Among the musicians who are developing activities that build bridges between Japan and Finland, one composer who is indispensable is Ari Romppanen. He is a core member of FinJa Music, the organization that is the host of this concert and aims to promote musical exchange between the two countries. His music is characterized by the way he weaves together various elements such as space, virtuosity and Japanese culture to create his own musical language, and this is particularly evident in his works created in collaboration with the pianist Eriko Takahashi, who gave the first performance of , such as “Erakis” (2016-17), “Sakura” (2017), “Sandbox of Almach” (2019-20), and “Kikyo” (2023).

Romppanen studied composition under Erkki Jokinen at the Sibelius Academy, and during this time he also attended masterclasses given by leading Finnish composers such as Jouni Kaipainen and Jukka Tiensuu. Romppanen is also an excellent pianist, and this is reflected in the technical and pianistic writing of his compositions, which can be seen in his chamber music, solo works and especially his piano works. The world premiere of “Intermezzi” today is no exception, and is a work that requires a high level of performance technique. Despite the understated title of ‘Intermezzi’, the world depicted by the music is extremely vast, with explosions reminiscent of a big bang and cosmic soundscapes that seem to be released into space. In particular, the extended techniques used on the low strings (such as the dry sound produced by inserting a rubber object between the strings, or the overtone sound produced by directly touching the strings) serve to magnify the sound.

Itaru Ogawa, pianist
Concert program text written for premiere of the work in connection with symposium “Japan and Finland – Composers in Dialogue” in Tokyo.