DUO MARTINIKA

Flutist Maarika Järvi and bassoonist Martin Kuuskman are not just a duo, Martinika is flexible. It is often joined by guests such as percussion, piano or electronics. Conventional repertoire is presented in an unconventional way here, making old music sound like new, ranging from Baroque to contemporary. Emerged from Nordic roots, the Duo make also a point in featuring Estonian composers.

The Duo Martinika was formed in 2001 by Maarika Järvi, flute, and Martin Kuuskmann, bassoon. The idea to fuse the timbre of flute and bassoon into a duo occured to the musicians in 2001. The same year their débute in Pärnu was met with positive feedback both from the audience and critics. This unconventional staff cannot find too many original compositions created for them in the history of music, however, the more intriguing is their original sound world and that inspires the musicians to look for everything new and exciting. They impose no stylistic limitation on their search of repertoire – it includes arrangements of classics as well as original compositions with hints of jazz.

Maarika Järvi and Martin Kuuskmann and known to the international audience first and foremost as soloists. Both musicians stand out with their strong professionalism, elegant style and warm relations with the audience.

Maarika Järvi was born in Estonia, where she began her musical studies at the Tallinn School of Music. She moved to the United States with her family in 1980 and studied at the Boston and New England Conservatories with Doriot A Dwyer and Lois Schaefer of the Boston Symphony. She completed a Master of Music Degree at the Carnegie Mellon University under Julius Baker.

She has held principal flute positions of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias and the Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra of Spain. Maarika Järvi has performed as a soloist with several orchestras in Europe, Canada, the USA and Japan. She is a regular member of the Absolute Ensemble of her brother Kristjan Järvi. As a champion of Estonian flute music, she has made two recordings of concertos, one group consisting of Tubin, Sink, Jürisalu and Tamberg, the other of works specially written for her by Peeter Vähi and Urmas Sisask.

Download: Celestials. Leonides by Urmas Sisask, fragm, 72 sec, mp3, 564 KB

Press resonance

I have to concede that Maarika Järvi is an excellent flautist, with a pleasing tonal range, full command of a wide range of colouristic devices, and a general liveliness which does the music no harm at all. (Stephen Johnson, BBC Music Magazine, 2001, UK)

She, make no mistake, is a virtuoso musician of the first order, a technically adroit player with a gorgeous tone and sure sense of phrase, line, rhythm and color. (Lawrence B Johnson, The Detroit News, 27.04.02, USA)

Vaimustama võis panna Maarika Järvi viimistletud, solistipartii pisimatessegi nüanssidesse süvenenud esitus. (Igor Garšnek, Sirp, 18.08.00, Estonia)

Estonian-born Martin Kuuskmann is among the most versatile and engaging bassoon soloists of his generation. The New York Times has recently praised Kuuskmann’s playing as “dynamic... amazing... gripping...”, adding, “Mr Kuuskmann played stunningly...” With a repertoire spanning the early Baroque era to jazz and contemporary music, his solo performances have taken him to Europe, Japan, Canada, the United States and Australia. Highlights of his 2001–02 season included world premiere performances of the Bassoon Concerto by Eino Tamberg with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Schnyder’s Zoom In with Kristjan Järvi and Norrlands Symphony Orchestra members, and Christopher Theofanidis’ recently completed Bassoon Concerto with the Peabody Conservatory Orchestra. 2002-03 season premières include works also specially written for Kuuskmann such as a bassoon concerto by Erkki-Sven Tüür, commissioned by Kuuskmann and Norrlands Symphony Orchestra, a work by a legendary jazz bassist/composer John Patitucci, to name a few. Kuuskmann has been widely praised for his performances with the pioneering ensemble, Absolute, and can be heard as a soloist on the 2001 recording and Grammy Nominee, Fix, performing Michael Daugherty’s virtuosic and madcap concerto, Dead Elvis. His albums, Archipelago and The Path Of Mantra have been released worldwide on CCn’C and Erdenklang Records, respectively. Kuuskmann holds master-classes throughout Europe and the United States, and currently serves on the bassoon faculty of the Mannes School of Music. Kuuskmann’s solo performances have been broadcast on the BBC Radio, Swedish National Radio, German National Radio, Australian National Radio as well as on National Public Radio stations across the United States.

We can certainly say that Martinika is a duo that opens a totally new facet of the instruments both in the musical and also in the acoustic sense. When the music and/or circumstances demand they both play with remote controlled microphones.

Discography

Musica Triste / Estonian Flute Concertos
Maarika Järvi, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Kristjan Järvi
Warner Music / Finlandia Records

Celestials
Maarika Järvi / Tallinn Chamber Orchestra / Kristjan Järvi
CCn’C

Méditations / Debussy, Bax, Genzmer, Jolivet, Currier
Maarika Järvi, Paul Cortese, Marie Pierre Langlamet

Chamber Music with Viola / Bloch
Maarika Jävi, Paul Cortese, Michel Wagemans

The Path Of Mantra
Drikung Kagyu monks / Martin Kuuskmann / Peeter Vähi
Erdenklang
Press resonance

Archipelago
Martin Kuuskmann, William Schimmel, David Rozenblatt
CCn’C

Duo Martinika (photo by P Vähi, jpg, 300 dpi)

See also other artists of classical music reperesented by ERP

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