Katedraali.org: Esa Toivola, organ, Alexandr Dzhurri and Antti Hirvonen, trombone

Music on the Cathedral organ surrounded by symbolist church art!

The Cathedral organist Esa Toivola and trombonists Alexandr Dzhurri and Antti Hirvonen will premiere the new work Aeternitas

Alexandr Dzhurri has worked with the Mariinsky Orchestra in St. Petersburg and since 2022 with the orchestras of Tampere and Turku. Antti Hirvonen has been the principal trombone player of the Tampere Philharmonic since 2003.

Organ artist Esa Toivola has performed widely in Finland and abroad and has worked as the organist of the Tampere Cathedral since 2016.

Composer Ilkka Hammo is a guitarist and pedagogue from Tampere, whose works have been performed, among others, At the concerts of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Tampere Philharmonic.

Ilkka Hammo talks about the creation of his new composition:

"The initial impetus for the Aeternitas piece dates back several years. In 2019, Esa Toivola premiered my small-scale organ prelude at Tampere Cathedral, after which we exchanged ideas about continuing our collaboration. I floated the initial idea of a large-scale work for organ and wind instruments that would utilize space and distances. Five years later, the time for the work was finally right and we started planning its realization."

"At the beginning of 2025, the Finnish Cultural Foundation awarded me a grant, with the support of which I was able to begin composing this piece in February 2026. The composition of two trombones and an organ is unusual and that is why it is interesting. The trombones The various arrangements in the church loft take over the acoustics of the Cathedral as a whole. The inspiration for the work has been the architecture of the church and its symbolist art. Hugo Simberg's frescoes reflect an atmosphere that is like the sound of a trumpet: fatal, but also gently human. The title of the work, Aeternitas, means eternity and closely refers to Tampere Cathedral. Architect Lars Sonck won the Cathedral design competition with this name in 1899."

Free admission! Program 10 € at the door of the church.