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Veli-Matti Puumala	AUDIO SAMPLES

Veli-Matti Puumala (born 18 July 1965) established himself as one of Finland's most talented composers during the 1990s. He studied with Paavo Heininen at the Sibelius Acade­my, Helsinki from 1984 to 1993 and attended Franco Donatoni’s courses at the Accademia Chi­gia­na in Siena in 1989 and 1990. His music has been featured extensively at several festivals in Scan­dinavia and Europe, including the ISCM World Music Days in Zurich, the Nuove Sincronie concert series in Milan, the Gaudeamus Music Week in Amsterdam, the Ars Musica Festival in Brussels, the Musica Festival in Strasbourg and the Lerchenborg Music Days in Denmark.

Ranking among Puumala’s principal works are his trilogies. The Chain trilogy for orchestra dates from 1994-97 (Chant Chains, Chains of Camenae and Chainsprings) and another (with epilogue) for ensemble includes Verso, Scroscio, Ghirlande and Tutta via. He has also written two concertos: Taon for double bass and orchestra, and Seeds of Time for piano and orchestra premiered in Helsingborg in 2004.

Puumala has composed a wealth of ensemble and chamber works, such as Soira (1996) for accordion and 7 players, Umstrichen vom Schreienden (1997-98) for six cellos, Capriccio (2002) for 2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos and the highly-acclaimed String Quartet (1994), which represents a turning point in his stylistic and technical approach.

The music of Veli-Matti Puumala has a strong dynamic charge and tension. He exploits to the full the potential of the expressive means available in a refined and energetic way and is known to be a composer who has valued the ideals of Modernism throughout his career. The materials in his stylistic palette are clearly Postserial, yet he nevertheless aspires towards a mixture of rich timbres. His writing frequently displays a complex fabric bristling with activity, beneath which are structures designed to produce clarity, drama and contrast.

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