Trois amis for flute/alto flute, viola and harp

My composition Trois amis takes as its historical point of departure Claude Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp (1915), which inaugurated the repertoire for this distinctive trio. Over the course of more than a century, dozens of works have been written for the flute–viola–harp combination. Finnish composers, too, have contributed to this repertoire: Kaija Saariaho’s New Gates (1996) and Lotta Wennäkoski’s Ciphers (2014) may be cited as notable examples. I had the privilege of performing both works as a violist at the Time of Music Festival in Viitasaari in 2017, together with flutist Malla Vivolin and harpist Lily-Marlene Puusepp. In fact, it was on that occasion that the spark to compose a trio of my own was first ignited.

For the contemporary composer, the harp presents particular challenges owing to its diatonic tuning and pedal system. Yet in time, even a composer without practical training on the instrument—as in my case—can learn to harness these features and to devise ways of writing more chromatic music for the harp.

As Debussy already intuited, the flute–viola–harp trio offers remarkably fertile ground for creating a wealth of musical structures, textures, characters, and atmospheres, despite comprising only three instruments. None of them naturally overwhelms the others. The flute, one of the most agile of instruments, can carry richly varied music on its own. The viola, with its distinctive timbre and playing techniques, acts as a mediator between flute and harp: its pizzicato resonates with the harp’s plucked strings, while its bowed sound merges seamlessly with the flute’s sonority. The harp, for its part, spans a broad register and, with its resonant and multifaceted tone, functions equally well as a melodic, harmonic, bass, colouristic, or accompanimental instrument. Extended techniques available on each instrument further expand the web of interconnections.

I wish to express my warm gratitude to harpist Lily-Marlene Puusepp, who commissioned this work, and to the Teosto Commission Fund, whose generous support made the project possible.

I hope you will enjoy this new composition.

Max Savikangas, 2025

Live recording 7 FEB 2026 at the Helsinki Harp Festival, Helsinki Music Centre, Camerata Hall. Published with permission from the composer and performers.