Kujala-Pietilä Treatment incorporates elements from live electronics, microtonality, jazz and contemporary music
Renowned as sovereign rulers of their instruments, composers, and master improvisers, Veli Kujala (accordion) and Esa Pietilä (saxophone) established a new and innovative duo in 2013. The foundation of their music is a combination of partially composed and entirely improvised material, effectively utilizing the expressive possibilities of electro-acoustics, jazz, and contemporary music.
The debut concert at the Music House’s Camerata Hall in September 2013 showcased the duo’s music as a true fireworks display of sonic colors and a musical collage. Expanding consciousness with mesmerizing soundscapes and rhythmic layers, they transported their audience to previously unexplored musical realms. The magical sonic landscape gained exciting additional elements through motion and camera sensors, as well as other electronic aids. The duo’s unique expression and sound can be described as massive, captivating, electrifying, virtuosic, tense, and even raw, all while embracing minimalism and delicate playfulness. Within the framework of this ensemble, almost anything is possible, and no musical terrain is sacred or impossible for them!
“Kujala-Pietilä Treatment debut performance proved the duos music to be an exposition of tonal color and a musical collage of mind expanding soundworlds and multilayered rhythms that transports the audience into musical places, that one couldn’t even dream of existing”
Veli Kujala has received accolades from numerous international competitions around the world. He has performed as a soloist with Avanti!, Gävle Symfoniorkester, Insomnio, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Kymi Sinfonietta, The Chamber Orchestra of Lapland, The Oulu Symphony Orchestra, The Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Vaasa City Orchestra, Västerås Sinfonietta and Zagros Ensemble to name a few. He is also active in the improvised and jazz music scene, most notable recent projects include the Brazilian-Ugric organic jazz of Pipoka, the eclectic Gourmet and Kalle Kalima’s K-18 that combines modern improvisation to avant-garde jazz. He has also been involved in several “Vapaat äänet”-projects working together with French jazz musicians. He has performed as the soloist in premieres of accordion concertos from Markus Fagerudd and Pekka Pohjola, double concerto for cello and accordion by Olli Virtaperko, concerto for quarter tone accordion by Sampo Haapamäki and double concerto for quarter tone accordion and accordion by Joachim F. W. Schneider.
Kujala has premiered solo and chamber music works from composers Kalevi Aho, Friedrich Goldmann, Paola Livorsi, Pasi Lyytikäinen, Uljas Pulkkis, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Tomi Räisänen, Vesal Valkama, Olli Virtaperko, Matthew Whittall and Helmut Zapf. He has received several grants from Arts Promotion Center Finland and other Finnish cultural foundations. He has performed in most European countries and United States.
More information: www.velikujala.com
Saxophonist and composer Esa Pietilä‘s distinctive and personal playing style, along with his numerous ensembles and improvised solo saxophone concerts, have solidified his position both nationally and internationally. As a composer, Pietilä has premiered his works with orchestras such as Avanti!, Pori Sinfonietta, Kuopio City Orchestra, Lappeenranta City Orchestra, Mikkeli City Orchestra, Zagros Ensemble, KAMUS String Quartet, and UMO. He has composed for various ensembles including chamber orchestras, jazz ensembles, chamber strings, jazz quintets, big bands, saxophone quartets, string quartets, solo saxophone, piano, and various small ensembles and duos. Additionally, Pietilä premiered Eero Hämeenniemi’s saxophone concerto “Grounds,” composed with Pietilä’s improvisational skills in mind. In 2014, Pietilä premiered his own concerto “Graffiti Play” interpreted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra. In 2016, he premiered the tenor saxophone concerto composed by Kalevi Aho dedicated to Pietilä.
More information: www.esapietila.com