Guy Rickards, Gramophone, May 2022
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/fractales
Ensemble Fractales a specialist new music chamber group comprising flautist Renata Kambarova, clarinetist Benjamin Maneyrol, violinist (and occasional viola player) Marion Borgel, cellist Diego Coutinho and pianist Gan Ponte.
The ensemble’s diverse origins (France, Brazil, Uzbekistan) have nurtured their cosmopolitan approach, and the composers featured here hail from France (Claude Ledoux), Italy (Salvatore Sciarrino and Maurizio Azzan) and Estonia (Elis Hallik). This inaugural recording is released to celebrate their 10th birthday in 2022. These works all require Maneyrol to play bass clarinet: indeed, Azzan’s 20-minute- long Of Other Spaces (2017) eschews the regular clarinet altogether – the flute, too, for a piccolo. It takes its cue from a passage in a 1966 lecture by Foucault. At the work’s heart is a passage of an intensity – ferocity, even – that reminded me forcibly of the young Penderecki. Extraordinary as the sonorities are, the structure sprawls somewhat and overall, I did not find the work convincing. Azzan’s spatial dispositions do not really come over well in the otherwise clear recording. The largest work is Claude Ledoux’s Erotique-Lancinante (2018; literally ‘Erotic-Thrilling’), a sonically beguiling triptych also based (at least partly) on a literary quotation, from André Breton. The three movements (the titles translate roughly as ‘Look at me …’, ‘Tell me …’ and “Erotic …’) follow a specific emotional trajectory deriving in part from Rousseou’s painting The Snake Charmer – hence the flute’s central role. I warmed less to Sciarrino’s Arioso a cinque 2O18), which he revised especially for the ensemble in 2019. The textures are too fractured and the arioso eluded me.
Elis Hallik’s To Become a Tree (2016), by contrast, is sharp and to the point, a lyrical study of the continuing conflict between the technological and the natural worlds that inspired Einar Englund’s Blackbird Symphony back in 1947. Fine sound. committed performances, a fascinating listen.
François Mauger, magazine “4’33”, 12.04.2022
“Estonian composer Elis Hallik on the way to the trees”
https://www.4-33mag.com/la-compositrice-estonienne-elis-hallik-sur-la-voie-des-arbres/?fbclid=IwAR3O91qlCM4UiO5clqLABlYpsO3rxfHLSlG1XJkY66w0i9Bb91hOp1gS6wM
To become a tree… Such is the dream of the Estonian composer Elis Hallik , or at least the title of one of her works: To become a tree . The Fractales ensemble has just recorded it on its first disc. Dialogue with the composer about this abrasive and syrupy track, listening to which brings to mind images of growing branches…
What were you thinking when you wrote To become a tree ?
Elis Hallik : Inspiration always comes from the need to find my inner song, to get in touch with it. Music for me is a matter of the heart. For me, this is the essence of creation: to feel the force of inspiration, which leads to the very heart of my song . And this song is always somehow combined with archetypal images and experiences (words, meanings, affects, rituality) as well as current affairs. One such case was, at the time I wrote To become a tree , an article about Peter Wohlleben’s ideas about trees and how they communicate . I think it was even before the release of his book The Secret Life of Trees. I felt very connected to the topic, especially the part of the article where he talked about intuition and how people can intuitively perceive forest health. With the constant development of data-driven industries, it becomes particularly necessary to remember that we must always use our inherent ability to make a decision by integrating different levels of intelligence (intuition, inspiration, ability to distinction).
There was also a Japanese legend , The Secret of the Willow, which will never lose its relevance. The story goes that about 1000 years ago a great temple was built at Sanjūsangen-dō. A willow had to be cut down before it was built. Heitaro, a young farmer, rescued him and unknowingly married the tree spirit. Years passed, they had a child, but one day the tree had to be cut down for the temple to be built. It was there that Heitaro learned that Higo (his wife, whose name means “willow”) was the now deceased willow spirit. Despite all the efforts of the loggers, no one was able to move the cut tree. Only her son, after saying goodbye to his mother, was able to help lead the tree to the river with his little hand. It’s a good story, as it attempts to illustrate the emotional connection between nature and humans.. We must cling to nature with our hearts, otherwise we don’t care what happens to her.
What did you want the listener to feel?
Elis Hallik : It’s always wonderful when the listener finds himself at the very heart of a human experience. I like when the creative process is intuitive, but also analytically well constructed. Crescendo magazine wrote that To become a tree “supports the composer’s disapproval of the attack on our intuitions by such a technological world”. When my musical ideas develop through the piece, for me it is both an intuitive work and a process of calculation. It’s a very fun and playful process most of the time, sometimes painful too, but it seems that the more the composition process is linked to the music itself, the more it allows the music to reflect the surrounding existence, and his motives too. For example, inTo become a tree , I started with small patterns, like swirling notes (I noticed it’s like little seeds floating in the air), then the swirl turned into glides (like a descent towards the ground), slips formed impulses (like a contact with a ground), the impulses descended in a lower register (like rooting). Then I noticed that the whole shape really resembles the growth process of a tree . At the same time, of course, these extra-musical ideas sometimes help to understand the music but they are not necessary; the words simply help to magnify, to give a kind of model for thinking.
The title could pass for a reference to the work of John Luther Adams, the author of Become Ocean and Become Desert . Is that the case ?
Elis Hallik: Become Ocean was written a few years before I wrote my track. There is really an obvious link between these two works; however, I didn’t really know Become ocean , I heard it for the first time last fall, thanks to the National Orchestra of Estonia under the direction of Olari Elts. I keep a very good memory. I’ve always really liked the idea of the intrinsic quality of music having a desired effect on the listener. I like the idea that the structure can also function as an autonomous energy system, a sort of multidirectional sense of time. Time and ambivalence, different aspects of the same sound object, all of this has always fascinated composers, myself included. The ritual aspect of music also seems to have a very strong impact on composers and listeners. The Firehearted and To become a tree have the aspect of a ritual but also bring into play different aspects of the same sound object, considered on several time scales, and this is closely linked to my studies in France and in particular to the music of Gérard Grisey.
To become a tree was written five years ago. Have you continued, since then, to work on the question of ecology?
Elis Hallik : One of my pieces, Born in Waves , created by the Musikfabrik ensemble and Clement Power , is actually about the future of species and the anxiety around them . Like I said, I feel that in order to have some sort of need to save nature, we have to build an emotional connection with it. Then try to share this experience with others… I come from the small island of Kihnu, which is a UNESCO heritage site. I have very fond memories of my childhood: memories of the forest, the sea and a multitude of animal species. It helped me value nature. Today, the changes are visible and tangible: the number of species is declining; sounds, scents and colors no longer exist. When you no longer see those things that used to bring you joy every day, it saddens you and makes you think about what each person could do to help reduce our ecological footprint. What concerns me is that the new generation of children – mine, in particular, to begin with – need contact with nature similar to that which I experienced in my childhood. This connection provides a deeper understanding of life and helps us see the cause and effect relationships around us. We need to ensure that our children have a good emotional connection with nature.
Finally, the disc of the Fractales ensemble which allows us to discover To become a tree, will be released in 2022, when the IPCC announces that we have very little time left to change our lifestyles. Is it a coincidence?
Elis Hallik : It’s a very significant coincidence… There were other notable coincidences around this piece. For example, around the time of the premiere, there were quite remarkable waves of protest against the brutal cutting of forests in Estonia . While we borrow this world from our children and prove unable to preserve nature, the only thing I can give is innovation and creative intuition fueled by emotions. But maybe, when a person is trying to do something, they shouldn’t worry too much about speed; what matters is to move forward, even slowly…
Kevin W Ng , 8 April, 2022, Bachtrack
“A listening journey in six steps: contemporary women composers in Estonia”
https://bachtrack.com/feature-estonian-women-composers-april-2022
“Among the younger generation of composers, Elis Hallik (born in 1986) has achieved particular international success. Hallik studied at the Estonian Academy of Music with Helena Tulve and Toivo Tulev, followed by further studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Lyon, France. She has achieved much success in France, with her pieces performed by L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and featuring in the Manifeste Festival organized by Paris’ IRCAM.
Her chamber work To Become a Tree premiered in 2016 at the International Summer Academy Festival at Vienna’s mdw, written for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. Each instrument seems to exist in its own sonic world, and the piece explores the idea of communication, collaboration, and co-existence inspired by the idea of symbiosis in nature. It begins with all instruments in their upper register before descending into the threatening depths of the bass clarinet, a slow downward glide brings the piece to an abrupt end.
Written amidst the coronavirus pandemic, The Firehearted eventually premiered in 2021. Originally commissioned as part of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra’s Beethoven programme, it draws upon themes from Beethoven’s Leonore overture. Beethoven comes in and out of focus, amplified and distorted by rumbling percussion crashes. It’s witty and somewhat disconcerting, as if seeing Beethoven through a magnifying lens, and displays Hallik’s virtuoso orchestral writing at its most dazzling.”
Simon Cummings, 18 March, 2022, blog 5:4, program “Lent series”
https://5against4.com/2022/03/18/elis-hallik-some-paths-will-always-lead-through-the-shadows-world-premiere/?fbclid=IwAR19qTWRiO8JavE6G7BWGGBWf3f4oSDGPq3jPs9ZqDs3ZxCsf2ttUZ7EKpM%E2%80%8B
The next piece in my Lent Series is concerned with not just the possibility but the occasional necessity of having to progress through darkness. Some Paths Will Always Lead Through the Shadows was composed by Elis Hallik in 2021, and takes as inspiration words by poet Doris Kareva:
Bitter and scarce is the northern light.
The sledge here is drawn by heavy shadows,
the owls and wolves keep watch.
A word crunches between the teeth. [—]
What I’m talking about, is
the dance of the dust mote
in the immeasurable sun.
(translation: Tiina Aleman)
Appropriately, Hallik’s music is both nocturnal and tentative, the members of the ensemble tending to huddle together, their movements consistently twitchy and trembling. In a way, that short description pretty much sums up the entire piece, but there are various aspects that make the music extremely compelling.
First is the balance between this endemic nervousness and an instinctual urge to sing. After an opening minute of drawn-out tones, itchy lower register sounds and high gestural shapes, melodic lines begin to emerge. Once present, they never disappear, leading to what amounts to a tremulous but united lyrical sensibility. As i commented in my original review of the piece, this brings to mind Boulez’s Dérive I (which uses an almost identical line-up of instruments), establishing a lovely paradoxical attitude that’s simultaneous demonstrative and uncertain.
There’s also the fact that, despite moving slowly, Hallik’s material seems surprisingly slippery, hard to get a firm grip on. This is partly due to the fact that the ear is continuously pulled from instrument to instrument – there’s a huge amount of inner detail – as well as, i suspect, a side-effect of the smooth / trembling nature of the music. Another cause might be down to the aspect of the piece that makes it so deeply immersive: the fact that, once begun, the music never relaxes or pauses for even a moment. Its continuity is absolute; all seven players keep going, doggedly, taking turns to apparently gain or lose confidence, to sustain or sing. Yet somehow, an overall stability is maintained, and the combined effect is genuinely mesmeric, lending the music an endless quality, as if it could continue like this ad infinitum. Tensions arise and the ensemble becomes fraught later on, but considering that the entire soundworld of Some Paths Will Always Lead Through the Shadows is a heightened one, dynamic fluctuations seem an inevitable, integral part of the group dynamic, suggesting the ‘shadows’ may be less to do with some unknown external force or presence than a simple consequence of internal stresses and pressure.
The more time i’ve spent with this piece, the more i’ve been captivated by its particular flavour of deepest, darkest lyricism, and by the implication it conveys about the progress that can be made when a group takes the plunge and, despite their fears, just keeps going.
The world première of Some Paths Will Always Lead Through the Shadows was given by the Lithuanian ensemble Synaesthesis in April 2021, at an online concert as part of the first Baltic Music Days.
Farištamo Eller, 14 March, 2022, Muusika
https://www.ajakirimuusika.ee/single-post/kadunud-metsade-kaja?fbclid=IwAR1DWcuwK5HHe-hOda7XNnJlLSvu89rrJC-WcF0Tr9g98TYmHW5JfIcYptw
“Eelkontserdil kõlanud Elis Halliku “To Become a Tree” kõnetas lihtsaimalt ilmselt just oma pealkirja, oma loo tõttu. Teos on kvintetile (flööt/bassflööt, bassklarnet, viiul, tšello ja ettevalmistatud klaver) ning viis mängijat võib orkestri kõrval tunduda vähe. Halliku teos mõjub suurelt ja tugevalt, isegi oma detailsuses ja mõningases õrnuses, ning oli sel õhtul hästi ja võimsalt ka esitatud. Helilooja räägib oma teose tagamaadest, kuidas jalutajad, kes üht vana lehtmetsa reservaati külastades leiavad, et neil süda paisub ja nad tunnevad end seal alati nagu kodus.“To Become a Treeˮ vaatleb igapäevaelu tehnoloogilise singulaarsuse ja biootilise kriisi taustal,” ütleb Elis Hallik.”
Äli-Ann Klooren, 8 October, 2021, Sirp
https://www.sirp.ee/s1-artiklid/c5-muusika/mihklikuu-audiospaa/
“In regards to the new works, Elis Hallik’s The Firehearted, which was performed at ERSO’s opening concert, also left a very deep impression. The conceptual idea of the work is similar to Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia, where well-known pieces of music are embedded in the original work. Hallik has combined her work with Beethoven’s opening movement from Leonore, which in its unaltered form shines, sometimes less and sometimes more, through complex language of sound, and in doing so forms such an exciting and witty work, one that has inadvertently also become programmatic due to these confusing times. Namely, the composer’s spouse finds that The Firehearted reflects how Beethoven’s music was performed during the season in the midst of the crisis and confusion – even in an empty hall. I very much hope that this work will be performed again soon, because one hearing alone will definitely not suffice.”
Sirje Vihma-Normet, 17 September, 2021, Eesti Elu/ Estonian Life
https://eestielu.com/en/culture/173-muusika/12118-erso-95
The world premiere of Elis Hallik’s Firehearted was supposed to be performed last year, during the season dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. Therefore, the strings in the work are largely inspired by the opening movement of Beethoven’s Leonore (Fidelio). According to the composer, at one point she realised that there were not enough of Beethoven’s melodies for wind instruments, and she began adding more abrupt cuts. I was amazed at how masterfully the composer, who is only 35 years old, had written the score. ERSO’s large ensemble, with its captivating and enchanting cascade of orchestral colours, achieved Richard Straussian perfection in their sound. There was also a hinted reference to the coronavirus pandemic – the composer used Wuhan gongs alongside traditional percussion instruments. Although these gongs were small, they were clearly heard over the entire orchestra. According to the composer, the Wuhan gongs are played with various rubber sticks to amplify the upper sound timbre. The faint echo of Wuhan gongs over the colourful orchestra sounded like Death knocking on the door. Listeners wearing masks added tension to the performance – looking down from the balcony, I couldn’t tell who was hiding behind the masks. The applause was raucous! I learned from the programme page that Elis Hallik studied composition under Helena Tulve and that ERSO has previously performed Vanishing Point in the Field of Vision under the direction of Baldur Brönnimann (2017).
In the December 2017 issue of Teater.Muusika.Kino
SAALE KAREDA on the festival Afekt
“We have entered into / are in the process of entering completely new situations, where the old – perhaps at one time even extremely avant-garde mechanisms and methodologies – well-acquired techniques and games no longer work if they have no substantive justification. Empty forms can be technically complex and blinding in terms of their virtue; however, if they are not imbued with spirit and soul, there is nothing left to do with them. The quality of a musical piece and performance is determined by the type of consciousness with which the creator and performer approach the music. The form (cf. also reductionist research), which has been developed in its own way to completeness and perfection, is exhausted and transcended by a higher consciousness, which liberates the spirit from its hardened form. The spirit is allowed to flow, and the obsolete structures that have become obstructions are washed away.
In my imagination, the new works by Elis Vesik and Helena Tulve – played at the opening and closing concerts, respectively – formed an inspiring arc over the festival, radiating the courage to enter a new unknown world (in the above-mentioned key). Upon first hearing Elis Vesik’s work for a large symphony orchestra (consisting of four groups) and recording Punctum concursūs in prospectu / Vanishing Point in the Field of Vision, I immediately perceived an archetypal force, one that seems to have appeared in this quality for the first time in Estonian music in Helena Tulve’s orchestral work Sula (Thaw) (1999). But before taking a closer look at this archetypal force, I present a quote from the annotation to Elis Vesik’s new work: “As a composer, I am interested by what affects the ability to be conscious in the present moment and to observe everything around you – silence and noise in their various facets, micro-events in sounds and the musical process, because paradoxically, it seems that the more the process of creating music is connected to the music itself and musical reality, the greater the opportunity it provides to reflect on one’s surrounding existence and its patterns through insights. I look for different structures and harmonies in the hope that there will be some recognition of the cyclical breathing or peace of life.” In the November 2017 issue of Muusika, the composer writes at length about the structural, mathematical, optical, musical, and philosophical background of her work, which may give the impression that her method of writing music is super-intellectual in nature. In reality, especially after listening to Vanishing Point in the Field of Vision, it seems that Elis Vesik possesses a talent where structural/mathematical/theoretical thinking are all very well balanced with intuitive creativity and sensitive openness to the essence of life. Reading Elis Vesik’s article ‘On the Perception of Time in Music’ and listening to her new work, associations were formed with composers who are characterised by a powerful synthesis of intuitive and intellectual origins, such as Tüür’s vector thinking.”
Sirp, detsember 22, 2017, Johanna Mängel
https://www.sirp.ee/s1-artiklid/c5-muusika/uhiskonnatundlik-ja-eksklusiivne-nuudismuusikaaeg/
“In autumn, ERSO premiered Elis Vesik’s orchestral work Punctum concursūs in prospectu or Vanishing Point in the Field of Vision, one of the central themes of which is the perception of time. A unique, airy, and sensitive sound aesthetic may be encountered in Vesik’s well-thought-out search for structure and harmony. The composer was already addressing issues of timing and indirectness during the summer, at the IRCAM ManiFESTE new music festival in Paris, where her new work was performed by the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Pierre-André Valade.”
Persona Grata
2017-09
Johanna Mängel
Teater.Muusika.Kino
Elis Hallik (1986) on heliloojana huvitatud sellest, mis mõjutab võimet olla teadlikult käesolevas hetkes ja jälgida tähelepanuga kõike ümbritsevat —vaikust ja müra selle erinevates tahkudes ning mikrosündmusi helides ja muusikalises protsessis.
Elis Hallik õppis kompositsiooni Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemias Helena Tulve ja Toivo Tulevi juhendamisel ning täiendas end Lyoni Kõrgemas Rahvuslikus Konservatooriumis Michele Tadini ja Robert Pascali juures. Tal on ka bakalaureusekraad eesti filoloogia erialal, mille omandas Tallinna Ülikoolis. Halliku teos „Impacts” pälvis 2014. aastal Viini Muusika ja Esituskunstide Ülikooli rahvusvahelisel heliloojate suveakadeemial peapreemia, millega kaasnev tellimusteos „To become a tree” tuli ettekandele 2016. aasta suveakadeemia raames Viinis, Arnold Schönbergi keskuses. Sama teos valiti tänavu kevadel Sitsiilias peetud rahvusvahelisel heliloojate rostrumil kümne soovitatud teose hulka. Sel suvel osales Hallik Pariisis toimunud IRCAMi uue muusika festivalil ManiFeste, kus tema uudisteose esitas Prantsuse Raadio orkester Pierre-André Valade’i juhatusel.
Oled suurema osa oma tänavusest suvest veetnud Kihnus. Milline tähtsus on sinu jaoks väikestel paikadel?
Nende paikadega on mul mingisugune side või kohamälu, see on seotud millegagi, mis on väga isiklik. Kihnu ei ole mu sünnikodu, aga see on alati olnud mulle üks koht, kus on hea olla. Elasin hoopis Kablis ja käisin Metsapoole põhikoolis ning Häädemeeste muusikakoolis, keskkooliaastatel aga Pärnu Lydia Koidula nim gümnaasiumis. Kihnus käisime aga vanavanematel külas ning äraminemist sealt ei ole õieti kunagi olnudki. Kihnu on see koht, kus laen end maha ja saan rahulikult looduses olla. Ütleksin, et ma ei pea seal mingis rollis olema. See on nagu eikellegimaa. Üle mere minek lõikab mingisugused niidid läbi. Ühelt poolt meeldib mulle väikese saare puutumatu sfäär ja üksi olemine, teisalt aga suurlinn ja kiirus ning aktiivne mõtete ja ideede vahetus. Praegusel hetkel on Talllinna kodus parem tööd teha, sest praktilisem töölaud on seal sisse seatud. Kihnus saan aga mõtetega häirimatult asja juures olla.
Kas heliloojaks saamine on olnud algusest peale su kindel eesmärk?
Olen alati muusikaga tegelnud — interpreteerinud, laulnud koorides jne, kuid tundsin, et mulle ei meeldi esineda. Tasapisi jõudsingi äratundmiseni, et tegelikult ühendub kõik see, mis mulle sobib, just ühes erialas — heliloomingus, kus saan ise mõelda, luua ja improviseerida, kuid see viimane, esitamise roll jääks teistele. Siiski vaatan imetlusega, mis tunne võib olla mängida mingis väga heas orkestris. Huvitav on jälgida, millisel tasandil käib nende inimeste suhtlus, koosmäng ja muusikaline mõtlemine. Mõistan nüüd, et heliloojana saan selle tunde ikkagi kätte — mul on muusikaga see enda eriline suhe.
Teose valmimise protsess on kindlasti väga isiklik. Kui lõpuks tulemuse esitajatele loovutad, kas siis isiklik tasand kaob?
Tänu muusikutele ei ole see seni kadunud. Kõik, mis ma kirja olen pannud, on pigem võimendunud. Ma jätan alati mingid panustamisvõimalused ka interpreedile. Teatud mõttes on muidugi lihtsam luua kellelegi, kes juba teab, kuidas helilooja mõtleb ja millist tooni tahab. Mul ongi parajasti mõttes edasine koostöö Belgia ansambliga Fractales, kelle puhul tunnen, et võimalused millegi juhtumiseks ja mastaapsemate asjade sündimiseks lühikese aja jooksul on suuremad. Alati tekib kerge ärevus, kas ma suudan end mõistetavaks teha väga paljude inimeste ees väga lühikese aja jooksul. Üks asi on see, mis toimub siis, kui ma teost komponeerin, kuid lisaks panen ma päris suurt rõhku ka sellele, mis prooviprotsessis juhtub. Ma kirjutan tegelikult väga aeglaselt ning kõik otsused, mis ma sealjuures teen, on mingis mõttes seotud tohutute heitlustega. Vaen põhjalikult, jälgin ennast ja püüan asja üksikult üldiseks mõelda ja sobitada. Ma ei taha teha midagi lihtsalt tegemise pärast, sest väga head muusikat on juba palju. Teen vaid sellepärast, et ma ei saa seda tegemata jätta. Pean leidma fundamentaalselt põhjendatud idee, mille puhul tunnen, et see on vajalik nii minule kui ka kuulajale. Tahaksin luua midagi, mis pakuks vastukaalu sellele, mis on maailmas halvasti. Otsin erinevaid struktuure ja harmooniaid lootuses, et seal tekib mingisuguseid äratundmisi elu tsüklilisest hingamisest või rahust. See võib tunduda banaalne või naljakas, aga mõttekus on mulle tõesti oluline teema. Seega, kui saabub kaua oodatud proov, ei taha ma, et teos lihtsalt ära mängitakse. Soovin, et muusikutega tekiks mingi kontakt.
Kas selline pühendumine ja väga põhjalik süvitsiminek on sul alati kirjutamisega kaasnenud või on see pigem tekkinud viimasel ajal, kui sul on sündinud kaalukamad teosed ja toimunud nende olulised ettekanded?
Arvan, et see järjest süveneb. Mõneti tunnen, et muusika harmoonilises plaanis või tasandilises mõtlemises on paari aasta taguse ajaga võrreldes palju rohkem kihte, mida suudan hallata. Mingid eksistentsiaalsed momendid käivitavad teatud tasandi, mis kajastub lõpuks ka muusikas. Usun, et inimesel on elus teatud ülesanded või rollid, mis tuleb nagunii ära täita, oled sa selleks valmis või mitte. On mõneti paradoksaalselt äraspidine, et kui sul on eluliselt hästi raske ja stressirohke, ees tähtajad ja palju tööd ning ka perekondlik elu on intensiivne, võivad tulemused olla isegi paremad. See on justkui piir, mil tuleb end kuidagi nii kokku võtta, et lõpuks lülitud teisele režiimile. Ideaalne ongi minu meelest kirjutada teost hästi raskel ja intensiivsel perioodil, sest siis tuleb end igal tasandil ületada. Asjad näivad teises valguses ja ma jõuan mingisuguste eksistentsiaalsete küsimuste ja vastusteni. Kui aga elu on lihtsam, kui ei ole nii palju tööd ja ma olen täiesti puhanud, siis see sügavam tasand ei käivitu nii kergesti.
Ansambliteose „To become a tree” valmimise järel tunnistasid, et oled mingis mõttes jõudnud olulisse punkti. Kas see on enese äratundmise teos?
Ma julgesin selles teoses rohkem proovida. Tuginesin oma teadmistele ja sellele, mida olin juba varem teinud, kuid katsetasin pisut vormiliselt ja tämbriliselt. Tahtsin luua teost, mis sarnaneks pintslitõmbega — et see tuleks kuskilt, oleks olemas ja kaoks loogiliselt ära. Varasemad teosed on jäänud minu enese jaoks siiski õhku rippuma, kuid selle loo puhul see lõpetatus toimis. Kõige hämmastavam on, et ma ei planeerinud selles teoses mitte mingit kulminatsiooni, ent vormiloogika töötas kuidagi nii, et tämbriline köitvus ja struktuuriline selgus ja muusikute piisav vabadus end teose lõpus välja elada lõid ise kulminatsiooni. Jõudsin selleni päris paljude teiste heliloojate muusikat analüüsides. Uurisin näiteks Grisey, Scelsi, Ligeti ja Lutosławski teoseid sellelt seisukohalt, kuidas heliloojad suudavad oma teoseid lõpetada. See, milleni jõudsin, oli ilmselt tähtis avastus. Mõnda aega tagasi kohtusin helilooja Klaus Langiga, kes rääkis palju aja tunnetamisest muusika kaudu ja erinevate aegade notatsioonist. Klassikaline funktsionaalharmoonia on tegelikult suunatud progressile ja kulminatsioonile, samas kui näiteks renessansis oli kõik hõljuv ning puudus konkreetne suund ja fokuseeritus sellele. Aja tunnetamine oli siis teistsugune. Progresseeruv mõtlemine ja progressi vajadus tekitab väga suurt pinget ja närvilisust. Ka infoühiskond, kus kõik areneb topeltkiirusega, tekitab ajus totaalset fragmenteeritust. Ilmselt saja aasta pärast, mil meie seas on tehisintellekt, muudab see inimest geneetiliselt nii palju, et meie aju hakkab teistmoodi tööle. Mulle meeldiks mõelda, et inimesed aduvad seda, et kõik, mis meie ümber on, mõjutab meie mõtlemist.
Millised pidepunktid on sulle muusika kirjutamisel olulised?
Mulle on hästi oluline teatud praktilisus. Näiteks oma viimase orkestriteose puhul kasutasin uute harmooniate genereerimiseks eksponentsiaalvõrrandit. Mõtlen palju visuaalsete kujundite ja vormi proportsioonide peale. Üritan kasutada selliseid vahendeid, mis toetaksid mitte-direktsionaalsusele ja mitte-progressisuunale mõtlemist. Oluliseks näiteks on glissando, sest selles on mingi kvaliteet, mis paradoksaalselt on justkui paigalseis, ent samas ikkagi mingisugune liikumine. Sarnaselt sellega kasutan ka harmooniavälju, kus samuti võib tekkida tunne, nagu midagi muutuks, kuigi tegelikult seda ei juhtu. Väga oluline on ratsionaalne pool, kuid tähtis roll on ka intuitiivsusel. Suures plaanis tean, kuhu liigun, aga kui tunnen, et asi hakkab vales suunas minema, siis püüan leida midagi, mis mind õigetele rööbastele tagasi aitaks. Kui olen ühtäkki mõtetega täiesti kokku jooksnud, siis teen märkmeid, nii et kui järgmine kord peaks tekkima taas mingi raske punkt ja ma tahan alla anda, siis mõtlen sellele, mis oli, ja leian oma märkmeist abi. Kõige olulisemad mõtted tulebki üles kirjutada, sest need tekivad mingis afektiseisundis või raskel hetkel ja niipea kui naased oma tavaseisundisse, kaovad need kergesti. Need on väikesed asjad, millega end töö tegemise lainele tagasi suunata, ja ei tohi lasta pingel võimust võtta. Ma ei ole väga palju kuulnud heliloojaid pingest rääkimas, aga arvan, et kuidagi peab sellega ikkagi tegelema, et ka veel kuuekümneaastaselt helilooja olla.
Huvitaval kombel on olulisemad hetked sinu loometeel seni aset leidnud peamiselt just Eestist väljaspool, näiteks Kiievis, Viinis ja Pariisis.
Kui lõpetasin kompositsiooniõpingud Lyonis ja tulin tagasi Eestisse, ei olnud mul siin heliloojana rakendust ligi aasta. Raske oli vaid päris algus. Hingelises mõttes on mulle olnud väga olulised 2014. aasta ISA kursus Austria väikelinnas Mürzzuschlagis koos Yann Robiniga, kohtumine Klaus Langiga 2016. aastal Viini Schönbergi keskuses ja tänavune IRCAMi meistrikursus Pariisis Toshio Hosokawaga. Kõik need heliloojad on minuga olnud ausad ja karmid, kuid samas andnud mulle heasoovlikult palju elutarkust. Nad tegelesid minu isiku ja minu tugevate külgedega, kuid olid samas ausad ka minu nõrkuste väljatoomisel. Selliseid kohtumisi on vaja selleks, et perspektiiv jälle muutuks. Teatud kokkupuutepunktid rikastavad loomingut ja mõtlemist. Muuseas, Hosokawa ütles, et mu muusika on väga hea, aga juttu võiks vähem olla. Nägin seda unes ka. Ei tohi kasutada liiga palju sõnu. Kõige tähtsam on elus püüda teistele rahu ja armastust anda. See on maailmas kõige raskem asi, aga ilmselt ka kõige õigem, mille poole püüelda.
Millest sa praegu unistad?
Kirjutasin endale kord üles: „Ära püstita heliloojana sel aastal ühtegi eesmärki.” Tean, et siis ei sünni head asjad, kui olla vaid eesmärgile orienteeritud ja nendes mõtetes kinni. Oluline ei ole lihtsalt eesmärk, vaid ikkagi loomine. Ma saan sellest nii palju rahuldust. Raske on siis, kui oled elanud oma loominguga nii kaua, ilma et saaksid sellele mingitki vastukaja. Siis elad otsekui tühjuses, uskudes, et su töö pole kedagi puudutanud. Helilooja roll võiks ideaalis olla selline, et ta suudaks muusikaga maailmale midagi pakkuda. Näiteks Arvo Pärt — ta on otsekui rahusaadik. Muusika tegemise funktsioon peaks olema inimestele rahu tuua ja panna neid mõtlema eksistentsiaalsete asjade üle.
Estonian Music Days – day three, live on the radio
Apr 12 2015
planethugill.com
Robert Hugill
My last visit to Estonian Music Days in Tallinn saw me attending a live radio broadcast in Studio 1 of Estonian Public Broadcasting. Though the radio has a beautifully refurbished modern office (and I was privileged to get a trip roundKlassika Raadio’s 9th floor offices), the original post-war building (housing Studio 1) is still in use and about to be refurbished.
So on Sunday 12 April 2015, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra conducted by the young Latvian conductor Atvars Lakstigalaperformed a programme of music by Kristjan Randalu, Liisa Hirsch, Elis Hallik, Sander Pehk, Mariliis Valkonen,Helena Tulve and Kristaps Petersons with violinists Triin Ruubel and Juta Ounapuu-Mocanita. The music in the programme was mainly for strings, to which were added percussion at times. Though the programme was calledTwo Ladies there were in fact four violinists, as two of Triin Ruubel’s young pupils Triin Piirsalu and Triinu Veissmann played Sander Pehk’s piece as part of Mini-EMD. Remarkably, ALL the works in the programme were premieres.
We started with the premiere of Emigrane for string orchestra which was written in 2015 by Kristjan Randalu (born 1978). Using two contrasting ideas, vibrant polytonal chords and a more lyrical theme, Kristjan Randalu created a dynamic piece which had references to the style and genre of a variety of familiar string orchestral works.
The concert featured three works for orchestra with solo violin(s), with a solo work for each of Triin Ruubel and Jut Ounapuu, plus one with solos for both, and a work for both with no accompaniment. None of the concertante works was strictly a concerto and none use a traditional relationship between soloist(s) and orchestra. The first was Ascending…Descending for violin and chamber orchestra, written in 2015 by Liisa Hirsch (born 1984), with soloist Triin Ruubel. Liisa Hirsch’s programme note explicitly talked about re-defining the classical soloist-accompanist relationship (to which my slightly annoyed response would be, then why use a soloist at all!), and the soloist was essential primus inter pares, with little feel of either virtuosity, bravura or dominance. The opening material for the work was dominated by long string glissandi, and though it developed in intensity the result was an interesting concept rather than a gripping work.
Next Force of Nature for two violins and chamber orchestra, written in 2015 by Elis Hallik (born 1986) used lyrical material pushed to the edge with a lot of high writing and some non-pitched effects. Though there were clearly themes in the high intensity piece, it was as much about textures as thematic or harmonic development. A nervous fidgety piece which became quite violent and was very up front
“Next Force of Nature for two violins and chamber orchestra, written in 2015 by Elis Hallik (born 1986) used lyrical material pushed to the edge with a lot of high writing and some non-pitched effects. Though there were clearly themes in the high intensity piece, it was as much about textures as thematic or harmonic development. A nervous fidgety piece which became quite violent and was very up front.”
The next work was the piece performed as part of Mini-EMD with the school girls Triin Piisalu and Triinu Veissmann giving a confident premiere to Eduard by the Brook written in 2015 by Sander Pehk (born 1990); the title refers to the Estonian composer Eduard Oja (1905-1950) whose surname means brook in Estonian.
Juta Ounapuu-Mocanita was the soloist in Fulfilment for solo violin and chamber orchestra (strings and percussion), written in 2015 by Mariliss Valkonen (born 1981). This started with a vigorous solo accompanied by just tuned percussion, there was a quiet, sustained response from the strings and the piece seemed to develop as a sort of call and response with the string responding in a slow sustained way to the soloist’s vigour.
Finally, after all the very up front works for solo violin(s) and orchestra, there was higher than the soul can hope and mind can hide for two violins, written in 2015 by Helena Tulve (born 1972). The work use lyrical expressionist motifs interweaving between the two violins, but there was also a use of silence making the work feel highly deliberate and highly thoughtful. After a few false endings, the two soloists ended up almost pitchless at the bridge.
The last work in the programme was the only Latvian work in the programme, one chosen by the composer. Chess by Kirstaps Petersons (born 1982) for chamber orchestra (strings and percussion) was written in 2010 but still receiving its premiere. The title refers to the chess player Mikhail Tal from Riga. It started with a lyrical melody over an ostinato, for just cello and vibraphone, but gradually more instruments joined in and the ostinato developed a highly catchy, multi-layered feel.
This was a strong, though rather long concert (one hour 45 minutes, without interval but with short breaks for the announcer and for interviews with composers), with a group of very strong, very forceful pieces which seemed to allow little in the way of drawing the audience in, you had to work on each piece. It was a relief, towards the end, to come across Helena Tulve’s piece which seemed to engage rather than demand, whilst the final work came as a feeling of light relief.
After the concert, another journalist from London (Gavin Dixon) and I were taken on a tour of the new Klassika Radio studios at the top floor of their newly refurbished building (with superb views despite the grey weather) and we did a short interview about the festival which will be broadcast next weekend.
This concluded my visits to the events of Estonian Music Days. Over the space of three days I had heard 24 pieces performed live (with 16 premieres), an incredible amount of music. And that wasn’t all. Because of the festival programming, I was unable to get to the second concert on the Sunday. And that was one of the problems. In their eagerness to show the best of the vibrant Estonian new music scene, we were presented with rather too much music in concerts that were a little too long.
Tallinn Chamber Orchestra in a programme of premières from young Estonian composers
13 April 2015
Gavin Dixon
“Two Ladies”, the title of this afternoon’s concert, referred to its two violin soloists, Triin Ruubel and Juta Õunapuu-Mocanita. They, along with the strings of the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, presented a programme of premières from young Estonian composers. Each work took a different approach to the concertante combination, occasionally flirting with the traditional idea of solo melodic lines accompanied by ripieno ensemble, but more often mixing the forces in more subtle relations. The Estonian Music Days festival, of which this was a part, takes an all-or-nothing approach to programming, giving entire concerts of new works for a specific combination of instruments. Clear patterns emerge between the various composers, national characteristics perhaps, or cross-influences, but each has a different approach, ensuring sufficient variety to carry the programme.
After a less than promising start, the stolidly conventional Emegrane by Krisjan Randalu, the programme got up to speed with Ascending… Descending by Liisa Hirsch. As the title suggests, the music here is mostly based on slow glissandos up and down the fingerboard, a simple device, but made considerably more sophisticated by the way it was projected around the ensemble. Each of the players has a separate part, entering at different times and often in close imitation. The result is narrow clusters, covering a range of about a third, which slither up and down the pitch space. Impressive, too, was the way that soloist Ruubel guided the music around the ensemble, taking over at the end from conductor Atvars Lakstīgala to cue the players, leading by example for each of their entries.
Elis Hallik took a similarly focused and direct approach to texture in her Force of Nature. Here, the guiding idea was a rhythmically irregular bariolage effect, in sudden outbursts that bounce back and forth between adjacent strings of the instrument. This idea was also passed around, both between the two soloists, and from them to the individual players of the ensemble. The resulting sounds were brittle, often aggressive, but just as often imbued with a gentle, almost spectral radiance.
“Elis Hallik took a similarly focused and direct approach to texture in her Force of Nature. Here, the guiding idea was a rhythmically irregular bariolage effect, in sudden outbursts that bounce back and forth between adjacent strings of the instrument. This idea was also passed around, both between the two soloists, and from them to the individual players of the ensemble. The resulting sounds were brittle, often aggressive, but just as often imbued with a gentle, almost spectral radiance.”
A new strand in the festival this year is called “Mini EMP” and is dedicated to the participation of even younger musicians in both composition and performance. To that end, the following work introduced another two ladies, Triin Piirsalu and Triinu Veissmann, 8th and 6th grade violin students respectively, to play Eduard by the Brook, by the slightly more senior (he’s 25) Sander Pehk. Nothing radical in the music here, but a fine performance from these young players, and a refreshing interlude in what was otherwise a continuously challenging programme.
Fulfilment, by Mariliis Valkonen, brought percussion into the mix, which proved a valuable addition, especially in the highly gestural, sharply defined musical language here. Soloist Õunapuu-Mocanita presented a series of complex but insular motifs, each shadowed by the ensemble, and particularly by the percussion. But more textural variety would have helped, especially given the expanded ensemble. This was one of several works presented over the weekend that ended with an unexpected twist, in this case the soloist swapping instruments to play the last few notes on a lower scordatura range, the G-string of the alternative violin tuned downwards. But why wait until the final few notes to introduce this interesting effect?
Although only in her early 40s, Helene Tulve is one of the more senior and established composers to be featured in the festival. Her compositional experience, and particularly her idiomatic writing for strings, shone through in higher than the soul can hope and mind can hide. No orchestra here, just the two soloists, and a surprisingly limited palette of colours and effects, but the results were satisfyingly expressive, communicating in a clear and direct language. Lyrical lines for the two violins were generally played with wide vibrato, yet any implicit Romanticism was countered by the astringency of the harmonies between the two parts. And although relatively simple, the textures changed and evolved as the piece went on, while all the time sustaining the intensity.
A short trip across the border to conclude the concert. Conductor Lakstīgala is from neighbouring Latvia, and brought with him a work by Kristaps Pētersons. Not for the first time this weekend, the inclusion of a non-Estonian work served to highlight the many similarities between the native composers. Pētersons, who himself is only in his early 30s, and whose Chess was here receiving its first performance, writes faster music, faster in its development and in the delivery of its ideas. All the Estonian works that preceded seemed expansive in comparison, and united by a focus on colour and texture. Still, this punchy and concise work proved an excellent closing number, especially for its exhilarating and undeniably conclusive ending.
LendutõusuteelEMTA kompositsiooniosakonna lõpetanud heliloojad ja nende lõputööd
03.07.2015
Sirp
Malle Maltis
Sel kevadel lõpetas Eesti muusika- ja teatriakadeemia kompositsiooniosakonna ühtekokku kümme tudengit, nende hulgas kolm klassikalise heliloomingu eriala: Elis Hallik magistriõppes, Johanna Kivimägi ja Alisson Kruusmaa bakalaureuseõppes. Elektroakustilise loomingu eriala lõpetasid Imre Sooäär magistriõppes ja Alvin Raat bakalaureuseõppes. Peale heliloojate võrsuvad kompositsiooniosakonnast aga ka helirežissöörid ja audiovisuaalkunstnikud. Magistrikraadiga lõpetas helirežii erialal Joonas Murand (cum laude) ning audiovisuaalse kompositsiooni bakalaureuse tasemel Markus Robam ja Sander Tuvikene.
Kompositsiooniosakonna kauaaegne juhataja Eino Tamberg armastas omal ajal rõhutada, et tegelikult ei ole sellist asja nagu helilooming üldsegi võimalik kellelegi õpetada, loomisalge peab olema õpilases juba iseenesest sees. Muidugi annab kool hulga praktilisi tehnilisi oskusi stiili, vormi, faktuuri, instrumendikasutuse, notatsiooni jms osas, et muusikalised ideed võiksid ühel hetkel saada kuuldavaks reaalsuseks. Millises suunas aga hakkab arenema üks loomisalge ja missuguse kuju võtab lõpuks kellegi loominguline isiksus, see sõltub kõige enam hoopis õpilase enda initsiatiivist, avatusest ja proovimisjulgusest.
Helena Tulve kompositsiooniklassi kasvandiku Elis Halliku „Stiihia“ keelpilliorkestrile ja kahele soleerivale viiulile, üks kahest eksamitööst, oli kirjutatud tellimustööna Eesti muusika päevadeks ja tuli esiettekandele aprillis Tallinna Kammerorkestriga, solistideks Triin Ruubel ja Juta Õunapuu-Mocanita. Stiihiat on autor kirjeldanud kui seisundit, mida iseloomustab jõudude takistamatu toimimine, kaose elementide olemasolu süsteemis ja sellest tulenev vabadus. Nii nagu on mitut laadi loodusstiihiat, on selle teose muusikaline materjal ja selle arendus vastavalt mitmekesine ja vaheldusrikas, leidub nii tunglemist kui ka paigalseisu, jõudu ja haprust. Vorm ja muusikaline dramaturgia on kujundatud dünaamiliselt ja fantaasiarikkalt. Halliku teise eksamiloo pealkiri „To silent life, to wavering light” pärineb juudi kirjaniku Yankev Glatshteyni värsiridadest. Teos on kirjutatud saksofonistile ja kahele löökpillimängijale. Seda võiks kirjeldada kui süüvimist ühte pikaks venitatud hetke keset meeleolukat loodusmaastikku. Lisaks tavapärastele instrumentidele löökpillimängijate arsenalis nagu marimba, basstrumm, tadrikud, gongid jm kujundavad helipilti ka sellised heliallikad nagu pärlikarpidest tuulekell, vihmapill, veega täidetud kausid ja kuiv hein.
Elis Hallik muusikat suunab tugev intellektuaalne alge, mis haarab lennult kaasa ka poeesia ja filosoofia. Tema helitöid kuulates kostub neist välja kirjutaja kogemus ja küpsus ning professionaalselt vormistatud partituurid kinnitavad, et sellise noore helilooja kätte võib usaldada ükskõik millise muusikalise tellimuse.
Läbi aastate on olnud üsna ühtmoodi see, et teatud universaalsuse taotlus, mis kehtib muusikalise kirjakeele puhul partituurides, mõjutab ka lugude pealkirjade valikut. Väga palju kasutatakse pealkirjades inglise keelt, mis on teadagi põhiline suhtluskeel, alates internetikeskkonnast ja lõpetades omavaheliste juttudega akadeemia rahvusvahelises igapäevaelus. Tahetakse, et loo helidetagune sõnum pealkirja näol oleks mõistetav võimalikult paljudele kuulajatele ja võimalikult kiiresti. On üsna tavaline, et igasugused ääremärkused, mängutehnikate ja karakterite täpsustused partituurides kipuvad olema ingliskeelsed, kõrvuti vanade heade itaaliakeelsete muusikaterminitega.
“Helena Tulve kompositsiooniklassi kasvandiku Elis Halliku „Stiihia“ keelpilliorkestrile ja kahele soleerivale viiulile, üks kahest eksamitööst, oli kirjutatud tellimustööna Eesti muusika päevadeks ja tuli esiettekandele aprillis Tallinna Kammerorkestriga, solistideks Triin Ruubel ja Juta Õunapuu-Mocanita. Stiihiat on autor kirjeldanud kui seisundit, mida iseloomustab jõudude takistamatu toimimine, kaose elementide olemasolu süsteemis ja sellest tulenev vabadus. Nii nagu on mitut laadi loodusstiihiat, on selle teose muusikaline materjal ja selle arendus vastavalt mitmekesine ja vaheldusrikas, leidub nii tunglemist kui ka paigalseisu, jõudu ja haprust. Vorm ja muusikaline dramaturgia on kujundatud dünaamiliselt ja fantaasiarikkalt. Halliku teise eksamiloo pealkiri „To silent life, to wavering light” pärineb juudi kirjaniku Yankev Glatshteyni värsiridadest. Teos on kirjutatud saksofonistile ja kahele löökpillimängijale. Seda võiks kirjeldada kui süüvimist ühte pikaks venitatud hetke keset meeleolukat loodusmaastikku. Lisaks tavapärastele instrumentidele löökpillimängijate arsenalis nagu marimba, basstrumm, tadrikud, gongid jm kujundavad helipilti ka sellised heliallikad nagu pärlikarpidest tuulekell, vihmapill, veega täidetud kausid ja kuiv hein.
Elis Halliku muusikat suunab tugev intellektuaalne alge, mis haarab lennult kaasa ka poeesia ja filosoofia. Tema helitöid kuulates kostub neist välja kirjutaja kogemus ja küpsus ning professionaalselt vormistatud partituurid kinnitavad, et sellise noore helilooja kätte võib usaldada ükskõik millise muusikalise tellimuse.
Läbi aastate on olnud üsna ühtmoodi see, et teatud universaalsuse taotlus, mis kehtib muusikalise kirjakeele puhul partituurides, mõjutab ka lugude pealkirjade valikut. Väga palju kasutatakse pealkirjades inglise keelt, mis on teadagi põhiline suhtluskeel, alates internetikeskkonnast ja lõpetades omavaheliste juttudega akadeemia rahvusvahelises igapäevaelus. Tahetakse, et loo helidetagune sõnum pealkirja näol oleks mõistetav võimalikult paljudele kuulajatele ja võimalikult kiiresti. On üsna tavaline, et igasugused ääremärkused, mängutehnikate ja karakterite täpsustused partituurides kipuvad olema ingliskeelsed, kõrvuti vanade heade itaaliakeelsete muusikaterminitega.”
Tõnu Kõrvitsa õpilase Johanna Kivimäe loomingust võis bakalaureuseeksamil kuulda kolme teost, mis oli küll vaid väike osa kogu aasta jooksul valminust. Nii tema orkestriteose „Unekujud“ kui ka naiskoorilaulu „Dona nobis pacem“ puhul tõi eksamikomisjon esile väga hea harmooniakasutuse. Samuti kiideti laulu puhul oskust kirjutada muusikat koori võimekust arvestades. Ka selles laulus andis tooni leidlik harmooniline areng, mis täiendas lihtsat rütmielementi ja faktuuri. Suurimat tunnustust pälvis aga tema tenorile, metsasarvele ja klaverile kirjutatud „Aaria“. Tenoripartii väljenduslik, loomulikku kõnerütmi järgiv intonatsioon meloodikas, metsasarve delikaatne toetus tenoripartiile ja klaveri lisatud rütmiaktsendid moodustasid võluva ja kaasahaarava terviku. „Aaria“ valmis tellimusena Jaanus Samma projektile „NSFW. Esimehe lugu“ tänavuseks Veneetsia biennaaliks. Lauluteksti autor on Maarja Kangro ning tekstki oli tellitud sama projekti tarvis. Juhendaja Tõnu Kõrvits kirjeldab Johanna Kivimäed kui mitmekülgset loojat ning kiidab tema oskust olla loometöös paindlik, tunnetada õiget stiili ja tabada sobivaid lähtepunkte, mis on igasuguse koostöö puhul ülioluline. Noore autori loomingus ongi tähtsal kohal mitmesugused ühisprojektid: ta on teinud muusikat kunstinäitusele (Marko Mäetamm, Jaanus Samma), filmidele ja tantsuetendustele.
See, kes viibis EMTA lõpuaktusel, võis osa saada ühest kompositsiooniosakonna lõputööst – Alisson Kruusmaa„Palast klaverile ja orkestrile“. Erialaõpetaja Tõnu Kõrvits on teda iseloomustanud kui hea stiiliga kõlapoeesia meistrit. Tema muusika puhul jäävad kõige enam meelde õrnad, haprad ja ruumiküllased kõlamaastikud. Ka „Palas …“ domineerib pigem hõre, maitsekas ja delikaatne orkestratsioon, avar kõlaruum jätab nii aega kui ka kohta kuulaja enda mõttepeegeldusteks. Klaveripartii on selles loos olemuselt improvisatsiooniline ning loob orkestriga orgaanilise dialoogi. Teos jääb hästi meelde ja kutsub uuesti kuulama.
„Pala soolotšellole“, Kruusmaa teine lõputöö, mõjub spontaanse mõtteavaldusena ja selles kombib kirjutaja tšello mängutehnika võimalusi: pizzicato-akordid, flažoletid, aga ka traditsiooniline meloodika ja motiiviarendus. Pala on valminud kontserdisarja „Ludus tonalis“ üheks kontserdiks. „Ludus tonalis’e“ kontserte tehti Kloostri Aidas terve õppeaasta jooksul kord kuus ja noored heliloojad kirjutasid selleks puhuks uusi palu, kusjuures iga kord oli neile antud kas ülesanne või piirang, mille raames nad said ja tohtisid luua. Noorele autorile on selline keskkond suurepärane võimalus õppimiseks ja harjutamiseks, sest miski ei õpeta heliloojat paremini kui oma muusika kuulmine elavas ettekandes.
Kruusmaa kolmas eksamitöö „Luikede lennust …“ tenorile ja klaverile on alguse saanud sellisest õppeainest nagu kaasaja kompositsioonitehnikad ja notatsioon, mida juba aastaid on suure menuga õpetanud Mart Siimer. Õppeaasta jooksul kirjutatakse läbi erinevaid tehnikaid ja aasta lõpus toimuval väikesel kontserdil esitatakse vastvalminud palu. Vahel juhtub, et õpitava tehnikaga tuleb kaasa ka kandvam muusikaline idee ning neist palakestest areneb midagi hoopiski suuremat ja püsivamat, nii nagu oli see Kruusmaa laulu puhul.
Elektroakustilise loomingu magistriõppes oli sel aastal üks lõpetaja – Imre Sooäär, juhendajaks Tõnu Kõrvits ja Margo Kõlar. Sooääre lõputöös „The Song of the Singing Bowl“ laulavad vaheldumisi tiibeti kausskellad, eelsalvestatud muusikalise materjalina tiibeti munk ja setu koor, saatjaks live-elektroonika ning kammerorkester, mille koosseisus on lisaks keelpillidele ka eesti kannel, klaver, flööt, klarnet ja saksofon. Idamaisele muusikale omaselt annab oma panuse helikanga kujunemisse ka improvisatsiooniline element. Teos tuli esiettekandele märtsikuus Jaapanis, Tōkyō ooperilinnakus. See on olemuselt kollaažilik kompositsioon, seda nii ülesehituse kui ka väga erinevate stiilide, nii võimalike kui võimatute ühendamise poolest. Paraku kipub kollaažtehnika vahel varju jätma helilooja enda mõtted ja isikupärase käekirja, küll aga ei jää kuulajale märkamatuks autori heasüdamlikkus ja siirus.
Kompositsiooniosakonna seekordne üks ja ainus cum laude lõpetaja oli aga helirežii magistrant Joonas Murand, keda on juhendanud Maido Maadik ja Siim Mäesalu. Murandi lõputöö koosneb kolmest helisalvestusest ja tööprotsessi kirjeldavast eksplikatsioonist. Salvestatud tööd olid EMTA 2014. aasta lõpuaktus, Cyrillus Kreegi „Mu süda, ärka üles“ 12-liikmelise vokaalansambli esituses ja doom-deathmetal’it viljeleva bändi Nuclear Monarch viielooline EP album „Eternal Walk“.
Cum laude ei tulnud Murandi puhul erilise üllatusena – ka varasematel aastatel on ta silma paistnud nutikate ideedega, hea organiseerija ning suhtlejana. Õpinguaja lõpuks on temast kujunenud kindlakäeline ja nõutud helirežissöör nii stuudios kui ka kontsertide helindamisel.
Alvin Raadi bakalaureusetöö elektroakustilise kompositsiooni erialal oli ligi pooletunnine muusika- ja tantsuetendus „Side lõpp“ trompetile, elektroonikale ja tantsijatele koos visuaali ja valguskujundusega. Etendus leidis aset Tallinna teletornis. Projekti tegi huvitavaks see, et teos on loodud konkreetsesse ruumi selle suurust ja akustikat arvestades. Muusikalise materjali loomisel on kasutatud trompeti kõrval ka Teletorni ennast kui üht haruldast instrumenti ning kõlama pandud kõikides torni osades tekkivad helid.
Audiovisuaalne kompositsioon on muusikaakadeemias üks nooremaid erialasid, avatud alles 2011. aastal. Markus Robam ja Sander Tuvikene on II lend, kes sellel lõpetab. Nende bakalaureusetaseme lõputöid „Piece of Mind” ning „Twelve Ears and None” võis näha 25. mail kinos Sõprus. „Piece of Mind“ käsitleb ajuskaneerimise ajalugu läbi tehnoloogia arengu. Sellisele keerulisele teemale oli Robam lähenenud pigem mänguliselt ja loominguliselt kui teaduslikult ning asetanud visuaali keskmesse filmitud tarretise, mis oma konsistentsi ja inertse liikumisega meenutabki natuke aju, kui see on vabastatud kaitsvast ümbrisest. Abstraktset narratiivi andsid video taustal edasi elektroonilised helid ning kahest viiulist, klarnetist, vioolast ja tšellost koosnev kammeransambel.
„Twelve Ears and None“ aines pärineb Michel Chion’i raamatust „Film, a sound art“. Peatükis „Twelve Ears and None“ käsitleb autor situatsioone, kus tegelaskujudele avaneb nende kuuldenurgast sõltuvalt erinev helide maailm. Nendest situatsioonidest on Sander Tuvikene lähtestanud pöörase ja filmiliku rännaku läbi digitaalselt loodud ruumide, kujundite ja helimaastike. Tema lõputöö oli ühtlasi ka suurepärane žanrinäide, milles kuuldeline ja visuaalne pool moodustavad teineteist toetava ja lahutamatu terviku.