NEWS
Outstanding reviews for Joonatan Rautiola's soloist appearances in Germany and Finland
Joonatan Rautiola appeared recently as a soloist with Mecklenburgische Staatskapelle Schwerin , playing Lithuanian composer Raminta Šerkšnyte's Saxophone concerto. The concerts, April 18th, 19th and 20th at Schwerin, Northern Germany, received excellent reviews. Schweriner Volkszeitung's critic Michael Baumgartl praises Rautiola's glorious and amazingly soft tones ; Heinz-Jürgen Staszak from Ostsee-Zeitung is delighted of Rautiola's lively and stunningly virtuosic playing.
Rautiola's end of March performances of Jacques Ibert's Concertino da camera and Darius Milhaud's La Création du Monde with Kymi Sinfonietta , Eastern Finland, were also well received : Reijo Paavola in Kymen Sanomat characterizes Rautiola as a sovereign virtuoso with a refined taste for colors ; Ari Helander in Kouvolan Sanomat admires above all Rautiola’s exteremely rich dynamic scale.
The concerts in Germany were conducted by Michael Sanderling, Dresden Philharmonic's new Music Director; those in Finland by Dalia Stasevska, rising Finnish-Ukrainian conductor. Both received praise for their appearances.
Quotations with traductions and complete articles
Joonatan Rautiola prizewinner at Adolphe Sax -contest in Belgium
Joonatan Rautiola was awarded 4th prize at the Concours International Adolphe Sax -saxophone competition in Belgium. Organized between 1st and 13th November at Adolphe Sax' native city Dinant, CIAS is the most famous saxophone competition and had this year 146 participants from 26 different countries. The competition had three rounds and its final round was held at the Collégiale Notre Dame -cathedral in Dinant and accompagnied by the Brugge Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ivan Meylemans. For his final round, Rautiola played Frank Martin's Ballade and the obligatory concerto, André Waignein's Rhapsody . Rautiola received a cash prize of 3000 euros and a Selmer Series III -alto saxophone. The competition was won by the Belgian Simon Diricq.
Joonatan Rautiola's three competition rounds may be watched at the site Adolphesax.com :
1st round
Ida Gotkovsky : Variations Pathétiques, 6th
movement
J.S.Bach : Sonata for solo violin a minor BWV
1003, 4th movement ; Nina Senk : Impetus, movements 1, 2 & 3
2nd round
Piet Swerts : Kotekan ; William Albright :
Sonata ; Luca Francesconi : Tracce (cut after 40 minutes)
with Marko Hilpo, piano
Final round
André Waignein : Rhapsody, 1st
movement
André Waignein : Rhapsody, 2nd & 3rd
movements
Frank Martin : Ballade, part
1
Frank Martin : Ballade, part
2
with Het Kamerorkest Brugge, dir. Ivan Meylemans
Joonatan Rautiola performs the music for Alain Foix' play Rue Saint Denis
Written and directed by French-Guadeloupean author Alain Foix, Rue Saint Denis is a free adaptation of the King Oidipus' legend, taking place at the decadent Rue Saint-Denis in the very center of Paris. Actors will be Jean-Claude Drouot, Cathy Bodet, Stany Coppet, Modeste Nzapassara ja Mariann Matheus.
The music for the play, composed by Patrick Marcland, features only tenor saxophone and electronics. The saxophonist has an actor-like role, being a ”reflection” of the narrator and often appearing on the stage.
Premiered at the Scène Nationale de Guadeloupe on February 3rd 2011, Rue Saint-Denis will be on tour at various venues in Guadeloupe and Martinique during February. It's programmed at the Théâtre de l’Epée de bois de la Cartoucherie de Vincennes, Paris, from 23 March to 16 April 2011.
Alain Foix (in French)
Patrick
Marcland (in English)