Anne Naukkarinen & Leevi Räsänen: String Quartet

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String Quartet is an interdisciplinary work by choreographer and visual artist Anne Naukkarinen, in which she captures four generations of her family’s memories and stories from the landscape of Pappilanlahti in Ruokolahti—a place where her maternal lineage has lived for over a hundred years.

The work is based on interviews Naukkarinen conducted with her family members, from which she compiled a multi-voiced script. Composer Leevi Räsänen translated the script into a composition for four string instruments titled maisema, muistuma, enne. In his composition, Räsänen drew inspiration from the imagined presence of an ancient song woven into the landscape, and from the mist of memories. The contents of the script take on an auditory form in the composition—at times through the interpretations of individual musicians, at others as a shared family chorus. The work will premiere in the garden of Naukkarinen’s grandmother, Kerttu Kukkurainen, overlooking Lake Saimaa and the Ruokolahti church.

In the piece, one family’s memories based on a site are woven into a sonic tapestry that stretches across decades. Broader developments in Finnish society—such as the structural transformation of rural areas—are juxtaposed with everyday, intimate moments like gardening or taking a dip in the lake, each rendered equally meaningful. Personal memories evolve into shared myths within the family, inevitably shaping how the constantly changing surrounding landscape is experienced.

In addition to the composition maisema, muistuma, enne, the work includes a small publication featuring the original script and landscape drawings by visual artist Saimi Suikkanen, originally from Imatra. This continues Suikkanen’s exploration of landscape drawing, begun during her 2024 summer residency at the South Karelia Artists’ Association in Ruokolahti. The publication will be available at the performances.

Credits

Script and concept: Anne Naukkarinen
Stories in the script: Kerttu Kukkurainen, Helena Naukkarinen, Anne Naukkarinen, and Milja Suonio
Music: Leevi Räsänen – maisema, muistuma, enne (2025)
Musicians: Aino Szalai (Violin I), Anna-Maria Huohvanainen (Violin II), Ida Kosonen (Viola), Joanna Hanhikoski (Cello)
Visual artist: Saimi Suikkanen
Sound technique: Gaia Music / Teemu Myyryläinen

Curator: Riikka Thitz
Production: Anne Naukkarinen, i dolci ry
In collaboration with: Municipality of Ruokolahti, South Karelia Artists' Association
Supported by: Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Karjalan Kulttuurirahasto
Leevi Räsänen’s work has been supported by the Kone Foundation.

Vesireitit (Waterways)

String Quartet is part of the multidisciplinary Vesireitit (Waterways) project, which features works exploring the mythical, ideological, and emotional dimensions of the waterways in eastern Finland. Vesireitit is curated by Riikka Thitz and produced by i dolci. More information about Vesireitit can be found here.