Estimated duration

2 h, incl. intermission

Organizer

Kokonainen Ry

Canth, Sibelius, Schjerfbeck – three women's lives, three piano quintets. Cecilia Damström's powerful trilogy now live for the first time at Musiikkitalo!

Cecilia Damström’s trilogy Woman’s Destiny is a powerful series of three piano quintets inspired by the lives of Minna Canth, Aino Sibelius, and Helene Schjerfbeck. Composed between 2017 and 2020, the trilogy sheds light on the inner worlds of three influential women in Finnish cultural history, each offering a unique expression of womanhood.

Minna portrays the passionate work, challenges of motherhood, and uncompromising societal engagement of a trailblazer of Finnish feminism.
Aino dives into the complex emotional world of the composer’s wife — her quiet endurance, inner contradictions, and a deep love that also carried her husband’s art.
Helene reveals the fragile strength, solitude, artistic integrity, and lifelong self-examination of visual artist Helene Schjerfbeck.

Together, these three works form an intimate, powerful, and deeply emotional musical statement on the role of women — then and now. In Damström’s music, historical female figures are not reduced to symbols or supporting roles, but rise as vivid and multifaceted musical characters. With themes of willpower, love, sacrifice, and silence, the trilogy is a poignant and affecting experience now presented for the first time in full concert form at the Helsinki Music Centre.

Nine of Finland’s leading musicians, all deeply familiar with Damström’s music, perform in this concert:
Anna Husgafvel, violin
Tiina Karakorpi, piano
Helmi Malmgren, clarinet
Yasuko Matsuzaki-Svala, bassoon
Pinja Nuñes, cello
Livia Schweizer, flute
Linda Suolahti, violin
Mari Viluksela, viola
Ella York, oboe

The concert precedes the ensemble’s upcoming studio recording of the trilogy.

Programme:

Minna – Pictures from the Life of Minna Canth (2017), Op. 53
I. Beginning (Alku)
II. Pause (Pysähdys)
III. Volition (Tahto)
IV. Memory (Muisto)

Aino – Emotions from the Life of Aino Sibelius (2018), Op. 60
I. Love (Rakkaus)
II. Steam (Höyry)
III. Longing (Kaipaus)
IV. Iron (Rautaa)

Helene – Nuances from the Life of Helene Schjerfbeck (2020), Op. 74
I. Dancing Shoes (Tanssikengät)
II. Drying Laundry (Vaatteita kuivumassa)
III. Self-Portraits (Omakuva)
IV. The Convalescent (Toipilas)

kokonainenfestival.fi
ceciliadamstrom.com