On December 14th at 7:00 PM, Lauri Jõeleht’s 50th Birthday Concert Horizon will take place at Niguliste Church.
The author’s concert will feature the premiere of the guitar and orchestra concerto Morning Star, performed by Kirill Ogorodnikov and the Estonian Sinfonietta. In the piece Horizon, soloists Kalev Kuljus and Anna-Liisa Bezrodny will perform with the orchestra. Additionally, Kalev Kuljus will present the oboe solo piece Ampla, dedicated to him.
One of the concert’s highlights will be the piece Prayer in Darkness for three organs and oboe, performed by organists Kristel Aer, Ulla Krigul, and Olga Kulikova, together with oboist Dmitri Bulgakov. Alongside the main organ and the Baroque organ on the right, a portative organ will be installed on the left side of the church for the concert, placing the audience at the center of the organs.
You can listen to the recording of this concert from Niguliste Church, broadcast by Klassikaraadio. The sound engineer was Teet Kehlmann, and the editor was Johanna Mängel. [added on December 16th]
On August 29th, Lauri Jõeleht released his latest album, Music for Piano, a collection of all his solo piano works. The album launch concert took place at Tallinn Town Hall, featuring Anna-Liisa Bezrodny (violin) and Irina Zahharenkova (piano).
The album includes Chant (Song), Stella Matutina (Morning Star), Tristezza (Sadness), and the four-movement Piano Sonata. Chant (Song) is Jõeleht’s first work deeply connected to Spanish Golden Age music.
Chant (Song) was the composer’s first piece directly tied to a Spanish Golden Age composer. Near the end, it features a quote from Diego Pisador’s vihuela piece Pavana muy llana para tañer (Pavane to Be Played Tenderly), enriched by Jõeleht with elaborate embellishments.
The centerpiece of the album is the four-movement Piano Sonata, performed continuously without breaks. The movements are interconnected through recurring musical motifs and ideas, which are reinterpreted in surprising ways in later sections. For example, the contemplative theme of the first movement, accompanied by an ostinato, reappears in the second movement at a fast presto tempo, rendered almost unrecognizable. In this piece, Jõeleht systematically employs harmonic techniques based on the overtone series, creating a sound distinct from his earlier works. All the album’s compositions were recorded at the White Hall of the House of the Black Heads between 2021 and 2024.
The album was featured in the December 10th broadcast of Nyyd-muusika. Lauri Jõeleht – Music for Piano on Klassikaraadio, hosted by Johanna Mängel. The album is available for purchase at the Estonian Music Information Centre.
Lauri Jõeleht (b. 1974), member of Estonian Composers’ Union since 2002. In 1996, Lauri Jõeleht graduated as a guitarist from the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School with Tiit Peterson and improved his skills at the Conservatoire of Barcelona in José Luis Lopategui’s class in 1996–1997. In 2001, he graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music, where he studied composition with Profs. Helena Tulve and Eino Tamberg, and obtained master’s degree in 2003 as a student of Helena Tulve and Toivo Tulev. Lauri Jõeleht has been working as a guitar teacher since 1996. Currently he teaches at the Old Town Educational College and Pirita Guitar and Violin Studio. His students have been awarded in several guitar competitions in Estonia and abroad. Jõeleht has been a member of Estonian Guitar Society since 1999. From 2014, he has worked as a lecturer in the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.
Lauri Jõeleht has written chamber and orchestral music, as well as liturgical music. The important part of his output is formed by choral works created in virtue of the collaboration with Estonian notable vocal ensembles: Vox Clamantis, Heinavanker, Orthodox Singers, Linnamuusikud, Voces Musicales. Besides that, Jõeleht´s works have been performed by Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Narva City Symphony Orchestra, Kaliningrad Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble U:, Ensemble Voces Musicales, Reval Ensemble, Collegium Consonante, Una Corda, Wind Quintet Estica, Ensemble Ars Nova (Rootsi).
In the last decade, Jõeleht has written many solo works that have been performed a number of times. Viola player Garth Knox has presented his Chant Harmonique in Estonia, Spain, Germany and England. Ampla for solo oboe has been performed by Kalev Kuljus, Heli Ernits and Riivo Kallasmaa. Several new works for oboe in different ensembles have been commissioned by oboist Dmitri Bulgakov. Accordionist Külli Kudu has commissioned two solo works and an Accordion Concerto. He himself has been the first performer of most of his guitar works; and these have been played also by Stefan Östersjö, Kirill Ogorodnikov and Kristo Käo. His music has been presented at such festivals as ISCM World Music Days, Estonian Music Days, NYYD Festival, Trialogos, AFEKT, Hiiumaa Homecoming Festival and Autumn Festival of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. Jõeleht’s piece Loobumus (Renunciation) won the first prize in a contest of solo pieces for classical guitar, organized by Estonian Guitar Society in 2003. Concordia for two guitars was awarded the Composer’s Prize at the Estonian Music Days Festival 2005. Chant Harmonique for viola and ensemble represented Estonia on the International Rostrum of Composers in 2021.
Lauri Jõeleht’s 50th Jubilee Concert was supported by: Estonian Cultural Endowment, Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta, and Jägala Energy OÜ.