Photo by Jorma Airola

At a Sibelius Academy Research Days event Juho Laitinen discusses (in English) the hypothesis, practise and tentative results of the Great Learning project. Naarmu ensemble performs works by Alison Knowles, Christian Wolff, Cornelius Cardew and Takehisa Kosugi.

The talk at Music Centre Black Box is free and open to all.

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“The avantgarde has traditionally responded to the call for aesthetic, social and political revolution in the hope for a new world order. If art is understood as circulating commodified art objects in a market-driven art world, artistic action seems to have lost its potential to subvert. Thus, avantgarde in the customary sense may be a thing of the past.

What stays current is society’s need for radical measures, as the world is not in order. Another kind of art based on affirmative and inclusive practices could help. As a case study I present my work on Cornelius Cardew’s ”The Great Learning”, a large-scale experimental composition with ritualistic, theatrical and philosophical leanings. The four-year research project has brought together a large number of amateur and professional music-makers to act, discuss and learn from one another.

Our study has often meant letting go of habitual responses geared to convince and astonish. Instead, we have strived to make inventive, practical, consistent and ethically sound choices within an open, trusting and polyphonic artistic discourse. According to principles outlined in the eponymous text by Confucius, participants have been “looking into one’s own heart and acting on the results”, “watching with affection how people grow” and seeking balance even “in the presence of a tiger”.

We have spent an extensive amount of time together in meetings, rehearsals and performances. We have also travelled, shared meals and bathed together. Importantly, all activities have been open to anyone interested to take part as they wish. This is a fundamental departure from the hierarchies and norms of contemporary classical music.

At this lecture-recital I will elaborate on the underlying principles and their practical applications in our work. Members of the study group will join me in performing music by Alison Knowles, Takehisa Kosugi and Christian Wolff.”

– Juho Laitinen