Sonata for viola and piano (2025)

The goal of the composition project was to compose a full-scale Sonata for viola and piano, in which the instruments are equal partners with each other and in which the expressive means of contemporary music are widely used.

The motivation of the project was to fill a gaping gap in the Finnish viola sonata repertoire of the 2020s and to create a completely independent new work, which viola players would be excited to take up. 

The Sonata is cast in three movements, which could be describes as follows:

I Angst. Present; struggle, pain, anxiety caused by the inevitable end.

II Threnody. Past; sorrow mixed with gratitude and relief.

III Awakening. Future; sunrise, spring, birth, start of new life, vitality.

The Sonata was commissioned by and is dedicated to an especially talented violist Katrīna Anna Pelnēna, with whom I had workshops and discussions on the becoming sonata. Thank you so much Katrīna! I asked pianist Fanny Söderström to join the project in an early stage. I knew her as superb and sensitive pianist for whom trusted I could write a full-weight piano part and who would undestand instantly, how to play with a violist.

The Word Premiere was given by Katrīna and Fanny in my composition concert Maximum Chamber Music in 19 OCT 2025, Helsinki, Balder Hall.

The composition of the Sonata was supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Sibelius Fund of the Society of Finnish Composers. Thank you!

I’d like to conclude with a special message to all viola–piano duos out there: I hope you find this new Sonata for viola and piano interesting and try it out – if they can do it, you can do it!

Word Premiere by Katrīna Anna Pelnēna, viola and Fanny Söderström, piano in Max Savikangas' composition concert Maximum Chamber Music in 19 OCT 2025, Helsinki, Balder Hall, Finland.