At the Veljo Tormis’ 95th anniversary event, the Veljo Tormis Fund scholarship was also presented. The recipient was composer Ülo Krigul. Immediately after receiving the recognition at Tormis’ birthplace in Kõrveaia, Paula Hakkaja spoke with him about his work, Tormis, and new perspectives.

Paula Hakkaja: Was this a surprise for you?

Ülo Krigul: It might sound like a stock answer, but it really was a complete surprise.

Paula Hakkaja: Why does Tormis’ music, so to speak, make your soul sing?

Ülo Krigul: Well, Veljo Tormis as a musician, composer, and thinker is so multilayered and influential in so many directions that it’s hard to sum it up quickly. To me, Tormis is a bit like a landscape in which we live and work. You know, hills, mountains, valleys, little pathways where we go about our daily lives—we don’t always notice them, we don’t always reflect on them. And yet they shape and influence us and our actions constantly.
I feel it’s similar with Tormis: his works, his way of thinking, and his teachings continue to influence the Estonian musical landscape, even if one isn’t strictly connected to academic music. The openness in his work and his creative concept spans genres and brings many different creators into this shared musical space.

Paula Hakkaja: From your perspective, how do you see Tormis’ music living on in the hearts of young composers and ordinary people, ensuring it remains part of our culture 30 years from now?

Ülo Krigul: Actually, quite a lot is already happening. The mindset he gave us as free material to work with is, I think, at least as important as his compositions themselves.

Paula Hakkaja: It’s interesting that you mentioned electronic music. I often notice that people draw a line between classical music, choral music, and electronic music. Do you have anything to add to this thought, maybe something inspiring to say to young, experimental composers?

Ülo Krigul: I think those boundaries have actually been quite open for some time. There’s no longer a need to ask permission to go one way or another. In music, one of the most important tools is the ear; the choice of instrument comes a bit later. For at least 15 years now, together with Aivar Tõn, we’ve run a project where various electronic music artists created arrangements based on Veljo Tormis’ works. We held workshops where Veljo would come and explain how it should be done. Everyone then took from that knowledge what they could, resulting in the album Laulu jäävuse seadus (“The Law of Song Permanence”).
This is a beautiful example of what I mentioned before: how his working method, and the way he drew inspiration, is passed on uniquely to each person. Simply put, the pieces remain the same, and what we add at different times is our way of storytelling. That’s the value we bring when passing these works forward.

Paula Hakkaja: Can you tell a bit about how you find a fresh approach to Tormis’ music in your own work?

Ülo Krigul: I think it’s like we said earlier—it’s a landscape we wander through. We don’t need to consciously think every day about how to interpret tradition. It’s inevitably with us, shaping us, our music, and our listening skills. I believe that Veljo Tormis, through his being and his creative work, guides us even when we’re not consciously aware of it.

Paula Hakkaja: That’s very beautifully said, thank you!

Photo: Eda Hübner