Saturday 25.7.

Saturday 25.7.2026

10.00 Kuhmo Arts Centre/Cafeteria Juttua

The Heart of the Day - Composer Osmo Tapio Räihälä talks about the day's program (this session will in Finnish, admission free).

Saturday 25.7.2026

58. 11.00 Kuhmo Arts Centre — €33/25

Anniversary banquet: something sweet and a dessert wine

The etiquette on a bottle of Arietta wine (Hudson Vineyards, Napa Valley, wine maker John Kongsgaard) displays a couple of bars of the Arietta theme from the manuscript of Beethoven’s last piano sonata. When I was asked to compose a piece in honour of this fabulous wine, I naturally decided that this theme should have a key role. But whereas Beethoven produces a set of rigorous variations with a steadily increasing intensity curve, my Kongsgaard Variations are more like meditations, with no directional process.

Anders Hillborg

Anders Hillborg (1954—):

Kongsgaard Variations for string quartet (2006)

Jean Sibelius (1865—1957):

Mazurka, Op. 81 No. 1 for violin and piano (1915)

Jean Sibelius (1865—1957):

Rondino, Op. 81 No. 2 for violin and piano (1917)

Francis Poulenc (1899—1963):

Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano (1928 edited by Sandro Caldini)

Interval

Felix Mendelssohn (1809—1847):

String Octet in E flat, Op. 20 (1825)

Saturday 25.7.2026

59. 15.00 Tuupala Primary School — €28/21

Hair of the dog - Dagen efter

Your pulse is racing, your head is throbbing. Salt, water, painkillers. A moment’s oblivion. Your body feels heavy, your forehead finally relaxes, your eyes stay open without squinting. Survival. Never again. What a ridiculous promise.

Paul Hindemith (1895—1963):

Rasendes Zeitmass. Wild. Tonschönheit ist Nebensache from Sonata No. 2, Op. 25 No. 1 for viola (1922)

Alfred Schnittke (1934—1998):

Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano 'Quasi una Sonata' (1968)

Philip Glass (1937—):

Etude No. 2 for piano (1994)

Erik Satie (1866—1925):

Gymnopédie No. 1 for piano (1888)

Mikhail Glinka (1804—1857):

Trio pathétique in D minor for clarinet, bassoon and piano (1832)

Saturday 25.7.2026

60. 18.00 Kuhmo Arts Centre — €33/25

Happy birthday! Meta4 at 25

The Meta4 String Quartet invites our esteemed guests to join us on a journey through the history of the string quartet from its birth in the courts of the 18th century to the hustle and bustle of modern life. Guiding us on this journey is the composer Osmo Tapio Räihälä, whose book ‘Why is New Music so Difficult’ was awarded the Finlandia Prize for Non-Fiction in 2021.

Luigi Boccherini (1743—1805):

Minuetto from String Quintet in E, Op. 11 No. 5 (G. 275) (1771)

Joseph Haydn (1732—1809):

Poco Adagio - Cantabile from String Quartet in C, Op. 76 No. 3 'Emperor' (1797)

W. A. Mozart (1756—1791):

Molto allegro from String Quartet in G, K. 387 (1782)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770—1827):

Grave ma non troppo - Allegro from String Quartet No. 16 in F, Op. 135 (1826)

Fanny Mendelssohn (1805—1847):

Adagio ma non troppo from String Quartet in E flat (1834)

Robert Schumann (1810—1856):

Assai agitato from String Quartet No. 3 in A, Op. 41 No. 3 (1842)

Interval

Maurice Ravel (1875—1937):

Allegro moderato from String Quartet in F (1902–03)

Alban Berg (1885—1935):

Allegro misterioso from Lyric Suite (1925–26)

Leoš Janáček (1854—1928):

Andante - Con moto - Allegro from String Quartet No. 2 'Intimate Letters' (1928)

Amy Beach (1867—1944):

Movement from String Quartet, Op. 89 (1921–29)

Béla Bartók (1881—1945):

Scherzo from String Quartet No. 5 in B flat (1934)

Dmitry Shostakovich (1906—1975):

Allegro non troppo from String Quartet No. 3 in F, Op. 73 (1946)

Kaija Saariaho (1952—2023):

Fleurs de neige from Neiges (1998, arr. for string quartet by composer 2013)

Jaakko Kuusisto (1974—2022):

Movement from Play III, Op. 21 (2008)

The programme is published in January 2026. The festival reserves the right to modify the program and line-up. Programme notes by Minna Pensola and Antti Tikkanen unless otherwise stated. English translations by David Hackston.