Ilari
Laakso
Composer
Kuva: Mari Waegelein
"In Ilari Laakso`s quintet ...et lux perpetua luceat eis (2009) for cello, piano and three percussionists, the music paused, straining its ears, sensing the surroundings. In the first part the powerful strokes that stopped the action took on ritualistic aspects. Towards the end, bright, dreamlike, and innocent music took over. The work ended as if it was reaching towards the light, in silence." (Aki Yli-Salomäki, Helsingin Sanomat 9.6.2011)
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Translations by Donald Adamson
By me about me
“In the house of life, the doors are narrow, you can't get from one room to another with a big load, you have to leave something at every door, in the house of life you have to go on like this, and the doors get narrower and narrower, and lower.”
(Pentti Saarikoski: Euroopan reuna)
COMPOSER
I have a need to compose. For the last ten years I’ve been concentrating on it full-time. Each morning I’ve been able to pick up where I left off the day before, and to take advantage of my subconscious mind’s nocturnal adventures, using them in the musical material I’m working on.
I can imagine that composing is like a reverse pregnancy. First of all you have to suffer all the pains of hell to get started, to get a grip on something, to overcome doubt. Then comes the growth phase, when the feelings of strength and depression alternate, in an ongoing process. When the work is finally born you may experience a moment of elation, a blissful weariness. That’s how a work came into being now, though it’s not finished, for like the stone of Sisyphus, it and everything else you have – and have not – composed will roll back down the hill again. You are back to square one.
The moments of joy come when the musician takes hold of the work and brings it to life.
Production
Ilari Laakso (1952–) is said to be a postmodernist in his music. It has also been said that he builds a bridge between modernism and the Western tradition of art music. Laakso himself says that he is endlessly interested in the universe of a single tune, and that he tries to avoid complexity.
“The world itself is complex enough. The composer’s task is to bring clarity to it – if at all possible.”
Laakso has been an active member of the Finnish Composers' Association since 1990, and also served on its board from 2014 to 2017.
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Laakso’s music encompasses solo works for various instruments, chamber music and songs, but he has also composed a cello concerto and works for symphony orchestra. His music has been performed in Benin (West Africa), England, Spain, Italy, Austria, Scotland, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine, and Spain.
Some works have been recorded on CD and DVD (see discography) and for the Finnish Broadcasting Company (String Quartet, Valse burlesque for violin and piano; also Again, a work for bassoon and piano).
By me about me
AUTHOR
If I don't think “in music”, I think linguistically. If I can't put it into words, I compose. I have put my thoughts into a linguistic form through hundreds of columns, articles, and concert reviews (e.g. Hämeen Sanomat), and that is also part of my teaching and lecturing.
Nowadays I prefer not to write reviews, but I don't want to give up other writing, or lecturing.
Rewievs
“‘Tallella siellä’ is based on Mikael Nyberg’s song ‘Paimenpoika’. The beautiful melodic section is strong and touching in its simplicity. It is effectively contrasted with the rhythmic middle section. Eija Kankaanranta, kantele, Pekka Ahonen, clarinet, and Lauri Voipio, cello, played Laakso’s attractive work, listening to each other, and with attention to balance.”
(Kirsti Vanninen, on the ‘Tallella siellä’ movement of the composition Kaksi katsetta,
Aamulehti 18.3.2006)
...”whereas the bell-like sonorities of the arch-shaped, atmospheric Im of Ilari Laakso rather bring Busoni or Enescu to mind.”
(Martin Anderson in FMQ 2007 about pianist Tuomas Mali`s recording from Im)
By me about me
DIRECTOR
My work between 1978 and 2013 was largely in the field of management and the development of music education (Lapua Music Institute, Riihimäki Music Institute, Tampere Conservatoire, Pirkanmaa, and Tampere Universities of Applied Sciences, Tampere Music Academy). I have tried to make learning accessible to children and young people.
I have also taught and given lectures in Finland and Spain on topics such as the philosophy of art, the development of Western art music through the centuries, and composition. I believe that teaching means learning together with others.
I have also been the artistic and operational director of several music festivals (Lapua Music Week, Riihimäki Summer Concerts, Tampere Biennale). I like to organise musical experiences, not only by composing, but also by organising performances. At its best, a festival forms an artistic whole, whose parts support each other, and which adds up to something unique.