Katrina Chamber Music Festival 5. - 10. August 2024

Åland 

6 days, 16 events, 9 concert places in the Åland Islands.
The programme includes free concerts and meetings with musicians.

Artistic Director: Cecilia Zilliacus (violin)

Theme: “NIGHT”

“We shall not sleep away the summer night, it’s too light and warm. No, we shall walk under leafy birches, silent and arm in arm...”
(Original text in Norwegian: Aslaug Låstad Lygre, Music: Geirr Tveitt)

Katrina 2024 will not be sleeping away the summer night; we are making the most of it—but not just the nighttime!

• Night, when everything rests, thoughts run free and dreams drift away to the most surprising places. Noises calm down... but the night is not quiet—you can hear that it is night!
• Night, the time between the pub closing and the bakery’s first dough hooks!
• Night, when the witching hour brings out monsters, both inner and outer, that cannot be seen during the day...
• Night, a source of inspiration over the ages for many artists, writers and not least composers, who have written serenades, nocturnes, lullabies...

Arnold Schoenberg’s 150^th birthday will be celebrated during Katrina 2024, and his epic “Transfigured Night” will be performed at a night concert. In addition, soprano Kerstin Avemo will perform in the unique works “Pierrot Lunaire" and String Quartet No. 2.

A few more anniversaries to celebrate: Pehr Henrik Nordgren would have turned 80 in 2024 and Jack Mattsson 70.  Carita Holmström also turns 70 this year.

Lotta Wennäkoski and Steingrimur Rohloff are composers in residence, and each are contributing a new piece to be performed by the Zilliacus Quartet (Cecilia Zilliacus and Julia-Maria Kretz on violin, Ylvali McTigert Zilliacus on viola and Kati Raitinen on cello) and guitarist Petri Kumela. There will also be several other works by both composers. Rohloff’s successful piece “Die 4 Himmelsrichtungen” (“The 4 Cardinal Directions) will be performed by Messiaen Quartet Copenhagen (Malin William-Olsson on violin, Kristoffer Hyldig on piano, Carl-Oscar Østerlind on cello, Viktor Wennesz on clarinet).

Children’s concert: After its success in 2023, Katrina will hold a children’s concert with Elin Manselin again this year, this time with night music from Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” in the company of lively nocturnal animals—how about a piece about a rat or an owl!?

The successful duo of Emil Holmström on piano and violinist Eriikka Maalismaa will perform pieces by Schumann from their acclaimed recording, as well as other musical delights. Vivaldi’s flute concerto “La Notte” will resound with flautist Sara Hammarström. Sara is one of Sweden’s foremost flautists, especially in the realm of new music. She will also take part in performing Schönberg’s “Pierrot Lunaire”.

Writer and poet Carina Karlsson will host “Nattmackan” or “Late Night Snack”, this summer’s edition of what we have previously called “Kaffekvarnen” or “Coffee Grinder”. Carina has chosen the music and will discuss how she relates to it.

Music professor Mattias Lundberg and music and dream researcher Megan Quinlan, both from Uppsala University, will talk about how music, music creation and dreams are connected.

Dear audience—late risers and sleepyheads, sheep counters, night owls and explorers of the wee hours—enjoy a nightcap and take a sleeping pill, experience sweet dreams and nightmares, abrupt awakenings and gently ringing alarm clocks.

Katrina wishes you a really good night... Sleep on it, then come along for the entire festival week!