Jumppanen, piano, Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, July 21, 1998.

Commisioned by / dedications

Commissioned by the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival.

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Archive number

MF14600

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