Koskinen, Arto - Fuga Indiana - Ahonen, Joonas

Arto Koskinen is a Finnish composer, pianist, and harpsichordist who has devoted his musical life to creating a dialogue between Asian, European, and African-American traditions. In the 1970s, he became interested in jazz and continued his studies in Indian vocal music at a music and dance school in New Delhi. He also familiarized himself with the polyphonic techniques of the Baroque era and sought to combine them with the melodic principles of Eastern music. The result is this "Indian fugue," composed between 1987 and 2000, whose main sources are North Indian classical music, traditional Western polyphony, and African-American improvisation. His compatriot Joonas Ahonen, a polymorphic pianist who has already recorded the album Le Monde selon George Antheil with Patricia Kopatchinskaja (ALPHA797), is a passionate advocate of Koskinen's music. This monograph finally brings to the fore the music of a composer with a highly original voice.