
Saxophone Quartet Aava is a dynamic and versatile saxophone quartet founded in 2013, consisting of Finnish saxophone virtuosos. The quartet’s members Joonatan Rautiola, Samu Metsänen, Kalle Oittinen, and Eero Saunamäki are top-tier musicians who hold prominent positions in the Finnish saxophone scene. They work regularly at institutions such as the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, the Tampere Conservatory, and the Guards Band of the Finnish Defence Forces, while also performing actively both in Finland and abroad. Their education includes studies at the Sibelius Academy, the Paris Conservatory, and various international masterclasses.
In recent years, the quartet has performed as a soloist with the Lappeenranta and Mikkeli City Orchestras as well as the Guards Band, at the Riihimäki Summer Concerts Festival, the Musica Nova Festival, the Helsinki Music Centre, in various halls around the Pirkanmaa region, as well as in Helsinki churches and private events. The quartet’s repertoire is diverse, including gems of French saxophone literature, contemporary music, and jazz-inspired works.
Recent commissioned works and premieres include Jukka Tiensuu’s Tyypit, Veli Kujala’s Transformations Concerto, Tuomas Turriago’s Saxophone Quartet, Paavo Korpijaakko’s Siivet, and Ville Komppa’s Extraterrestrial Concerto. The quartet has also performed extensively piano music arranged and orchestrated for them by Kalle Oittinen. The composition of works for Aava has been supported by the Madetoja Foundation, Teosto, the Uusimaa Regional Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
The quartet occasionally performs as a trio under the name Saxophone Quartet Ava.
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" ... The Saxophone Quartet Aava is a super unified collective whose interaction, which infrequently appears, is almost telepathic."
HBL 29.10.2020, Mats Liljeroos