Lauri Mäntysaari

Finland

22 February 1982

Driven – for violin and piano

"One source of inspiration for my work Driven were the highly rhythmical folk dances of Eastern Europe – also used by Béla Bartók in his work. Constantly changing beats of 2 and 3 units create a restless feeling full of virtuosic power. The main challenge for the musicians may not be just playing the notes, but playing them at the same time. Although written with simple time signatures (4/4, 5/4), the beating of the notes indicates complex rhythmical patterns. After a while, the pianist’s relation to rhythm changes. The piano starts playing strict quarter notes against the violin’s complex rhythms, and something of a feeling of groove is created.

The slower middle part contains also quarter-tone notes – again first used in Western art music by Bartók. “Bending” intervals leads to a tickling sensation of experiencing new harmonic paths. In the end the music is “driven” back to the restless world of the beginning.

The title has nothing to do with the Hollywood movie of the same name."

Lauri Mäntysaari feels that music is still all about organizing sound, but in novel ways. His fascination towards organic unity and spectral harmonies has earned him first prizes in Milan Conservatory Composition Competition 2012 (”Sur” for ensemble) and Young Masters XXI Competition in the Hague in 2012 (”Muove” for string quartet), while his love for choral music led to winning the VocalEspoo international composition competition for children’s choir in 2014 (”Sensemayá”, poem by Nicolás Guillén). After completing his studies with Veli-Matti Puumala in Sibelius Academy, Mäntysaari’s music has been performed in international festivals such as Musica nova Helsinki 2011, Nordic Music Days in Reykjavík 2016 and Let the Peoples Sing in Helsinki 2017.

Recently Mäntysaari has completed his All-night Vigil – only the second of its kind written in Finnish – which received its first complete performance by the Key Ensemble Chamber Choir in Turku, April 2022.