VELINIKKA (2008) (3rd version)
concerto for quarter-tone accordion
25'
soloist and 18 musicians:
solo quarter-tone accordion +
1111/1 alto saxophone/1110/01/1, strings (2-1-2-2-1)
commissioned by Gaudeamus Music Week
dedicated to Veli Kujala
premiere: September 1, 2008
Insomnio, cond. Ulrich Pöhl
Veli Kujala, quarter-tone accordion
Gaudeamus Music Week
Amsterdam
February 13, 2009
Tapiola Sinfonietta, cond. Stefan Asbury
Veli Kujala, quarter-tone accordion
Musica Nova Festival
Temppeliaukion kirkko, Helsinki
September 21, 2009
Orkiestra Muzyki Nowej, cond. Szymon Bywalec
Veli Kujala, quarter-tone accordion
Warsaw Autumn festival
Warsaw
October 10, 2011
Oulu Sinfonia, cond. Anna-Maria Helsing
Veli Kujala, quarter-tone accordion
Uuden musiikin lokakuu festival
Madetoja Concert Hall, Oulu
September 20, 2014
Ensemble Ernst, cond. Thomas Rimul
Veli Kujala, quarter-tone accordion
Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival /
Nordic Music Days 2014
Kulturkirken Jakob, Oslo
Program notes
Velinikka is a quarter-tone accordion concerto for quarter-tone accordion and chamber orchestra. The composition is commissioned by Gaudeamus Music Week and dedicated to Veli Kujala. It was very inspiring to compose the concerto for Veli Kujala and Insomnio conducted by Ulrich Pöhl. The cadenza of the concerto is improvised or/and composed by the soloist.
Cooperation with Veli Kujala and the undersigned have led to an elaboration of a new instrument, the quarter-tone accordion. The most significant difference between a standard concert accordion and the quarter-tone accordion is, that reed blocks inside the quarter-tone accordion are replaced with the quarter-tone reed blocks. The quarter-tone reed blocks are able to produce complete quarter-tone scale of range of nearly five octaves.
The quarter-tone accordion was invented by Veli Kujala in 2005. The quarter-tone reed blocks were designed by Veli Kujala and built by Pigini (www.pigini.com), an accordion factory in Italy, in 2006. The tuning system used is quarter-tone equal temperament, in which the scale divides an octave into 24 equal-ratio steps. The quarter-tone accordion is tuned with a accuracy of one thousandth of a hertz by Tapio Peltola.
Today many composers are interested in using micro-intervals. This increases demand for instruments able to produce them. The quarter-tone accordion is one of the answers for this demand.
Sampo Haapamäki
© Sampo Haapamäki 2023
säveltäjä composer