Kuru was a steam ship that sank in a storm in 7.9.1929 in Näsijärvi lake near Tampere, Finland. This disaster is the biggest accident ever happened in Finland in the inland waters: there were 162 people on board an only  22 people survived. Like Titanic, this ship had been advertised as being unsinkable. However, whereas the passangers on Titanic were mostly well-off  people on leisure, Kuru`s passangers were merely ordinary people going home from work. My grandfather was also supposed to get on board that day but he was late and missed the boat. It`s not always good to be punctual. I have dedicated  this work to the passengers of the ship "Kuru". The work was commissioned by Festival 'Crashkurs', Hannover 2011 and the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony.

Kuru

I’ve lived near the sea all my life, and it’s always been an important element for me. Although I’ve now left the waters of Southwest Finland and Satakunta that I love for the shores of Hong Kong, both are equally deserving of protection. El Canto del Mar Infinito is one of several works of mine exploring this theme. The presence of the sea is apparent in the musical material and instrumentation, some of which was generated from an analysis of underwater sound worlds.

The work was commissioned by Tampere Biennale 2021 and premiered in August 2021 by Uusinta Ensemble in Tampere, Finland. Recorded by the Finnish national radio YLE. El Canto del Mar Infinito was selected to represent Finland in the "Hidden Treasures Mixtape" of the International Rostrum of Composers (IRC) 2021.

El Canto Del Mar Infinito (2021)

Dialogo (2008) for organ and electronics. Recorded at the Spitalfields Festival 2008, London.

Unknown Album (16.9.2008 19:40:06)

Kallionpaa - Dialogo (2008)

Safari de la Mort was inspired by Jean Tinguely´s sculpture of the same name. The composition reflects the squeaky high noises produced by the sculpture, as well as the spooky atmosphere of this particular art work. The focus point of the sonic material of the composition is in exploration of resonances and timbral characteristics of solo flute. The work was first performed by flutist and composer Jeff Brown ,who is a long term friend of the composer, and to whom the work has been dedicated to.

Safari de la Mort

Celestifilia by Kalionpää, performed by Tuuli Lempa 

Celestifilia (for piano, midi keyboard and electronics)

Einige Kleinigkeiten (for flute and piano)

Composed by M Kallionpaa& H.P. Gasselseder. Maria Kallionpaa. piano; Hans-Peter Gasselseder, electronics

Kallionpaa&Gasselseder: For Those Who Don´t Understand (for electronic piano)

Trinity Mania performed by the composer (2010)

Kallionpaa: Trinity Mania (for piano, toy piano, electronic keyboard, electronics)

Die Raben/The Ravens, Music by Maria Kallionpaa. Performed by Luo Ting, pno. 2022.

“Die Raben” was inspired by a poem by Georg Trakl and it is dedicated to the memory of Austrian composer Maria Hofer. As a result of the long-term friendship and composer-performer collaboration, the work was specially written for pianist Judith Valerie Engel who premiered it in Salzburg in November 2017. The purpose was to combine virtuosity and the expressiveness of the poem. The leading motifs, that signify the death, are always present: however, the gaps are filled with human expression and hope.
	
Before performing the work, the pianist may, if they wish, recite the original poem by Georg Trakl (Gedichte 1913):

Die Raben
Über den schwarzen Winkel hasten
Am Mittag die Raben mit hartem Schrei.
Ihr Schatten streift an der Hirschkuh vorbei
Und manchmal sieht man sie mürrisch rasten.

O wie sie die braune Stille stören,
In der ein Acker sich verzückt,
Wie ein Weib, das schwere Ahnung berückt,
Und manchmal kann man sie keifen hören.

Um ein Aas, das sie irgendwo wittern,
Und plötzlich richten nach Nord sie den Flug
Und schwinden wie ein Leichenzug
In Lüften, die von Wollust zittern.

Die Raben/The Ravens (2017)

”The Song of War” (El Canto de la Guerra) was particularly written for the World War I commemoration year 2014. After winning the top prize at the composition contest of the Oxford University Philharmonic Orchestra in 2013, I was commissioned to write this composition for the same orchestra. The lyrics reflect the threat of the coming war from the perspective of the past: the text is a collage consisting of the predictions of Pythia (the oracle of Delphi), as well as an excerpt of an atmospheric poem by Spanish poet Carolina Coronado, who seemed to have sensed the tragic happenings within Europe already decades before the war actually took place. The different prophecies from two completely diffferent situations and eras are separated by the names of some of the most notorious battles of the WW1. I have combined the two different texts relatively freely in order to reflect the haunting atmosphere of the looming future calamities. Pythia, or Carolina, is presented in the context of this work as a prophet and the electronic theremin instrument symbolises her connection to the divine knowledge that only she can access. The composition is dedicated to the soloists of the premiere: Lydia Kavina (theremin) and Tal Katsir (soprano).

El Canto de la Guerra/The Song of War (2014)

A work for piccolo, 3ssax, 2trp, 2trb, 2pno. First performance at the Plug Festival, Glasgow, 2008. The piece was inspired by the Easter processions in Catholic countries (for example, Semana Santa in Spain).

Il Corteo (2008)

An orchestral work based on the "Duineser Elegien" by Rainer Maria Rilke

Jeder Engel ist schrecklich (2008)

Maria Kallionpää: Chrysalis Variazione II. Maria Kallionpaa, pno; Hans Peter Gasselseder, sound design and electronics. Recorded live at the NowNet Arts Conference, November 2024. KreativInstitut.OWL/Hochschule für Musik Detmold

Maria Kallionpaa

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