Toimii (

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

"It works") is an ensemble for new music founded in the spring of 1980 by Finnish composer

Magnus Lindberg Magnus Gustaf Adolf Lindberg (born 27 June 1958) is a Finnish composer and pianist. He was the New York Philharmonic's composer-in-residence from 2009 to 2012 and has been the London Philharmonic Orchestra's composer-in-residence since the begin ...

with several other young composers and instrumentalists connected with the

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It als ...

. Along with the new-music appreciation group ''Korvat auki'' (

"Ears open"), it did much to bring new music to listeners in Finland in the 1980s and 1990s. Toimii was formed to be a laboratory where composers, instrumentalists and other artists could work on new ways of creating music and improvising. The idea of Toimii was born when Magnus Lindberg, Otto Romanowski, and

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music di ...

were preparing a concert performance of

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

's '' Plus-Minus''.

Vinko Globokar Vinko Globokar (born 7 July 1934) is a French-Slovenian avant-garde composer and trombonist. Globokar's music uses unconventional and extended techniques, places great emphasis on spontaneity and creativity, and often relies on improvisation. Hi ...

and his improvisation group New Phonic Art had a significant influence on the burgeoning ensemble after Lindberg began studies with him in Paris in the autumn 1981, and it was at the Jyväskylä Summer Festival in 1982 where Lindberg's ''Action-Situation-Signification'' and a Globokar work were paired that the ensemble first appeared under the name Toimii. Apart from performing existing pieces and writing collective pieces Toimii encouraged poets, painters, dramaturgists and actors to write pieces for its concerts. Each rehearsal period started without a determined program and the rehearsals consisted of combining existing pieces with improvising and last minute composing and arranging. All of the members had an equal input into every detail of each concert. Magnus Lindberg's 1985 masterpiec
Kraft
was written as a concerto for Toimii and a Symphony Orchestra, the ensemble has toured around the world performing the piece so far 14 times and has recorded it twice. Toimii visited many festivals in locations as far apart as Uusikaupunki,

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...

and Ojai. Toimii has performed widely in Europe and in the US. While its members entered upon their own busy careers, they met once or twice each year during the 1980s and 1990s for a period of intensive work. Toimii also performed several very successful children's concerts at the Suvisoitto-festival in Finland, at the

Ojai Music Festival The Ojai Music Festival is an annual classical music festival in the United States. Held in Ojai, California (75 miles northwest of Los Angeles), for four days every June, the festival presents music, symposia, and educational programs emphasizi ...

and at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...

in London, The last performances of the ensemble to date were in December 2001 at the Related Rocks Festival in London and in 2003 in Helsinki where they also made their second recording of Lindberg's ''

Kraft The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arra ...

''.

Members

* Lassi Erkkilä, percussion *

Kari Kriikku Kari Kriikku (born 1960) is a Finland, Finnish European classical music, classical clarinetist. He studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and later with Alan Hacker in England and with Leon Russianoff and Charles Neidich in the United Stat ...

, clarinet *

Anssi Karttunen Anssi Karttunen (born 1960) is a Finnish cellist. Karttunen's repertoire ranges from the early baroque to living composers and improvisation. He has performed with many orchestras in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, including the Philharmonia, BBC ...

, cello *

Timo Korhonen Timo Korhonen (born 6 November 1964) is a Finnish classical guitarist and is one of the most distinguished classical guitarists in his generation. Short Biography Korhonen gave his debut at 14 in his hometown Rautalampi, Finland. His internat ...

, guitar (joined 1989) * Juhani Liimatainen, sound designer *

, piano * Riku Niemi, percussion (joined 1989) * Otto Romanowski, electronics *

, conductor

Works Written for Toimii

Juhana Blomstedt Juhana is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Korczew, within Siedlce County, Masovian Voivodeship The Masovian Voivodeship, also known as the Mazovia Province ( pl, województwo mazowieckie ) is a voivodeship (province) in east- ...

: ''Speleologia'' *

Oliver Knussen Stuart Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a British composer and conductor. Early life Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, and a ...

: ''Rough Cut'' *

: ''Decorrente'' *Magnus Lindberg: ''Action-Situation-Signification'' for bass clarinet (doubling double bass clarinet), piano, percussion, cello, and live electronics (1982) *Magnus Lindberg: ''Kiri'' for clarinet, guitar, cello, percussion, and electronics (1993) *Magnus Lindberg: ''Kraft'' (1985) *Riku Niemi: ''Magnus meets Monk'' * Pentti Saaritsa: ''Ascensus'' *

: ''Floof'' (1988) *Esa-Pekka Salonen: ''Nur-text'' *Juha Siltanen: ''Doppler Variation'' *Toimii-ensemble: ''Related Stones – A Rock Opera'' {{Authority control Contemporary classical music ensembles Musical groups established in 1980