ABOUT THE ARTIST IN A NUTSHELL
Jasmin Fors' artistic work is based on her education as a pianist. She started playing the piano at the age of five under the direction of Ritva-Tuuli Ahonen, attended Rauno Jussila’s piano class at the Lahti Conservatory, and continued her studies at the Sibelius Academy with Jussi Siirala and Matti Raekallio. Before graduating she familiarised herself with composing by writing a small collection of sketches and style studies – Four Pastiches for Piano, Opus 1 (Uusinta Publishing, 2004). The academic atmosphere offered her freedom and respect for individual expression, a significant example of which were the fascinating and stimulating discussions about music and life during piano lessons.
After this, her focus shifted towards fine arts in the form of art history studies and portrait painting in particular. The period included intensive drawing and painting and several trips both in Finland and abroad to study and paint. During these trips, she acquainted herself with the works of many artists she admired.
Fors' artistic work has thereafter been intertwined around music, literature and fine arts. Her oeuvre include poems, stories and writings – inspired by art, life, psychology, science, art history and philosophy – painted and drawn portraits, compositions and piano recordings. A comprehensive selection of her creations can be found on her website in the form of a personal art diary.
In addition to her own works, Fors has recorded piano music by other Finnish composers. The recordings are included in the Piano Blend collections, accompanied by CDs (released by Uusinta Publishing in 2010 and 2013). Fors has also created a video series featuring Chopin interpretations, Chopin@Home – Recording Series (YouTube).
Drawn with Autobiographite, released at the end of 2021, is Jasmin Fors' debut solo album, which she also produced for her own Villajasmin label. Liszt's Sonata in B minor and Chopin's Ballades in G and F minor – the heart of the album – evoked a vision, where the composers draw their musical self-portraits with their highly expressive and personal pencil marks on the piano staff. Chopin's Trois nouvelles études, a set of smaller musical gems, complemented the recording.
The album concept expanded into an autobiographical and multiartistic project. A self portrait was drawn on the album cover and two stories about artistry and creativity, the composers and their art were written for the album booklet. "Reaching for the Graal of Art and Life", inspired by Liszt's Sonata, is a description of an artist’s turbulent dive into an expanding and maturing reality. "Thinking Chopin" is an attempt to capture something of the unique power and meaning of art, when human intellectual and emotional abilities attract each other and manage to meet as equals. In the overall concept of the album, music, writings and drawings all illuminate the same, fascinating subject: The Portrait of Man – Drawn with Autobiographite.
Jasmin Fors has been teaching piano at several music institutions and privately since a young age. She has also given a lecture series and workshop combining music and visual arts for young students. She currently works as a freelance artist.
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Jasmin Fors' website has been acknowledged by the Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation, the leading web archiving service for collecting and accessing cultural heritage on the web, and it is included in the recording programmes of the music libraries at several universities in the United States.
Drawn with Autobiographite has received positive reviews both at home and abroad, with the honor of being included in YLE / Kare Eskola's New Records program (March 2022) and in the prestigious International Piano magazine (June, July/August 2022). The masterpieces of Chopin and Liszt, the Romantic ideas that inspired their creativity, the challenges and possibilities of artistic creation, musical expression etc. are discussed in the magazine's Personal Touch interview in June 2022.
