THE BEGINNING

The idea for Creative Dialogue was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2007, when Anssi Karttunen and Magnus Lindberg were performing at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. They were staying at the Acequia Madre House, rehearsing a new work by Magnus for cello and piano. He had completed a first version before arriving in Santa Fe, but, as he liked to do, he continued to revise the piece throughout the rehearsal period. Anssi and Magnus tried out the new material every evening, discussed what worked and what did not, and gradually the piece found its final form. By the time of the concert, the work had effectively been completed through this process of continuous exchange between composer and performer.

Before they left Santa Fe, Paul Halme, director of the foundation responsible for the Acequia Madre House, asked whether they might propose an educational project in collaboration with the Sibelius Academy. Anssi and Magnus immediately agreed — without yet knowing exactly what exactly they would do.

Back in Europe, they began discussing the idea with Kaija Saariaho. The most natural starting point was to share with young composers and performers the way the three of them had themselves been working for decades: not simply presenting a finished score to a performer, but exchanging ideas openly, experimenting, questioning what was on the page and looking together for the best musical solution. The experience Anssi and Magnus had just had in Santa Fe became, in effect, the model for Creative Dialogue.

The first workshop took place in Santa Fe in 2008, with Kaija Saariaho and Anssi Karttunen working with four composers and six string players. They were struck by how new this kind of direct, open-ended collaboration was to the young musicians — and by how much they gained from the experience. What had initially been conceived as a one-off project therefore developed into an ongoing workshop.

From the beginning, Creative Dialogue was designed not around a fixed teaching method but around a way of working together. The composers wrote new music for the participating performers, tried it out in rehearsal, received immediate feedback and revised it in response. The performers, in turn, encountered new music not as something already finished, but as something they could help shape. Over the years, this principle expanded to include repertoire by the faculty composers, improvisation, collective composition and, increasingly, collaborations across different instrumental disciplines and art forms.

Kaija Saariaho and Magnus Lindberg alternated as the principal composer on the faculty, while Anssi Karttunen remained involved in every edition, both as a performer and as the person coordinating the project. A guest instrument or specialist was gradually introduced alongside the string players, broadening the range of musical possibilities.

In 2015 Creative Dialogue moved to Finland for the first time. From then on, the workshop alternated between Santa Fe and Finland, with Magnus and Anssi leading the Santa Fe editions alongside a guest faculty member, and Kaija, Anssi and a guest leading the Finnish editions.

A new chapter began in 2021 with the creation of Creative Dialogue France, established independently of the Sibelius Academy with the support of the Maire and Carl Gustaf Ehrnrooth Foundation. The project subsequently became more international in its organisation as well as in its participants.

The pandemic brought another turning point. The planned Santa Fe workshop could not take place in 2020, and Creative Dialogue instead experimented with an online edition, bringing together both current and former participants. At the same time, Kaija's illness meant that she could no longer continue as a faculty member. Julian Anderson subsequently took over her role as the second composer-in-residence, continuing the tradition of combining a composer with a strong personal relationship to performers and the creative process.

In 2024, another institutional change took place when the Sibelius Academy withdrew from organising the workshop. The Maire and Carl Gustaf Ehrnrooth Foundation then invited Creative Dialogue to continue at Wanantaka Manor, their family home in Finland.

Today, Creative Dialogue has two homes: Wanantaka Manor in Finland and Château de Beauchêne in France. The locations and artistic formats have changed considerably since the first workshop, but the central idea remains the same: to give young composers and performers the opportunity to discover, through direct experience, what can happen when music is developed through genuine dialogue between the people creating and performing it.

THE HISTORY, 2008 — 2022

Creative Dialogue I — Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2008.
The inaugural workshop brought together Kaija Saariaho, Anssi Karttunen, seven string players and a group of composers. The composers developed works specifically for the available string ensembles, while the performers also worked on solo pieces by Saariaho. The resulting works were revised during the workshop and presented in a final concert organised in collaboration with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

Creative Dialogue II— Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2009.
Anssi Karttunen worked with seven cellists on new solo cello music and works for cello ensemble. Peter Lieberson worked with the players in Santa Fe, while Kaija Saariaho, Magnus Lindberg and Pablo Ortiz met with them online.

Creative Dialogue III— Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2010.
Anssi Karttunen and guitarist Timo Korhonen led five cellists and three guitarists in a workshop devoted to new solo and chamber music and improvisation. The final concert included a group improvisation by all the participants.

Creative Dialogue IV — Santa Fe, New Mexico.
A special edition devoted to cellists and the Mystery Variations, a collection of works by 31 composer-friends of Karttunen written for his 50th birthday. Six cellists worked with Karttunen on three to six pieces each, including 21 US premieres. The project culminated in a concert at the St. Francis Auditorium.

Creative Dialogue V — Santa Fe, New Mexico, 17–24 July 2012.
Anssi Karttunen, Magnus Lindberg and clarinettist Chen Halevi led a workshop combining cello and clarinet. The composers wrote new works for the two instruments, while the performers worked on solo and chamber music by Lindberg. The final concert was again part of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

Creative Dialogue VI — Santa Fe, New Mexico, 3–11 July 2014.
Magnus Lindberg, Anssi Karttunen and soprano Barbara Hannigan led a workshop devoted to voice and strings. The composers developed new works, while the performers worked on repertoire by Lindberg, Saariaho, Peter Lieberson and Harrison Birtwistle. The final concert took place at the St. Francis Auditorium on 11 July.

Creative Dialogue VII — Kallio-Kuninkala, Finland, 31 January–7 February 2015.
Kaija Saariaho, Anssi Karttunen and pianist Tuija Hakkila worked with composers and string players from European and US conservatories. The composers developed new works for piano and strings. The final concert, held at the Music Centre in Helsinki as part of Musica nova Helsinki, also included recent works by Saariaho.

Creative Dialogue VIII — Santa Fe, New Mexico, 19–28 June 2016.
Magnus Lindberg and Anssi Karttunen were joined by Led Zeppelin multi-instrumentalist and composer John Paul Jones. The seven participating composers wrote for combinations of three cellos, two double basses and two electric basses. The workshop also included improvisation, with composers and instrumentalists improvising together in the workshop and final concert. The concert took place at the St. Francis Auditorium on 28 June.

Creative Dialogue IX — Kallio-Kuninkala, Finland, 28 August–5 September 2017.
Kaija Saariaho, Anssi Karttunen and sound engineer David Poissonnier led a workshop devoted to strings and electronics. Five composers developed works for the eight participating string players, while each performer prepared a Saariaho work involving electronics. The final concert took place at the Black Box of the Music Centre, Helsinki, on 5 September.

Creative Dialogue X — Santa Fe, New Mexico, 17–26 July 2018.
For the 10th anniversary edition, Anssi Karttunen, Magnus Lindberg and sound designer David Poissonnier focused on music for strings and live electronics. The final concert formed part of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival at the St. Francis Auditorium.

Creative Dialogue XI — Kallio-Kuninkala, Finland, 2019.
Four composers, four singers and six string players worked with Kaija Saariaho, Anssi Karttunen and baritone Daniel Belcher. The composers developed new works for voice and strings, alongside repertoire by Saariaho. Improvisation was again an important element. The final concert took place in the Camerata Hall of the Music Centre, Helsinki, on 25 August.

Creative Dialogue XII  — Online
When the planned 2020 workshop in Santa Fe could not take place because of coronavirus restrictions, Creative Dialogue moved online. In addition to that year's participants, former Creative Dialogue participants were invited to join Kaija Saariaho, Magnus Lindberg and Anssi Karttunen in working on new pieces and sharing experiences.

Creative Dialogue XIII — Santa Fe, New Mexico, 5–14 July 2022.
Four composers, four pianists and five string players worked with Magnus Lindberg, Anssi Karttunen and pianist Joonas Ahonen, developing new piano trios alongside repertoire by Lindberg. Improvisation and visits to Santa Fe's cultural landmarks were also part of the workshop. The final concert took place at the St. Francis Auditorium on 14 July.

Creative Dialogue XIV — Kallio-Kuninkala, Järvenpää, Finland, 29 June–9 July 2022.
Three composers, four kantele players and six string players worked with composer Julian Anderson, cellist Anssi Karttunen and kantele player Eija Kankaanranta. The composers wrote for strings and kantele, kokle and kankles, while the performers worked on repertoire by Anderson and Kaija Saariaho. An improvisation group comprising all participants performed at the final concert at the Musiikkitalo, Helsinki, on 8 July. For the first time, musicians and instruments from all the Baltic countries were represented. The workshop and concert were dedicated to Kaija Saariaho.