Programme: Young artist of summer: Kaia Voitka
5.8.2021 klo 19-19.55
Pieces
Ester Mägi (1922-2021) – Cadenza and Theme
Ester Mägi was an Estonian composer who is widely regarded as the First Lady of Estonian music. Her compositional output to Estonian music is substantial and represents all genres, from chamber works to symphonic works. In 1984 Ester Mägi composed a violin piece called Cadenza and Theme and dedicated it to the Estonian violinist and pedagogue Ivi Tivik. The piece starts non-traditionally, cadenza before the theme. With a dark, slow and thoughtful beginning, the cadenza starts to evolve with more melodious lines, double stop phrases and quick sixteenth-note part, culminating dramatically on the E-string. The theme part of the piece is a complete opposite to the cadenza, sombre and gentle. It is based on a famous Finnish folk song “Yksi ruusu on kasvanut laaksossa”. The theme of the piece is originally accompanied by the piano or organ. It is played many times, each time in different register of the violin, changing the colour of the theme. In this concert is performed the solo version of the piece. This is Ester Mägi’s transcription of the piece which is not officially published.
Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) – Recitativo and Scherzo-Caprice, Op. 6
Fritz Kreisler was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most well-known and greatest violinist of all time. He was especially known for his violin tone and vivid phrasing. Most of his compositions are written for the violin. Kreisler has also written widely played cadenzas for renowned violin concertos such as J. Brahms violin concerto, L. van Beethoven violin concerto etc. In 1911, Fritz Kreisler wrote the Recitativo and Scherzo-Caprice, for solo violin, and dedicated it to his good friend, violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe. The piece is divided to two parts starting with the Recitativo. It begins with a dark and rich theme on the G-string achieving tense mood which continues throughout the first part. The recitativo part has an improvisational nature which is indicated by the marking ad libitum in various places. In contrast of the Recitativo, the Scherzo part is fast and energetic, full of life. It is very virtuosic with quick eight-notes, double stops and passages going to high registers on the violin.
Rasmus Puur (1991) – Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
Rasmus Puur is a young Estonian composer, conductor and arranger. He has written orchestral music, vocal and instrumental chamber works, incidental music and a large number of arrangements. He has done a considerable work in connecting young people with classical music in Estonia. The Seasons is a solo violin piece written in 2014-2015 and consists of four movements – Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. In this piece, Puur has an interesting compositional style that paints structured sound pictures for the listener. The first movement Spring is full of dreamy and longing melodies which are often contrasted with quick figures. The movement also has a section of rapid 16th note passages with lively and happy character. The Summer is a very energetic movement with triplets played in different characters throughout the piece. For example, passages played sul tasto are imitating the summer breeze. Small contrasting sections between the triplets are more withheld, full of glissanodos, ricochet, and dissonant intervals. The Autumn has the most restless nature of all the four movements. It has a lot of chopping effects, changing metres, accents, fierce 16th note passages and sharp articulations throughout the movement. The Winter has many beautiful melodic phrases, some of them played also in pizzicato (pizzicato melody pictures walking in snow). Throughout the movement there are different effects imitating winter aspects – e.g. 16th note passages played sul tasto are mimicking raining snowflakes.
Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) – Solo Sonata for Violin no. 4 op. 27, E minor: Allemande, Sarabande, Finale
The Belgian violinist, composer, teacher and conductor was a highly admired musician. His violin playing was praised for the quality and deepness of sound, skilled use of vibrato. The Six Sonatas for Solo Violin by Ysaÿe can be considered an equally important solo violin cycle next to Paganini op. 1 Caprices and the Sonatas and Partitas of Bach. Each sonata is inspired by and dedicated to a fellow violinist – the sonata number four to Fritz Kreisler. Influence of Bach is hinted in the baroque names of the first two movements. The rhythm in the main theme of the first movement is written similarly to a conventional allemande rhythm. One can hear a brief motif with the notes E, F-sharp, G and A. The movement ends with a small fugue with the same notes. The second movement, Sarabande is composed around a continuous melody with the same but reversed motif (A, G, F-sharp, E). The fast and virtuosic finale is a contrast to the previous movements. Ysaÿe continues using the same note sequence, both ascending and descending. The motif is so well hidden throughout the movement that it is almost impossible for the listener to notice.
Kaia Voitka
Kaia Voitka began her violin studies in Võru, Estonia. She has studied with Kaido Välja at the Tallinn Music High School and prof Mari Tampere-Bezrodny at the Sibelius Academy. Since December 2019, she is a master’s degree graduate of Sibelius Academy.
She has taken master classes from many renowned violin players (Mikhail Kopelmann, Pavel Berman, Petru Munteanu, Sergey Kravchenko, Yuri Zhislin, Florian Donderer etc.) and is a prizewinner of many national and international competitions.
In 2012 she was awarded The Estonian National Culture Foundation prize named after Vladimir Sapožnin.
Kaia has played as a soloist with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, the Estonian Sinfonietta and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.
From 2013 to 2016 she was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO). During her studies, Kaia has participated in the apprenticeship program of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Since autumn 2019, she is the second violin principal at the Lapland Chamber Orchestra.