An excerpt from the story: At the gate to the most beautiful and precious
“Beyond the gate they roamed freely, the most beautiful and precious things of art and life—untouched, unforced, undistorted—yet so distant and difficult to approach. They were the things that revived the deep and purifying undercurrents of man, opened the windows of understanding and the locks of the heart.
‘Why are you there and I'm here?’ Homo...
Musical Sketching
In search of the essence and interpretation of a composition – a sketch of the mutual interaction between music and pulse.
J. S. Bach: Præambulum (Prelude) in G Major BWV 902a (before ca. 1726–29)
Jasmin Fors, piano / Live recording, September 2024; Video edited by Lauri Toivio
In the challenging company of an escaping light and changing shadows
No sadness because of an artist
who knows how the world can be
happy in his wilderness
if someone him can see
Drawing after plaster statue of Chopin (Pencil on paper, 22 x 29 cm)
Art Gallery
Back to school: A little Prelude in F Major by Chop… No, Bach – another great teacher!
A lesson on the pulse of life and joy:
1) Start the pulse of life that produces warmth and energy, by paying attention to the direction that gives meaning and the gestures that produce joy;
2) Feel and accept the charm of life given as a birth gift and the energizing impulses that flow from it;
3) Spurred on by energy impulses and undeterred,...
Live Memory
Attending the Centennial Gramophone Classical Music Awards ceremony in London on 4th October 2023, as a shy but happy visitor in a ‘Black Swan’ evening dress – self-designed and sewn particularly for this significant occasion.
Music: An excerpt from ‘Stellar Nursery’ piano collection by Lauri Toivio; Jasmin Fors, piano (live)
Chopin: Mazurka in F Minor Op. 68 No. 4
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849): Mazurka in F Minor Op. 68 No. 4 (1849)
“Chopin@Home” – Recording Series by Villajasmin
Jasmin Fors, piano / Recorded in February 2024
Video sheet music: The first French edition by J. Meissonnier (1855), edited to match Henle’s Urtext Edition (1975)
My recently written story “Lectio Musicum: Sing until your...
”Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue…”
New addition to the Portrait Gallery: Self Portrait in a Tyrolean Blouse
(2006, first self portrait), oil on canvas, 46 x 55 cm
”Drawn With Autobiographite” – The Album existing soon
”Drawn With Autobiographite” – The Album existing soon
Jasmin Fors, piano
Franz Liszt (1811–1886): Sonata in B Minor (1853)
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849):
Ballade No. 1 in G Minor Op. 23 (1835)
Ballade No. 4 in F Minor Op. 52 (1843)
Trois nouvelles études (1839)
Produced by Jasmin Fors
Audio & video editing by Lauri Toivio
Instrument:...
Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 5 in E Minor
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849): Étude Op. 25 No. 5 in E Minor
Jasmin Fors, piano
The “Chopin@Home” recording series continues: Chopin’s Étude Op. 25, No. 5 in E Minor begins with what seems like an amiable tomfoolery on what is allowed and what is not, with undertones that never lose their elegance or brilliance. A dissonant theme builds into...
The Pearl of the Mind
‘The Pearl of the Mind’ is an artist’s literary and empirical dive into the ocean of the human mind, in the form of a dialogue. We take the whirling route familiar from natural phenomena, and, avoiding the dangerous whirlpool and guided by our very own Golden Thread and Ocean Compass, we dive towards a gleaming treasure and a pearl.
READ THE...
Pencil Portrait
Composer and Graphic Artist Lauri Toivio
30 x 20 cm, pencil on paper, 2018
*private collection
Chopin: Prelude in C Major Op. 28 No. 1
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849): Prelude in C Major Op. 28 No. 1
Jasmin Fors, piano
Live recording in May 2018
Golden Threads
In the dusk of a summer’s night,
like on the canvas of a Renaissance artist,
a gentle tune rises high and tender
from the curtained mansion window.
Halt, wanderer, and listen yonder!
The flow...
Chopin: Ballade in F Minor Op. 52
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849): Ballade No. 4 in F Minor Op. 52
Jasmin Fors, piano
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) was one of the greatest and most original artists of his day, astounding and moving his contemporaries with his unique, expressive music and his mastery of the keyboard. In his music and playing – their singing quality, bold harmonies,...
A Little Girl with Roses
A Little Girl with Roses
35 x 26 cm, pencil on paper, 2016
*private collection
Violet
”Violet” – composed, performed and painted by Jasmin Fors; live recording in February 2016, painted in March 2016 (oil on canvas, 16 x 16 cm)
Lauri Toivio: Isabella @ Värinää Festival 2016
Live recording at ”Värinää” music festival in Järvenpää, Finland, March 13, 2016:
”Ejercicio de higiene” (”Exercise in Hygiene”), 5th scene from the chamber opera ”Isabella” by Lauri Toivio (libretto by Maritza Núñez).
Vocal soloist mezzo-soprano Jutta Holmberg, musicians of the ensemble Sami Junnonen (piccolo), Patrik Stenström (clarinet),...
Chopin: Étude No. 2 in A Flat Major (Trois nouvelles études)
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849): Etude No. 2 in A Flat Major
(Trois nouvelles études, 1839), Jasmin Fors, piano (live recording)
Chopin: Étude No. 1 in F Minor (Trois nouvelles études)
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849): Etude No. 1 in F Minor
(Trois nouvelles études, 1839), Jasmin Fors, piano (live recording)
Chopin: Mazurka in A Minor Op. 17 No. 4
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849): Mazurka in A Minor Op. 17 No. 4
Jasmin Fors, piano
Pencil Portrait
Doctor of Medicine and Surgery, Ph.D. Ilkka Toivio30 x 20 cm, pencil on paper, 2015
*private collection
Master and Apprentice
The white gauze curtain before the studio’s high arched window dispersed the sunlight flooding into the room. Two people stood by an easel, gazing at a big oil painting resting on it.
One of them was a youngster passionately dedicated to his art, ready to take the world by storm. The other was a venerable, white-haired master, his accomplishments...
Colour and Form in Music
Monday, February 16, 2015 – Lecture and workshop on COLOUR AND FORM IN MUSIC for students at the Mikkeli Music Institute
The idea for a lecture and a workshop combining music and visual art came from Marina Bagdasarova-Karhunen, herself a piano teacher. My thanks go to her, to all who took part and my hardworking assistants.
The illustrated...
Cantus Artificiosus
An English Writer Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
30 x 20 cm, pencil on paper, 2014
An old artist was sitting alone in his studio, bent over his drawing paper. He rubbed his temples and wondered with a sigh how he had once managed to conjure forth on canvas a fetching lock of hair, the difficult curve of a chin, a lively face in just the right...
Late Summer Idyll
“Late Summer Idyll”
16 x 16 cm, oil on canvas, 2014
I have painted this late summer painting with rather delicate and thinned colors. The work has ethereal scent of watercolor, together with a rich, creamy surface typical for oil colors.
Golden grain grabs, fluttering petals of a powder rose, and a knight butterfly, create a composition...
Summer Colours
“Forget-me-not Fantasy”
Watercolor and gouache on paper, 2014