NORDIC
HIGHLIGHTS
4/2016
NEWSLETTER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN
Einojuhani Rautavaara in memoriam
Christian Lindberg & Allan Pettersson
Pettersson’s symphony to be ballet The Oldenburgisches Staatstheater is staging a full-length ballet to Allan Pettersson’s Symphony No. 6 with choreography by Antoine Jully. The production is called Men and Women and is based on quotations by Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare and Rainer Maria Rilke, referring to the relationship between women and men, and the incomprehensibility and impossibility of love. There will be a total of five performances between March and May; the premiere will take place on 12 March.
A God Disguised at Folkoperan Folkoperan in Stockholm is staging Lars-Erik Larsson’s and Hjalmar Gullberg’s classic A God Disguised (Förklädd gud) in a new version directed by Malin Stenberg. Larsson’s music is interspersed with Romani accordion music by Lelo Nika in arrangement for accordion and orchestra by Jonas Forssell. In this story about human dignity Folkoperan wants us to see the person behind the outward appearance. Folkoperan will put on 26 performances; the premiere will take place on 25 February. NORDIC
HIGHLIGHTS
German premieres Andrew Manze will conduct the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover on 23-24 March in the German premiere of Tobias Broström’s On Urban Ground – his comment on Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. Benjamin Staern’s prize-winning clarinet will have its Gerconcerto Worried Souls man premiere on 3 May. The soloist Karin Dornbusch will give five performances together with the Philharmonisches Orchester Vorpommern in Stralsund, Greifswald and Rügen.
NEWSLE T TER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN
Sound samples , video clips and other material are available at
Cover photos: Adrienn Miksch and Tommi Hakala in Rautavaara’s opera The Mine (Péter Rákossy), Einojuhani Rautavaara (Heikki Tuuli), Christian Lindberg (Mats Bäcker) Editors: Henna Salmela and Kristina Fryklöf Translations: Jaakko Mäntyjärvi and Robert Carroll Design: Tenhelp Oy/Tenho Järvinen ISSN 2000-2742 (Print), ISSN 2000-2750 (Online) Printed in Sweden by TMG Sthlm, Bromma 2016
HIGHLIGHTS
4/2016
Gunnar Helgesson and Albert Schnelzer
Centenary of Finland’s independence 2017
4/2016
www.gehrmans.se/highlights
Rolf Martinsson has been awarded the Christ Johnson Prize for his song cycle Orchestral Songs on Poems by Emily Dickinson (2009) . According to the Royal Academy of Music, “with his masterly musical language he creates a mutual expression of great sonorous luminosity”. The work was commissioned by the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and has been performed numerous times, with great success, by soprano Lisa Larsson. She has also recorded the songs with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic for an upcoming CD on the label BIS. Further performances are scheduled for January (Norrlandsoperan SO) and May (Oulu SO). On 11 November Albert Schnelzer received the Swedish Music Publishers Award for his clarinet concerto But Your Angel’s on Holiday , “a work whose rhythmical motor contrasts with sections where the music seems to float quite freely.” The concerto was commissioned by the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, and was premiered in November 2015 with Staffan Mårtensson as clarinet soloist.
Photo: Alexander Kenney
Einojuhani Rautavaara’s chamber opera The Gift of the Magi (Tietäjien lahja) is staged at the Sibelius Academy. The performances in November and December are coupled with Humperdinck’s opera Hansel and Gretel. Markus Lehtinen and Andres Kaljuste will conduct the students of the Academy. Rautavaara composed this Christmas fable in 1994 and it is based on the short story by O. Henry. It has earlier been performed on TV in Finland and on stage at the Canberra Music Festival, Australia in 2010.
Martinsson and Schnelzer awarded
Fennica Gehrman has agreed with the Uuno Klami Society to publish several works by Uuno Klami (1900-61). These include orchestral works – Opernredoute, Aurore and the Piano boréale Concerto “Une nuit à Montmartre”, among others – and chamber music. Klami is known as a brilliant orchestral composer who fused Finnish modernism with French influences. His Kalevala Suite and Sea Pictures are examples of classics that remain in the core repertoire. The large-scale Psalmus for chorus and orchestra is on the programme of the Finnish RSO on 13 January. The conductor is Hannu Lintu, and the soloists are Helena Juntunen and Tommi Hakala.
Swedish piano music in New York Pianist Per Tengstrand will present Swedish piano music from three centuries at a concert held at the Morgan Library in New York on 16 March. The programme will include among others Franz Berwald Fantasy on Two Swedish Folk Melodies, Wilhelm Stenhammar’s Fantasy in B minor, and the US premiere of Albert Schnelzer’s Dance with the Devil.
The year 2017 marks the centenary of Finland’s independence. There are commissioned works in the pipeline, and top names in Finnish classical and contemporary music will be featured at numerous concerts. The project of the Sibelius Fund of the Society of Finnish Composers enabled the commissioning of new works for the occasion from 15 composers, including Tapio Tuomela, Juhani Nuorvala, Pasi Lyytikäinen, Kai Nieminen and Kirmo Lintinen. The premieres will take place in 2017. For further information on events in the centenary year, visit http://suomifinland100.fi.
Photo: Karin Törnblom
Klami additions to the catalogue
Rautavaara’s Gift of Magi on stage
Photo: Mats Bäcker
NEWS
Photo: Maarit Kytöharju/Music Finland
Photo: Ghadi Boustani
PREMIERES November 2016 - March 2017 JACOB MÜHLRAD
On the Verge of Eternity
Royal College of Music SO/Ingrid Roose 17.11. Stockholm, Sweden Skall inte finnas mer (Shall Be No More)
Petri Singers, string ensemble/ Alexander Einarsson, 20.11. Malmö, Sweden
Aho’s music out in the world
LOTTA WENNÄKOSKI
Kalevi Aho’s latest opera Frida and Diego is to be performed by the Pokrovsky Moscow Chamber Opera in Russia. Four performances are planned for next year and ten more for 2018. The opera is about the tempestuous relationship between Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera and was premiered in Helsinki in 2014. is on the programme of the Aho’s orchestral work Geija Minnesota Orchestra for January 2017. It will be performed under Osmo Vänskä three times on tour in Florida and twice in Minneapolis. The Wind Quintet of the Berlin Philharmonic will perform Aho’s Wind Quintet No. 2 on their tour of the USA. They will give recitals in Boston, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Buffalo and Stanford from 3 February. Aho’s Accordion Concerto will be premiered at the Kokkola Winter Accordion Festival in Finland on 17 February.
Larsson Gothe & The Phantom Carriage Mats Larsson Gothe has composed new music to Victor Sjöström’ s silent film classic The Phantom Carriage (Körkarlen) from 1921. This comprises 103 minutes of orchestral music. The premiere will be during the Gothenburg Film Festival on 2 February. The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra will play live to the film under the direction of Karen Kamensek.
Sibelius Academy SO/Atso Almila 18.11. Lahti, Finland
KALEVI AHO
Violin Concerto No. 2
Kymi Sinfonietta/Eugene Tzigane, sol. Elina Vähälä, 30.11. Kotka, Finland Accordion Concerto
Ostrobothnian CO/Juha Kangas, sol. Saila Korhonen 17.2. Kokkola, Finland (Kokkola Winter Accordeon)
BENJAMIN STAERN
Snödrottningen/ The Snow Queen – family opera
Kortekangas on CD Photo: Erkka Malkavaara
Frida and Diego at the Sibelius Academy in 2014.
Sedecim
BIS Records is to release a CD containing the orchestral work Migrations by Olli Kortekangas. This work for mezzo-soprano, male choir and orchestra was commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä and was premiered in Minneapolis in February. The CD will contain the entire programme of the concert where the work was premiered: Sibelius’s Kullervo and Finlandia in addition to the Kortekangas work. In November, Alba Records released the CD Crossings by organist Kari Vuola and viol player Varpu Haavisto, also including music by Kortekangas, e.g. Crossing the Five Rivers for organ and viol, written to a commission from the Parainen Organ Festival in 2008.
Digital sheet music available at ScorX Following in the footsteps of Gehrmans Musikförlag, Fennica Gehrman has made choral works available on the digital sheet music platform ScorX. The selection includes works by Jean Sibelius, Erik Bergman, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, and new titles by Veljo Tormis and Urmas Sisask will be added followed by the entire Fazer Edition of Early Music series edited by Paul Hillier. Gehrmans Musikförlag has to date made some 1300 titles, choral and chamber music, digitally available. ScorX provides sheet music for viewing and printing. Its ground-breaking system for digital distribution is augmented by the PLAY technology, allowing music to be rehearsed with recorded tracks (See: www. scorx.org).
Malmö Opera/Stefan Solyom 17.12. Malmö, Sweden
MIRJAM TALLY
Lightfields
Nordic CO/Emil Eliasson, 20.1. Sundsvall, Sweden
JÖRGEN DAFGÅRD
Concerto for Soprano Saxophone
Jönköpings Sinfonietta/Johannes Gustavsson, sol. Anders Paulsson, 29.1. Jönköping, Sweden
MIKKO HEINIÖ
Kun pojat… (When the Boys…)
Ville Urponen, organ, 29.1. Turku, Finland
MATS LARSSON GOTHE
Körkarlen/The Phantom Carriage
Gothenburg SO/Karen Kamensek 2.2. Gothenburg, Sweden (Gothenburg Film Festival)
JENNAH VAINIO
At Midnight, for female choir
Kaari-Ensemble/Saara Aittakumpu 2.2. Berlin, Germany (Prix des Nations)
OLLI KORTEKANGAS
Piano Trio
Petteri Iivonen, violin, Samuli Peltonen, cello, Juho Pohjonen, piano, 3.2. Helsinki, Finland
TIINA MYLLÄRINEN
Railo, for mixed choir
Helsinki Chamber Choir/Nils Schweckendiek 7.2. Helsinki, Finland (Musica nova)
TOBIAS BROSTRÖM
Suite for Strings
Musica Vitae/Meta4, 3.3. Växjö, Sweden
SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖM
Five Pieces for Piano and Orchestra
Gothenburg SO/Mario Venzago, sol. Peter Friis Johansson, 22.3. Gothenburg, Sweden
PAAVO HEININEN
Clarinet Concerto
Lappeenranta CO/ Eero Lehtimäki, sol. Olli Leppäniemi, 23.3. Lappeenranta, Finland
HIGHLIGHTS
4/2016
Einojuhani Rautavaara in memoriam In his eulogy for Einojuhani Rautavaara, Kalevi Aho described the indelible impression Rautavaara made as a composition teacher, as a colleague and as a fount of wisdom. Aho met the maestro for the last time a year ago. Rautavaara was physically fragile, but his mind was as sharp as ever, and his eyes retained the familiar keenly exploring and at times mischievous gaze. At that final meeting he remarked that he had already discovered in the sounds of his inner world all the musical material that he wanted to use and that he had completed his musical universe.
T
Photo: Maarit Kytöharju
he music of Einojuhani Rautavaara has properties thanks to which he will remain a classic in Finnish music. As a composition teacher earlier in his career, he seemed to be exactly the right kind of teacher for most of his students, giving space for their own personalities to develop and encouraging them to find their own unique path. Perhaps the most important things I gained from him as a composition student and later as a colleague were two general points that I have sought to keep as a guideline in my life. Shortly after completing my studies, I wrote a letter to Einojuhani where I discussed, among other things, what would happen if I should experience a crisis of composition and no longer knew what kind of music to write. He responded that if you are afraid of a crisis, it means that you are not fully committed to what you are writing. That is a crisis you must meet boldly. A crisis forces you to rethink all things, and in the best case it can revitalise and cleanse your mind. The other thing I learned from him was a saying he had learned from his aunt, who was his foster mother: “Det är bäst som sker.” This Swedish proverb translates approximately as “Whatever happens is for the best”. Sometimes bad and tragic things happen in life, but we should be able to learn from all of them. If you can do that, you will have grown as a human being. In other words, we should try to turn losses, difficulties and even tragedies into mental victories. Einojuhani’s teaching was also teaching about how to grow up into a human being.
He himself drifted into difficult personal conflicts in his life, enduring them for a long time before finally following his own advice, making the crucial decision and a clean break with the past, leaving everything behind and beginning a life with his new wife, Sini. Then he was finally free to live his life without lies and roles, to be honest with himself and to write music that also was more honest. Very often a person dies when it is their time to die, when they have given of themselves everything they can and have no more to give. This happened with Einojuhani too. When we met for the last time last December, he admitted to me that he had completed his musical universe, the domain of music and motifs that he had put into his works. He had finished his work and would have been well justified to observe in his final moments, quoting from the St John Passion of J.S. Bach: “Es ist vollbracht” – “It is fulfilled.” I have done everything I can, and I can do no more. I can only hope that all of us can say the same at the end of our lives. Einojuhani’s death leaves us with a profound longing. But he will survive in our memories; I am sure that everyone who ever met him will cherish those encounters. And of course he will live on for future generations in his music, in the wonderful musical universe that he created. We can only be grateful that he lived and feel privileged for having known him. Kalevi Aho
Footnotes: Kalevi Aho lists four reasons why he believes Rautavaara’s works will remain in the core repertoire: • His works are always highly original, never sounding like typical contemporary music. • They are not technically over-demanding and can be performed within the confines of a normal rehearsal schedule.
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• His output is huge and includes works in all genres and for many different kinds of ensembles. His extensive output of choral and vocal music is particularly noteworthy. • Included is a handful of major hits: for birds and Cantus arcticus orchestra, the Seventh Symphony (Angel of Light) , several choral works, some piano cycles and so on, and these serve as gateways to a wider exploration of his music.
Two opera premieres in 2016: • The Mine (Kaivos) was in the repertoire of the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest in October-November. This was the first stage performance of the work originally composed in 1957-58 (See: reviews). • The Gift of the Magi (Tietäjien lahja) received its European stage premiere at the Sibelius Academy in November (See: news).
Christian Lindberg and the Allan Petterson Project In 2011 BIS and the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra initiated the Allan Pettersson Project, the purpose of which is to record and issue all of Pettersson’s symphonies on CD. The recordings have been combined with live performances of one or two symphonies each year, concerts which have enticed Pettersson enthusiasts from all over the world to come to Norrköping. The promoter of the project is conductor and trombonist Christian Lindberg, who here tells his views about Pettersson’s music. You have made it your mission to promote the music by Allan Pettersson (1911-1980) to the world at large. Why? Because in my opinion he is one of Scandinavia’s foremost symphonists. Not even in Sweden do we get the opportunity to experience his fantastic music to the extent that it deserves. All of his 17 symphonies are masterpieces on the same level as those by Beethoven and Mahler. You often compare Pettersson with Mahler. What do they have in common? Pettersson and Mahler are actually quite different, but they had similar fates. In 1911, when Mahler died, he was known mostly as a conductor, and people called his music over-orchestrated ‘Kapellmeistermusik’. In the same way, one speaks even today of Pettersson’s symphonies as being difficult and heavy works. Mahler needed an ambassador like Bernstein to help the public to understand Mahler, and in the end he succeeded. To my mind, Pettersson should be played just as often in Scandinavia as Sibelius and Nielsen. You just got back from a Nordic/Baltic tour with the Arctic Philharmonic performing Sym. What is it that has made this phony No. 7 symphony so well-loved? It is the fact that people have had the opportunity to hear the symphony a number of times, and the music has also been used in TV-films and as ballet music. But as I said before, all his symphonies have equally good qualities. Which other symphonies would you like to single out as worthy of note? And have you found a new favourite? What is remarkable is that every time I study the score of a Pettersson symphony I become entirely enchanted. But nonetheless I would probably pick as my special favourite, closely folNo. 15 , 14, 8, 7, 6 and 4. I should, lowed by Nos. 13 however, point out that I am still not quite ready
with my preparations of Nos. 5 and 12. Perhaps these two will become new favourites. What has it been like to do in-depth studies of Pettersson’s orchestral works? Have you discovered new aspects of his music that you weren’t aware of earlier? A great many things!!!! Above all, he is perhaps the most skilful in all of history when it comes to orchestration. No one knows my instrument, the trombone, as well as he does; his trombone parts are all masterpieces. Furthermore, his scores are full of fantastic compositional details. Motifs are used in ingenious ways. Deciphering a Pettersson score is similar to getting immersed in and trying to understand a game of chess between Kasparov and Spassky, and when you finally discover how everything fits together you are completely overwhelmed. At the same time, it is the music’s humanity and fervour that grips you most. Almost every time I hear one of his symphonies I am moved to tears. And how have the musicians in the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra felt about rehearsing one or two Pettersson symphonies per year? Many have loved the project, but there was also some opposition in the beginning, above all when we recorded the difficult Symphony No. 9. But later when we received the Grammy Award for that very recording, those negative feelings just disappeared. Now the whole orchestra is on board and the Norrköping audiences rally in support and almost always give us standing ovations. It is an absolutely fantastic orchestra that gives its utmost at concerts as well as in recordings. I am really happy about that! Now you are almost at the finishing line with the project. Only Symphony No. 5 and the mighty Symphony No. 12 – “The Dead in the Market Place” for choir and orchestra – are left. BIS is issuing a box in 2018 comprising
Pettersson’s complete symphonies. And then you will tour Europe with the Seventh Symphony as the featured work on the programme. Is it decided which cities will be included in the tour? It is still too early for me to disclose, but I can in any case say that Vienna is definite, and we promise that the fantastic and knowledgeable audience there will get an experience they will never forget! You have conducted Pettersson’s music with many orchestras around the world. How is it received? In nearly all the places where I have conducted Pettersson, including the Scandinavian and Baltic Countries, Germany, the UK, Belgium, Romania, Taiwan (the list is long), his music has been received in a tremendously positive way with rave reviews and standing ovations. What would your main message be to orchestras and conductors who are thinking about taking up Allan Pettersson’s music in the repertoire? To the conductor: Learn the symphonies from memory! The themes, the melodies, the motifs, the structure must be in your body to be able to convey the intricate details to your audience. To orchestras: Just go for it! But see to it that the musicians get their parts in good time before the first rehearsal and give the conductor ample time to rehearse. Finally, why should people listen to Pettersson’s music? Because Pettersson, like August Strindberg or Ingmar Bergman tells the story of life in a truthful way. Kristina Fryklöf Christian Lindberg, photo: Mats Bäcker • Allan Petterson, photo: Gunnar Källström
HIGHLIGHTS
4/2016
KALEVI AHO Concerto for English Horn and Harp (2014) Dur: 31’ 2222-2211.baritono-02-str
This concerto is the first of its kind in the world, and it was enthusiastically received at its premiere by DeFilharmonie in Antwerp in October 2016. The work opens mysteriously, like a very quiet wind. Solo instruments emerge, the musical landscape coalesces, and the actual concertante music begins. The third movement, Allegro, contains the most demanding virtuoso parts, particularly for the cor anglais.
TOBIAS BROSTRÖM Samsara (2011) Dur: 20’ Concerto for Violin, Marimba and Orchestra: 2222-4230-12-str
“Samsara” is an Indian word meaning continual flow, which alludes to the cycle of birth, life, death and reincarnation. The effervescent rhythmical flow is something that permeates this shimmering, colourful concerto, which is based on South Indian rhythm patterns. Another prominent feature throughout is the use of drones.
Theatron (2014/15) Dur: 22’ Two percussion soloists and orchestra: 3233-4331-12-str or 2222-4231-12-pf-str
The marimba and the vibraphone are central in this work. The first movement opens explosively and lets the solo parts play phrases that overlap like a string of pearls. The chorale-like, slow middle movement focuses on the lyrical timbres, while in the last movement, which starts out with an improvisatory call-and-response section, the tempo accelerates and the intensity gradually increases right up to the end.
ANDERS ELIASSON Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra (2006) Dur: 25’ 3333-4000-02-str
A richly flowing concerto with a strong rhythmic drive. The two outer movements are very lively and in dancing rhythms in 6/8 and 3/4 time, respectively, with syncopated figurations in the solo parts. In the hymn-like middle movement the music stops short and the mood becomes tranquil and meditative. The atmosphere from the middle movement returns in the peaceful epilogue at the end of the concerto.
Concerto per violin, viola ed orchestra da camera (2009) Dur: 25’ 2ob-2hn-strings Also in this concerto one can find a rhythmic drive and a forceful pulse in the outer movements, but the character is darker and heavier. The third movement stamps along, as it were, in 4/4 time with accentuated quarter notes in the strings. The restless chromaticism is to be found with the soloists; they rush on with contrapuntal energy and bandy about the motifs among themselves. There is only time for rest in the more melodic and infinitely beautiful second movement.
MIKKO HEINIÖ Moon Concerto (2007-08) Dur: 38’ for mezzo-soprano, piano and orchestra: 3333-4331-13-hp-cel-str
This is Heiniö’s eighth in a series of his exciting piano concerto hybrids. It is also is an example of his skilful composition technique packed with allusions. The operatic quality has left its mark on the overall form, and “there is magic at the beginning of the finale when Dowland’s Galliard is heard first on the piano, as the vocal melody gradually weaves round its harmonies”.
PEKKA JALKANEN The Serf of Viro / Viron orja (1980) Dur: 6’30 for two violins and strings: 44321
In 1981, this work won 1st prize in a competition seeking works using folk music in new ways. Jalkanen’s music has a mystical attractiveness, setting an old folk tune that runs like a hypnotic scarlet thread through the texture, which grows from a minimalist lightness towards dramatic moments executed using field technique.
HIGHLIGHTS
4/2016
Concertos for several soloists or concertante groups
OLLI KORTEKANGAS Charms (1998/2010) Dur: 18’ Concerto for piano trio and orchestra: 1111-2110-02-1-str
Charms combines soaring melodies with virtuoso piano passages. Vivacious in character, it opens with a fast movement followed by an extensive adagio; the concluding movement is a dialogue of fast and slow that eventually peters out into silence. Kortekangas rewrote and expanded the final section in 2010.
TOMMI KÄRKKÄINEN Primo formamentum (2007) Dur: 26’ for string quartet and orchestra: 2222-2000-01-str
When planning this work, the composer assigned each of its four movements a visual symbol (triangle, circle, square and sawtooth line), which then started shaping of the music. The solo quartet engages in an intense dialogue with the orchestra, particularly in the second movement. Rhythmic, passionate passages alternate with calmer, sonorous moments.
REVIEWS Release “Release” for string orchestra was composed over a period of twenty years, and demonstrates that music can be both dramatically contemplative and restfully intense. In the preceding piece “In memoriam” soprano soloist Hannah Holgersson gave singularly beautiful proof of Malmlöf-Forssling’s ability to entice wordless expressiveness out of the human voice. Dagens Nyheter 5.9. Carin Malmlöf-Forssling: Release , In memoriam Musica Vitae/Malin Broman, sol. Hannah Holgersson, soprano, 3.9.2016 Stockholm (Baltic Sea Festival), Sweden
Lisa Larsson
ROLF MARTINSSON Dawning Landscapes (1984) Dur: 11’ Concertino for Flute, Oboe and String Orchestra (also in a version for string quintet) Alban Berg in Memoriam
Martinsson gives a concentrated picture of the dawning landscape. The music vacillates between agitated and calmer sections, but peace is never really attained. The flute and the oboe sing beautifully but anxiously over the very expressive string orchestra. Present here the whole time is a gnawing anxiety, a feeling that changes into sorrow at the final ebbing-away.
HANNU POHJANNORO time through light / valoa vasten aika (2011) Dur: 20’ Concerto for horn quartet and orchestra: 3333-0331-13-str
This work has a chamber-music feel – there are very few actual solos, as the musical material is passed from each of the four solo horns to another. The idea for this instrumentation came from Schumann’s Konzertstück. The title reflects the original ideas: in order to appreciate the subtleties of natural light, you have to stop and look. The same is true of sounds and listening.
HERMAN RECHBERGER Alovlar (2001) Dur: 20’ Concerto for clarinet, string quartet, frame-drum and string orchestra
An exotic concerto involving styles drawn from classical Azerbaijani music and a concertante group of clarinet, string quartet and frame-drum. The soloist is like a hypnotising snake-charmer while the vivid string figures characterise the movement of flames.
SVENDAVID SANDSTRÖM Six Pieces for Piano Trio and Orchestra (2010) Dur: 20’ 3333-4331-13-hp-str
Sandström wants to entertain with his music by means of contrast effects. The basic character can be said to be very romantic, even though the romantic sweetness is split up by powerfully pumping percussion and aggressive passages. The focus is on the three soloists and Sandström allows them to appear one by one, all together and with and without the orchestra.
LILLEBROR SÖDERLUNDH Allegro Concertante (1935/40) Dur: 6’ for two violins and strings A double concerto in two movements inspired by J.S. Bach. The short opening Intrada has an almost solemn character and was added to the work as a contrasting movement to the rhythmical, dancing second movement’s Allegro. Here the violinists move forward in exuberant polyphony from the very first bar, and baroque meets Swedish fiddler music.
Harmonious and alluring Martinsson Late Romantic melodies, harmonious and alluring... bold, almost musical-like twists reminiscent of Bernstein... The music appealed to the audience who expressed their appreciation with thunderous applause for the orchestra and the fabulous soprano Lisa Larsson. Stuttgarter Zeitung 26.9. Rolf Martinsson: Garden of Devotion Stuttgart CO/Matthias Foremny, sol. Lisa Larsson, soprano, 24.9.2016 Stuttgart, Germany
Sustained energy The dramatic arc of this second concerto is lucid... The third concerto is even more gripping, its music chillingly illustrating the twists of an ancient Japanese horror story. Yle.fi 4.11. Pehr Henrik Nordgren: Piano Concerto No. 2, Concerto for Piano (left hand) and Chamber Orchestra CD: Ostrobothnian CO/Juha Kangas, sol. Henri Sigfridsson (Alba ABCD 399)
Photo: Merlijn Doomernik
R EPER TOIR E TIPS
Photo:Josef Doukkali
Photo: Péter Rákossy
The Mine at the Hungarian State Opera
Exciting Samuelsson Marie Samuelsson is an exciting composer who really dares to go all the way in her works with a very personal tone language… The musicians’ whisperings and hissings, with texts such as “People have an inner need of freedom”, alternate with instrumental sections in a dense musical texture. Länstidningen Östersund 9.10. Marie Samuelsson: The Eros Effect and Solidarity, Love Trilogy – No. 3 World premiere: Nordic CO/Sarah Ionnides, 7.10.2016 Sundsvall, Sweden
Significant premiere
The Mine was given a fine premiere in Budapest. This is one of the most significant works in the history of Finnish opera... The stage production finally revealed what an exceptionally powerful libretto Rautavaara wrote for this opera. He explores the themes of freedom and responsibility from multiple angles and keeps to his themes until the end. Helsingin Sanomat 22.10. Einojuhani Rautavaara: The Mine (Kaivos) World stage premiere: Hungarian State Opera/Tibor Bogabyi, sol. Tommi Hakala, Adrienn Miksch, Béla Laborfalvi Soós, Péter Fried etc., 21.10.2016 Budapest, Hungary
A Freak in LA
Aho conjures up an impressive, symphonically coloured texture where sumptuous tutti passages and more introvert sections alternate in a tension-building and dramaturgically significant way. Hufvudstadsbladet 12.10.
Dausgaard proved an involved and animated presence in Schnelzer’s 10-minute “A Freak in Burbank… A suitably unsettling score for Halloween eve, “A Freak” brimmed with sinister, hyperactive energy. Dausgaard kept a firm but flexible grip on the work’s abrupt figures for strings and woodwinds, allowing the orchestra to seamlessly navigate its arresting, disruptive metrical shifts. Los Angeles Times 1.11.
Kalevi Aho: Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra CD: Lahti SO/Dima Slobodeniouk, sol. Bram van Sambeek (BIS SACD 2206)
Most beautiful he ever wrote Englund’s concerto is one of the major violin concertos of the past century – and not just from Finland… The chordal passage after the first movement is perhaps the most beautiful thing he ever wrote… Klami’s lyrical solo lune and luminous orchestral colours retain the interest throughout. FMQ, autumn 2016 Einar Englund and Uuno Klami: Violin Concertos CD: Oulu SO/Johannes Gustavsson, sol. Benjamin Schmid (Ondine ODE 1278-2)
Bergman’s male choir works In all the works we find the humorist, lyricist, mystic and magician in full command of his text-sensitive tone painting… The aesthetic pluralism represented here is remarkable; Bergman pushes the envelope of musical expression. FMQ, autumn 2016 Erik Bergman: Works for male choir CD: Bergmania Ensemble, Sibelius Academy Vocal Ensemble/Matti Hyökki (Alba ABCD 392)
Albert Schnelzer: A Freak in Burbank Los Angeles CO/Thomas Dausgaard 30.10.2016, Los Angeles, USA
Kai Nieminen
Photo: Mattias Ahlm
Rautavaara demonstrates his considerable skills in this music. There is a hint of Webernian Expressionism and the late Romanticism of Mahler or Schönberg, but above all we can detect the musical ideas that Rautavaara went on to develop in his later output. Hufvudstadsbladet 23.10.
Fruitful contrasts
Photos: Saara Vuorjoki/Music Finland
The work is dominated by impressive melodies... the end result is nothing short of excellent. The same applies to the chorus, which employs the broadest range of effects, beginning with spelllike whispered utterances... The performance was so good that it was impossible to escape from its grasp. Magyar Nemzet 24.10.
Matthew Whittall
Lyrical moods The disc is musically varied and fascinating... Kai Nieminen’s three pieces treat the listener to lyrical moods where the melodic sensitivity of the solo instrument is excellently showcased. At the focus of the disc is Matthew Whittall’s Points of Attraction... This combination of American minimalism, Kind of Blue riffs and Scandinavian sensitivity certainly appeals to me. Yle.fi 7.10. Kai Nieminen: Elegy, Hymnos II, Ancient Songs... Matthew Whittall: Points of Attraction CD: Tommi Hyytinen, horn (Pilfink JJVCD-162) “Tired Light”
Wonderfully seductive The soloists gave this sonorous, attractive, but never effect-seeking work a wonderfully seductive performance together with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra… The flying first movement (in the score marked “volante”) lands in a beautifully nuanced and hymn-like calm, before the tempo is driven up with exquisitely playful dribbling. Dagens Nyheter 19.11. Tobias Broström: Theatron Swedish Radio SO/Alondra de la Parra, sol. Patrick Raab & Johan Bridger, percussion, 18.11.2016 Stockholm, Sweden
HIGHLIGHTS
4/2016
N E W P U B L I C AT I O N S
NEW CDs KALEVI AHO
VOCAL & CHORAL
Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra, Solo V for bassoon Lahti SO/Dima Slobodeniouk, sol. Bram van Sambeek BIS SACD 2206
EINAR ENGLUND UUNO KLAMI Violin Concertos Oulu SO/Johannes Gustavsson, sol. Benjamin Schmid Ondine ODE 1278-2
ARMAS JÄRNEFELT MIKKO HEINIÖ HEINIÖÖ
JACOB MÜHLRAD Ü
PERR GU PE GUNN GUNNAR NNAR AR PPETERSSON ETER ET ERSS SSON ON
ALEXANDER JAN ÖÖBERG BERG
Isoisän runoja (Grandfather’s Poems) for male choir Text: Lassi Nummi (Fin)
Skall inte finnas mer (Shall Be No More) for SSAATTBB choir, 2 violas, violoncello and double bass Text: The Book of Revelation 21:4 (Swe)
An Anonymous Nun’s Prayer for SATB choir divisi a cappella Text: Anon. (Eng)
In dulci jubilo for SATB choir divisi, soprano solo and organ Text: Robert Lucas de Pearsall (Eng)
FG 9790-55011-229-2
GE 13030
GE12959
GE 13046
Armas Järnefelt edition. All preserved recordings 1904-1950 FUGA 9391
OLLI KORTEKANGAS Offertorium, Crossing the Five Rivers
JUHANI NUORVALA
INSTRUMENTAL & CHAMBER
Solo per viola da gamba Kari Vuola, organ, Varpu Haavisto, viola da gamba Alba ABCD 401 ”Crossings”
JYRKI LINJAMA Three Sketches / Kolme luonnosta
ILMARI KROHN Nyt ylös sieluni, Pääsiäiskoitto
JARMO PARVIAINEN Partita koraalista Halleluja nyt soikohon Tomi Satomaa, organ Alba ABCD 397 “Ramus Virens Olivarum”
KALEVI AHO
JACOB MÜHLRAD Ü
JEAN SIBELIUS
JEAN SIBELIUS
19 preludes for piano / 19 preludia pianolle
Pan for solo cello
Andantino & Menuetto for brass septet
Overture in F minor for brass septet
FG 9790-55011-298-8
GE 13045
FG 9790-55011-302-2 (score and parts)
FG 9790-55011-303-9 (score and parts)
Both these are Sibelius’s original versions available now for the first time.
SCORES
PEHR HENRIK NORDGREN Concerto No. 2 for Piano, Strings and Percussion, Concerto for Piano (left hand) and Chamber Orchestra Ostrobothnian CO/Juha Kangas, sol. Henri Sigfridsson Alba ABCD 399
ALBERT SCHNELZER But Your Angel’s on Holiday Clarinet Concerto GE 12676 (score), GE 12677 (solo part), GE 12678 (study score) Winner of the Swedish MPA Award 2016.
SVENDAVID SANDSTRÖM Dansa Cecilia Zilliacus, violin, Lena Willemark, soprano BIS SACD 2159
MATTHEW WHITTALL Points of Attraction Jukka Harju, horn, Reeta Maalismaa, violin, Sonja Fräki, piano Pilfink JJVCD-165 ”Northern Attraction”
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Finnish Favourites for Piano 2 / Suomalaista toiveohjelmistoa pianolle 2 Second volume of the popular piano collection including Finnish piano classics. FG 9790-55011-289-6
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