| Opus Number | 37 |
| Year | 2015 |
| Category | Solo |
| Duration | 6 min. |
| Instrumentation | piano (and soon accordion) |
| Availability | Music Finland and online |
| Movements | See below (11 miniatures) |
Program note
These eleven miniatures for piano solo are all inspired by my classmates in high school. They were composed in spring 2015 and premiered by Linn Bertland at Malmö Academy of Music on the 7th of May 2015. The last miniature (The Stressed Artist) is a self portrait of me at the age of 17. Have fun imagining all the characters!
Characters Op.37
1. The Comfortable One
2. The One Who Always Has An Opinion
3. The Calm Girl from the Countryside
4. The Polite but Crazy Guy
5. The One Who Never Sits Still
6. The One with an Eating Disorder
7. The Intrigue Maker
8. The Queen and Mother of the Herd
9. The Joker
10. The Dreamer
11. The Stressed Artist
Characters (for piano) – Listen on Soundcloud
Review
Coming up next, in good company, Cecilia Damström’s marvelously witty Characters (2015) for piano solo was given in a reading of keen insight and ever-swift reactivity by Söderström. A cycle of nine pristine miniatures, encompassing a series of absolutely spot-on character studies – some of them conceived in mere four bars of music, others building up to twenty two measures – Damström’s brief suite introduces the listener to such relatable dramatis personae as The Calm Girl from Countryside, The Dreamer or The Stressed Artist, alongside more challenging ones, namely The One Who Always Has an Opinion, while paying heed to The One with an Eating Disorder as well.
Friends pictured within, perhaps, to put it in Elgarian context, Characters is embedded with captivating keyboard narrative, displaying somewhat Debussyan mixture of text and commentary, where psychological insight and caricature merge into observant musicality carrying therapeutic and entertaining undercurrents alike.
Jari Kallio – Adventures in Music Blog 12.8.2023
Performances
2015 May 7th Linn Bertland playing the world premiere at Malmö Academy of Music
2015 May 13th me performing the Finnish premiere at Korvat Auki Concert in Helsinki
2015 August me performing at Tampering Festival in Tampere
2017 April 11th me performing at Tampere – More info
2017 April 19th me performing at my Bachelor Recital in Tampere – More info
2021 August 4th Vilina Rainisto at Mänttä Music Festival – More info
2022 May 6th me performing at Steiner Alumni Event – More info
2022 November 17th Xenia Frederiksen playing the Danish premiere at Viborg Musikforening – More info
2022 December 1st Xenia Frederiksen at Roskilde Musikforening – More info
2023 August 11th Fanny Söderström at Kokonainen Festival – More info
2024 June 30th Reetamaria Rajala at Aava Festiva, Turku archipilago, Finland – More info
2024 September 4th Reetamaria Rajala at Kirseberg Church, Sweden – More info
2025 January 31st Dóra Lukács at the Sibelius Academy, Finland – More info