Palace Music Summer Concerts: Neumann, Mauer, Smolander

Program:

Tõnu Kõrvits (b. 1969)
"Laulan üle merede" (“I Sing Across the Seas” ) for saxophone (2006)

Francis Poulenc (1899–1963)
Sonata for clarinet and bassoon, FP 32
(arranged for alto saxophone and bassoon)
Allegro / Romance / Final

Tõnu Kõrvits
“"Üksindused" ("Solitudes” ) for bassoon (2013)
Malincalico / Cantabile / Ciaconna

Jules Demersseman (1833–1866)
“Fantaisie sur un thème original” for alto saxophone and piano

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921)
Sonata for bassoon and piano in G major, Op. 168
   Allegro moderato
   Allegro scherzando
   Molto adagio – Allegro moderato

Eugène Bozza (1905–1991)
Aria for alto saxophone and piano

Francis Poulenc
Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano, FP 43
(arranged for soprano saxophone, bassoon and piano)
   Lento - Presto
   Andante con moto
   Rondo. Très vif

The concert is supported by the Sibelius Academy

Joonas Neumann (b. 2003) started his musical journey in Keila Music School in 2010, playing the accordion. He started playing the saxophone in January 2012 in Liis Mäevälja’s class at Keila Music School. Joonas continued his studies at Tallinn Music High School (2018–2022) and later at Tallinn Music and Ballet School (academic year of 2022/23), in both cases his teacher was Professor Emeritus Olavi Kasemaa. He spent the 2023/24 academic year studying in Tilburg, at Fontys Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, under the guidance of Professor Andreas van Zoelen. Currently, Joonas is studying at the Sibelius Academy (University of the Arts) in Finland, in Joonatan Rautiola’s saxophone class. Joonas has won multiple competion awards, including first prizes in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019 in the competition Best Young Instrumentalist (Parim noor instrumentalist), organized by the Estonian Music Schools Union. He received special recognition from the jury at the Janis Cimze International Festival for Young Talents in Latvia in 2016. In the spring of 2019, he was awarded third place in the younger age group of the Estonian Secondary Music Schools' Competition for Wind and Percussion Players (Eesti keskastme muusikakoolide konkurss puhk- ja löökpillimängijatele). In 2023, he won first place in the same competition in the older age group. He was also awarded first place in the C-category of the Kaunas Sonorum 2019 international competition in Lithuania. In October 2021, he was selected to compete in the Jurjānu Andrejs VII International Woodwind Competition in Latvia. In September 2022, he reached the second round of the international saxophone competition named after Fernande Decruck. Additionally, Joonas has won several regional competitions. He has performed as a soloist with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and the Tallinn Music and Ballet School Symphony Orchestra. Joonas has participated in the work of many orchestras. From 2016 to 2023, Joonas was a member of the Estonian Youth Wind Orchestra (saxophone section leader from 2018). In May 2022, he was selected for the Youth Wind Orchestra at the WASBE (World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles) international congress held in Prague, where he had the opportunity to perform, amongst others, under the hand of Sir Timothy Reynish. In August 2022, Joonas was invited to perform as a saxophonist with the symphony orchestra of the international KRATT festival, conducted by Olari Elts, the principal conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. He returned for the 2023 festival, where he played the saxophone solo part in Eino Tamberg's Concerto Grosso and the iconic saxophone solo in Sergei Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances. Joonas has participated in the masterclasses of Alfonso Padilla, Marcus Weiss, Nicolas Prost, Johan van der Linden, Joonatan Rautiola, Andreas van Zoelen, Jörgen Pettersson, Kalle Oittinen, Stephen Page, Lars Mlekusch, Arno Bornkamp, Miho Sumiya, Eva van Grinsven, Sandro Compagnon, Nicolas Arsenijevic. Alongside his instrumental work, Joonas is also passionate about singing. He was president of the mixed choir of Tallinn Music and Ballet School until the end of the 2022/23 academic year. In the fall of 2024, he participated in the opera choir of the Sibelius Academy. Joonas is also a composer. He has studied composition with renowned composers Tauno Aints and Ville Raasak. Several of his compositions and arrangements have been performed and recognized both in Estonia and internationally  

Liisa Smolander (b. 2001) started playing the piano when she was 4-years-old. At the age of five she began her studies at the Oulu Conservatory of Music. Now Liisa is studying at the Sibelius Academy with Antti Hotti and Tuija Hakkila. 2013-2020 Liisa was a student at the Youth Piano Academy of Finland, where she has participated in numerous masterclasses with renowned professors such as Matti Raekallio, Claudio Martínez-Mehner, Aquiles Delle Vigne and Robert Levin. Liisa was rewarded in the Leevi Madetoja Piano Competition in 2012, 2015, 2018, the Steinway Piano Festival Competition in 2016 and the Helsinki Lied Competition in 2018 with Lotta Pylkäs. Liisa has received grants from Pro Musica, Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Sibelius Academy Foundation. Liisa has been performing at the Oulunsalo soi! Festival, Korsholm Music Festival, Joensuu Music Festival, Mänttä Music Festival and in Estonia, Spain, Germany and Portugal.

Patrick Mauer (b. 2004) is a young Estonian bassoonist. Since autumn 2024, he has been studying for Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance at the Sibelius Academy. He studies under the guidance of the internationally renowned bassoon virtuoso Jaakko Luoma, while his contrabassoon teacher is Erkki Suomalainen. Patrick began studying the bassoon at the age of ten at Nõmme Music School under the guidance of Tarmo Velmet. From the early years of his studies, he was actively involved in the work of several student orchestras. After graduating from music school, he continued his studies in the preparatory programme at MUBA (formerly the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School), in Tarmo Velmet’s class. At the same time, he began studying at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre’s Youth Academy under Professor Peeter Sarapuu. In 2023, he continued his studies in the Bachelor’s programme at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, and after one year, his studies took him to Helsinki. He gained his first orchestral experience in the Nõmme Music School Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Riivo Jõgi. Since then, he has had the opportunity to perform with several professional orchestras in both Estonia and Finland. Over the past year, he has played with the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Finnish Police Orchestra. Patrick regularly participates in projects with the Hyvinkää Orchestra. In Estonia, he has performed with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Pärnu City Orchestra and several project orchestras. Since 2022, he has also participated in the activities of Kristjan Järvi’s orchestras. In the summer of 2025, he was an artist at the Kamarikesä Chamber Music Festival in Helsinki. As a soloist, Patrick has performed with the KRATT Festival Symphony Orchestra, the EMTA Sinfonietta and several music school orchestras. He has successfully participated in several competitions for young instrumentalists. He has taken part in masterclasses led by leading bassoonists from across Europe. Most recently, he has studied with Carlo Colombo, Bence Bogányi and Theo Plath.