Iiro Rantala

Veneziana

Iiro Rantala's Veneziana for chamber ensemble and piano (2021-2022) is a 50 minute long program about all things Venice; how famous composers were affected by the city, how they affected the city and became part of the Venetian Story – told with an Iiro twist. The meeting of Prokofiev and Diaghilev turns into a "real nutcracker ballet Romeo and Steve", whilst Mozart loses his mojo when visiting Venice. Monteverdi starts and Verdi completes the waltz boom - and Sibelius finds his national romantic melancholy again. Veneziana is scored for wind and string quintets and a pianist. This product is a study score (A4 sized, spiral bounding). The performance material is available for hire from the publisher. Contents: 1. Gondol Ride to St. Mark’s Square 2. Romeo and Steve 3. Monteverdi and His Ideas 4. Vivaldi’s ADHD 5. Sibelius in Venice 6. Mozart Loses His Mojo 7. Casanova and Lorenzo 8. Morte a Venezia Iiro Rantala (b. 1970) is a pianist, a composer, and most likely Finland's best known jazz musician internationally. Rantala is also known for his compositions for musicals and the tv-shows he has hosted. In addition Rantala has composed music for films, television and more recently, for the stage. Rantala’s second opera, Die Zaubermelodika was a commission by the Komische Oper Berlin. His double concerto Joy of Life has been programmed by numerous orchestras. The fast-and-furious Seven o’clock Overture has been dubbed as “Finnish Candide Overture”.