Markku Luolajan-Mikkola

Markku Luolajan-Mikkola

We welcome Markku Luolajan-Mikkola as our new Artistic Director as of 2010. Why is the orchestra now called the Finnish Baroque Orchestra?

The former name, The Sixth Floor Orchestra, was amusing and different, but it said nothing about us, what we do or the music we play. Having ‘Finnish’ in our name pinpoints us and our work on the world map: in 2010 we are giving concerts in at least 12 different places in Finland and in the future we’ll hopefully do so all over Finland.

The Finnish Baroque Orchestra performs music on the instruments of the period in which the music was composed – not only Baroque, but also Classical, Romantic and new. Our musical roots are, however, in the Baroque. ‘Baroque Orchestra’ is an established name for an orchestra playing on period instruments. A symphony orchestra does, after all, not only play symphonies.

What is the Orchestra’s core philosophy?

Fibo plays on period instruments and splits up into different ensembles to perform music from the 16th century to the present day. Ensembles performing on period instruments are often associated with authenticity and a striving to recreate an era past. But at Fibo we try to be creative, and to show early music in a new light. Though we use the cultural history of the era in question as a source of inspiration, the audible result is open and not determined by some set model. Even if we did know precisely how music was performed in days gone by, exact copying would be contrary to the spirit of Western art. An approach that leaves the interpretation open is more faithful to the performance practice of Baroque music.

Improvisation does not necessarily mean only playing new notes; rather, momentary inspiration should extend to all the parameters of music, from dynamics to timbre.

What has been important to Fibo in the recent past and what will the repertoire focus on in the future?

We have now completed the Beethoven and Contemporaries cycle and new challenges await the Orchestra: under its Principal Guest Conductor Georg Kallweit Fibo will be concentrating on its core expertise: Baroque music.

One of our long-term goals is to perform the J.S. Bach cantatas in Finland, and where possible abroad as well.

With Antti Tikkanen as our leader we will continue our excursions into later repertoire.

What is your attitude to new music?

It’s difficult to imagine a bright future for any instrument unless new music is created via ground-breaking interpretations, improvisation and new compositions. Fibo premieres works each year. The importance of period-instrument orchestras is not confined merely to concerts performed on such instruments.

The attitude of other musicians to early music has also become considerably more richly nuanced in the past few decades. The “discoveries” by period players have become widely integrated with musical culture in general. Meanwhile, the technical skills of period players have improved to correspond to those of modern players. Fibo is trying to maintain this interaction by, for example, inviting along distinguished conductors. John Storgårds will be guest conducting the Orchestra at its concert on May 15, 2011 and Hannu Lintu, Juha Kangas and Sakari Oramo will be appearing with Fibo in the future.

What does internationalism mean to the Orchestra?

We have guests from abroad during the Vantaa Music Festival in particular. Sometimes there may be musicians in the guest ensembles who will perhaps add new perspectives on Fibo’s know-how.

What does the national role of the Finnish Baroque Orchestra mean in practice?

Fibo will continue operating in the Helsinki region – concerts will be held in Helsinki as before, we began the Vantaa Music Festival in August 2010, and the Clementi fortepiano purchased for the Sello Hall in Espoo means music of the Romantic era can be reassessed on a period instrument. Outside the Helsinki region the Orchestra arranges education projects in different parts of Finland. We also try to make it possible to hold orchestral concerts in smaller localities.

Fibo is also trying to make live music accessible to people who cannot get to concerts. Our aim is to reach out to people in anything from day nurseries to old people’s homes.

Presumably “House Music” is part of your national project? What exactly is it?

Baroque music was not primarily composed for concert halls, and some of it is ill-suited to big spaces. In 2010 Fibo began a “House Music” scheme in which individual players or small early music groups go out into music-lovers’ homes or other intimate venues. This is part of a broader striving to re-evaluate the relationship between listener and performer. The musician abandons the platform and footlights and gets in among the audience. House Music was first introduced at the 2010 Helsinki Festival.

Has the Orchestra got any other exciting new ventures in store?

Another project along the same lines is the “Listen and Laze” concerts where people can laze in comfort while enjoying the impact of the music. They’re even allowed to snooze at these concerts.

Could you say a bit about the instruments you play? Is it true that the violins have gut strings?

So why period instruments? It’s more a question of the authenticity. Many instruments have altered so much that they can be regarded as completely new instruments. Early music can certainly be adapted for modern instruments, but the adaptation should supplement the original, not replace it.

In speaking of period instruments we may nowadays also mean a way of trimming the instrument, such as the violin bridge, tailpiece or strings, which really are made of sheep’s gut. Or it may mean a completely different instrument. A piano is not a modern harpsichord. The only thing a period instrument may have in common with its modern counterpart is the name, sometimes the material from which it is made and the way the sound is produced: blowing into a double reed or a mouthpiece. The Baroque traverso, Baroque oboe and Baroque trumpet are different instruments from their modern counterparts.

You have also launched a festival in Vantaa. What sort of repertoire do you perform there?

At the Vantaa Music Festival we perform anything that can be played on period instruments or sung. Though we can’t perform everything every year, the theme for 2010 was richness and breadth, music spanning over a thousand years. We set off with 18th century folk tradition and by the end of the day were roaming the worlds of French Baroque and the music of the present. On the way we took in Classical, Romantic, early Italian, polyphony, church music, secular songs, and so on.

The theme of the 2011 festival is instruments plucked with the fingers and/or a plectrum.

Markku Luolajan-Mikkola (b. 1957) studied cello with Arto Noras at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where he received his diploma in 1983. An interest in baroque music led him to summer courses with Laurence Dreyfus and later to Holland, where he studied with Wieland Kuijken and Jaap ter Linden at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and received postgraduate diplomas in viola da gamba and baroque cello in 1992.

Markku Luolajan-Mikkola has earned distinction as a recital soloist and chamber musician. He is a founder member of the celebrated Phantasm viol quartet. His engagements include appearances in Europe, America and Asia. The Finnish Broadcast Company honoured him as 'Musical act of the year 2003' which was awarded after his 'Gambaa!' recital series of French baroque music: he gave c. 50 recitals, playing numerous different programs. A special interest of Luolajan-Mikkola's is contemporary music commissioned for the bass viol.

Markku Luolajan-Mikkola's solo and chamber music recordings have received enthusiastic critical acclaim, and are available on the Alba, AVIE, BIS, Simax, Channel Classics, Decca, GMN and Toccata Classics labels. On three occasions his recordings have been nominated for a Gramophone Award, two of which went on to win: Henry Purcell Fantasies in 1997 and Orlando Gibbons Consort for viols in 2004, both played by Phantasm. Recordings have also been noted as Editor's Choice (Gramophone), Recording of the Month (Rondo magazine) and Best Recordings of the Year (Helsingin Sanomat) as well as Diapason d'or and Choc du Monde de la Musique.

In the 1980's Markku Luolajan-Mikkola dedicated himself to teach cello playing and many of his former students are now active in various fine European orchestras and chamber ensembles. He is currently teaching at the Sibelius Academy. In 2002 he founded the Lu-Mi Strings company, producing fine hand made baroque instruments in Beijing.

 

 

Last Updated on Monday, 16 January 2012 18:26