nor d ic
HIGHLIGHTS
1/2010
NEWSLETTER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN
80 Veljo Tormis
– torchbearer, noncomformist and shaman
Focus on
Fredrik Sixten
NEWS
The Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) has chosen the BIS-CD “Rituals” by Kalevi Aho as Record of the Year. Conducted by John Storgårds, the Chamber Orchestra of Lapland with soloists Monica Groop, Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic and Herman Rechberger perform Kysymysten kirja (The Book of Questions) for
Jyrki Linjama and Finland focus in Austria
nor d ic
Benjamin Staern and Albert Schnelzer.
Heiniö on the Sony label
Jyrki Linjama has been chosen as the composerin-residence of the Carinthian Summer Music Festival in Austria. Opening on 8 July, the festival has commissioned him to compose a church opera, Die Geburt des Täufers, to be premiered in Ossiach on 8 July. The theme of the festival is Finland, and the varied programme will include such specialities as Finnish tango. Also invited to the festival is the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, which will be performing Linjama’s Allerheiligentag II for orchestra under the baton of Sascha Goetzel. Choral and chamber music by Linjama can also be heard at the festival. (www.carinthischersommer.at)
HIGHLIGHTS
Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie is commissioning a 10-minute orchestral piece from Benjamin Staern. Daniel Raiskin will conduct the premiere performances, which will take place at Görrehaus in Koblenz on 28 and 29 May 2011. Albert Schnelzer has received a commission from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra to write a cello concerto for their solo cellist Claes Gunnarsson. Gunnarsson is one of the leading cellists in Sweden today. He has been guest solo cellist with the London Symphony Orchestra and appeared as soloist in most European countries. The premiere is scheduled for the 2011/12 season.
Photo: Hans Lindén
awarded
New commissions
Photo: Tobias Broström
CDs
mezzo-soprano and orchestra, the Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra and the Symphony No. 14 ‘Rituals’ . According to the jury, these works afford an interesting perspective on the music of one of Finland’s most notable contemporary composers, Kalevi Aho, and the solo parts do justice to his musical language. In Finland the annual Emma Award for the best classical recording in 2009 was awarded to the Alba Records CD Transient Moods. The disc includes three works by Pehr Henrik Nord gren played by Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and Juha Kangas. The Emma 2009 Awards were issued in February. (Alba ABCD 288/See: Reviews.) In Sweden Albert Schnelzer’s portrait CD Predatory Dances was the daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter’s critics’ choice for best contemporary music CD of 2009 and it was also chosen as one of the “Highlights of the Year” by the Swedish Radio P2 CD review. (Daphne CD 1031) Benjamin Staern’s The Deep Violoncello of the Night is included in the Swedish Grammy Award winning CD ”Unheard of Again”. Participants on the CD include the chamber ensemble Sonanza, conductor Jan Risberg and contralto Anna Larsson. (Phono Suecia PSCD 180)
Music by Mikko Heiniö has just been released on a Sony Music CD: Alla madre for violin and orchestra and the second symphony, Songs of Night and Love . The soloist in Alla madre is American violinist Kurt Nikkanen, and in the symphony Finnish baritone Tommi Hakala. The Turku Philharmonic is conducted on this disc by Petri Sakari. There are new sound samples of both works on the Fennica Gehrman website.
Cantus arcticus visualised in Israel The Israel Kibbutz Orchestra will play Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Cantus arcticus (Concerto for Birds and Orchestra) in a visualised concert accompanied by narrative and projections of Gile Nilson’s paintings that will be shown throughout the work. This is the first time the concerto will be performed in Israel. After the first concert on 13 March Cantus arcticus will be played six times in all at different concert halls under the direction of Yaacov Bergman.
Rautavaara’s The Gift of the Magi in Australia 1/2010
NEWSLE T TER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN
Sound samples , video clips and other material available at www.gehrmans.se/highlights www.fennicagehrman.fi/highlights Cover photos: Scanpix/Postimees/Peeter Langovits (Veljo Tormis), Anders Eliasson (Fredrik Sixten) Editors: Henna Salmela and Kristina Fryklöf Translations: Susan Sinisalo and Robert Carroll Design: Göran Lind ISSN 1239-6850 Printed in Sweden by 08 Tryck, Bromma 2010
The English version of Einojuhani Rautavaara’s opera The Gift of the Magi is to be premiered on 21 May at the Canberra International Music Festival in Australia. The Gift of the Magi is a 45 minute opera based on the charming short story by O. Henry about a couple who want to give each other Christmas presents but have no money. The woman decides to sell her beautiful long hair in order to buy her fiancé a chain, and the man sells his watch in order to buy his beloved a brooch for her hair. This is the first stage performance of the work – so far it has only been seen as a TV opera. The performers are from the Australian National University School of Music, and in the main roles are Sonia Anfiloff (soprano) and Ben Connor (baritone). The performance is part of a Rautavaara portrait concert presenting chamber and orch estral works by him.
P r e m ie r es Spring 2010
Celebrate
KIMMO HAKOLA
Eliasson news On 25 November Anders Eliasson’s Concerto for Violin, Viola and Chamber Orchestra was given an acclaimed world premiere in a packed Finlandia Hall in Helsinki. The soloists Ulf Wallin and Lars Anders Tomter played together with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Juha Kangas. The work was commissioned jointly by the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the Trondheim Soloists. The Swedish premiere took place in Örebro on 28 January, and the Norwegian premiere is scheduled for this coming autumn in Trondheim. Anders Eliasson’s quintet for winds and piano, Pentagramm, will be performed at the Musikverein in Vienna on 6 May by pianist Christopher Hinterhuber and wind instrumentalists from the Wiener Sympho niker. The following performance will be in Landeck, Tyrol on 9 May. In February Pentagramm was given its Danish premiere by the Esbjerg Ensemble at the Danish Royal Academy of Music. Pentagramm is one of the works selected for the European chamber ensemble network, RE:NEW MUSIC’s repertoire database.
Appassionata, for cello
2010 is the anniversary for two of Sweden’s foremost and most popular composers, Hugo Alfvén (1872-1960/50th anniversary of death) and Erland von Koch (1910-2009/centenary of birth). Alfvén is known as one of the most prominent representatives of Swedish national romanticism; von Koch started out in a neo-classical style but later changed over to a more modern manner of expression. The two had in common a unique position when it came to bringing the Swedish folk music tradition into the context of art music. Both were highly prolific and their oeuvres are veritable treasure troves of orchestral and choral music, lieder and other genres. You can read more about these composers and find works published by Gehrmans Musikförlag at www. gehrmans.se/composers.
and piano Turku Cello Competition 20-26 February, Turku, Finland
FREDRIK SIXTEN
Variations for Organ
Jim Hicks, organ 6 March, New Jersey, U.S.A. Let There Be, for choir and
percussion San Francisco Symphony Chorus, cond. Ragnar Bohlin 11 April, San Francisco, U.S.A.
OLLI KORTEKANGAS
Divertimento
Olli Leppäniemi, clarinet, Samuli Peltonen, cello 18 March, Washington, U.S.A. Pietà
Pia Freund, soprano, Varpu Haavisto, viola da gamba, Assi Karttunen, cembalo 20 March, Tampere, Finland
TAPIO TUOMELA
Music for Film 1
Joensuu City Orchestra, cond. Esa Heikkilä 9 April, Joensuu, Finland
Photo: Agneta von Koch-Hyllius
Photo: Marina Eliasson
Alfvén and von Koch
Erland von Koch
Antti Puuhaara
Musicatreize 10 June, Marseille, France
Hugo Alfvén
PAAVO HEININEN
Organ Trio II
Jan Lehtola, organ, Mikko Raasakka, clarinet, Petri Komulainen, horn 20 April, Kuopio, Finland
Brodsky on tour with Emperor Akbar The Brodsky Quartet will go on tour of Sweden with a programme featuring Albert Schnelzer’s String Quartet No 2 – Emperor Akbar. Starting in Uppsala on 17 March, Brodsky will play the work in Linköping, Umeå (MADE festival), Luleå and finally in the Stockholm Concert Hall on 8 May.
ROLF MARTINSSON
Chamber Concerto No. 2
Uppsala Chamber Orchestra, cond. Paul Mägi 6 May, Uppsala, Sweden
SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖM
Orchestral works by Kai Nieminen on CD
Seven Pieces for String Quartet
Pilfink Records has released a new disc, Il Viaggio, of three orchestral works by Kai Nieminen in March: the violin concerto “Il Viaggio del cavaliere… (inesistente)”, In Mirrors of Time and the viola concerto La Serenissima. The soloist in both the concertos is Erkki Palola and the Pori Sinfonietta is conducted by Jukka Iisakkila. Nieminen’s previous orchestral disc Palomar has won international acclaim and was the Naxos critics’ choice for November (See: Reviews).
Hear the Voice of the Bard,
Weber Quartet 8 May, Halmstad, Sweden
Photo: Saara Vuorjoki
for male choir, mezzo-soprano and organ Wasa sångargille, cond. Stefan Wikman, sol. Monica Groop, Christian Ahlskog 15 May, Vaasa, Finland Ave Maria,
for women’s choir Ladies of the Bavarian Radio Choir, cond. Gustaf Sjökvist 16 May, Munich, Germany
Photo: Scanpix/Postimees/Peeter Langovits
Veljo Tormis Vel jo To r m i s is a household name among the vast majority of musically inclined Estonians. Every singing Estonian (and there are many) has sung his music, be it in the school choir of a remote village, or the 30,000-strong chorus of the Song Festival. Tormis’ vivid persona, as well as some of his music, especially the soundtrack to Estonia’s all-time favourite movie Kevade (The Spring) is familiar to virtually every Estonian. There are many reasons to consider him one of the most luminary Estonian musicians of all times.
Tormis as torchbearer
Photo: Scanpix/Postimees/Liis Treimann
It is fair to say that Tormis has shown us Estonians a way to reconnect with our musical mother tongue. By the mid-20th century most Estonians had lost contact with the ancient regilaul (runic song), a rich tradition that is the basis of the majority of Tormis’ opuses. Tormis has effectively shown how a whole musical landscape or a roaring sea scene can be carved out of a three-note motif of a regilaul. Tormis has also paid a lot of attention to the heritage of many small Finno-Ugric peoples, related
– unique in many ways
There is the pagan, shamanistic energy. There are strong messages from ancient times. The music of Veljo Tormis is performed eagerly around the world but also welcomed by fans who would not otherwise listen to classical music. And his work has also recently influenced rock musicians. to the Estonians by language, living in Russian territory and often facing extinction. He triggered a long-lasting interest in the music and traditions of the Votic, Vepsian, Livonian, Ingrian and other peoples (preserved in the series Forgotten Peoples) whose language, music and even name would otherwise be unknown. This reverent attitude to messages from ancient times has very visibly influenced not only musicians in the “classical” camp, but also folk, jazz and even rock musicians. Tormis, in spite of his senior status, is very active in keeping this flame alive today as well, by lecturing and collaborating with young musicians.
Tormis as nonconformist The depressing reality of Soviet occupation made Veljo Tormis compose dozens of dark-toned songs that avoid folk influence and use texts by leading Estonian poets instead. Often walking a tightrope and keenly monitored by the Soviet censors, Tormis poured into his songs the anxiety of hopeless times. Compositions such as Viru Vanne (The Viru Oath), Tõmbtuul (Crosswind) or Nägemus Eestist (Vision of Estonia) convey the feelings
of a creative person trapped within the prison walls of a totalitarian regime. But there is sarcasm and parody, too. An example here is Pärismaalase lauluke (An Aboriginal Song) where the nonsense syllable tabu-tabu actually should have been (and was) understood as “taboo”, depicting the inability of Estonians (i.e. Aboriginals) to speak out.
Tormis as shaman It is odd that somebody who was born into the family of a Lutheran parish clerk and started his musical studies as an organist should avoid religious music as a composer. Indeed, there is not a single religious work in Tormis’ large body of compositions (which also includes instrumental and stage music), making him stand quite far from contemporary choral composers who find inspiration in Latin texts and religious motifs. While Tormis’ music may lack the more immediate appeal of another world-famous Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt, there is something completely unique in his music that leaves international audiences flabbergasted. This is the ancient, pagan, shamanistic energy of major works such as Pikse litaania (Litany to Thunder), Maarjamaa ballaad (Ballad of Mary’s Land) or Raua needmine (Curse upon Iron) . Listeners from near and far sense the elementary power and far-reaching effect of such vocal symphonies. Thus it is not surprising that Veljo Tormis’ music is enthusiastically welcomed by fans who would not otherwise listen to “classical” music even at gunpoint. In Estonia there are two prime examples of such crossover success. The folk-metal band Metsatöll recorded an extremely successful CD and DVD, performing Tormis’ compositions with the Estonian National Male Choir (RAM). And recently Estonian DJs and electronic artists released a motley collection of Tormis remixes. At 80, what could please a maestro more than seeing his message universally understood and his life’s work internationally appreciated? J oosep S a ng
Tormis at the rehearsals with Metsatöll folk metal band and RAM
is firmly rooted in a Swedish music tradition, but at the same time with a musical language all his own. Today his works have started to spread outside the boundaries of Sweden. His Variations for Organ and Let There Be for choir and percussion will receive their world premieres this spring in the USA. Fredrik Sixten
Fredrik Sixten in focus When Fredrik Sixten in 2004 wrote A Swedish St. Mark Passion for choir, soloists and chamber ensemble, he had been composing since the end of the 1990s. But the passion was a breakthrough when he took up the grim narrative, with the gospel and newly written texts by Bengt Pohjanen. Ragnar Bohlin, principal conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, premiered and recorded the work in 2004, which led to continued collaboration: the CD Mysterium, with sacred choral music (including O Magnum Mysterium, Pie Jesu , Laudate Dominum, Sacrum Convivium and other works.) “The St. Mark Passion rests on three pillars: strong roots in Bach, Swedish folk music and an impressionistic modernism with quite bold harmonies – parts which would seem not to blend so easily. But Fredrik Sixten manages to pull it off. It is well written and has its origin in a sound knowledge of sacred music. Even though it is traditional in a way, it also seems new and fresh. He composes unaffectedly and many times with elements of surprise”, says Ragnar Bohlin. In spite of the fact that it is both musically and emotionally strenuous to learn, the St. Mark Passion, with its original voice-leading and rhythms, large choruses, simple hymns and intricate recitatives, has been performed many times, which is not a matter of course for a contemporary composer in Sweden.
Requiem and A Swedish Christmas Oratorio Three years later Fredrik Sixten wrote his Requiem for choir, soloists and orchestra, with a synthesis of texts from the Requiem Mass and newly written poetry – this time as well by Bengt Pohjanen (translated into English by John Hearne). It was personal grief that gave rise to the work and the tone language is different from that of the St. Mark Passion. “The Requiem is the best contribution to Swedish church music in a long time. It is perso nal, penetrating and beautiful music that makes a deep impression and is easy to take to heart”, says Ragnar Bohlin, who also conducted the premiere of the Requiem. The third large-scale work for choir and orchestra, A Swedish Christmas Oratorio for solo soprano, two choirs and orchestra, was given its premiere in December 2009 in Gothenburg and on the Swedish Radio, here too a combination of gospel text and newly written text, this time by the poet Ylva Eggehorn. Even though the Christmas Oratorio is a brighter story, Fredrik Sixten has sought the darker aspects. “I want to get away from that sweetness and harmlessness that easily comes with Christmas. Even though it is a naivistic narrative, the background is anything but bright, with the child who was born to be sacrificed and then hung on the cross”, says Fredrik
Sixten. He speaks of the complete darkness, of putting the outcasts in the front row and not forgetting that Mary and Joseph were also homeless, poor and rejected people on the run. In both the Christmas Oratorio and the St. Mark Passion the recitatives are sung by a soprano. “Why shouldn’t women get to sing the gospel? Moreover, it opens up more possibilities, the voice of the soprano has a greater range than that of the tenor”, he says. Fredrik Sixten has also composed for solo instruments, string quartet and, especially, for a cappella choir. He is a composer who knows how voice, instruments and sentiment work together. There is a directness, a kind of honest simplicity, that enables one to understand what he wants to tell us. Even when melodies and harmonies take unexpected turns it is always singable.
Sixten as church composer Fredrik Sixten was born in 1962 in Skövde and it was in church that he first encountered music; his father and grandfather were priests. But besides singing in the choir and blowing the organ he also played in various pop bands; he was influenced by both historical and popular music. After finishing school he went straight to the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, and today Fredrik Sixten is the organist at the Cathedral in Härnösand. With his feet firmly in the day-to-day musical practice, ‘utility music’ also has a place in his heart. He sees it as a challenge to write music with a function, simple music but still with a bite. Too much of the music in the Swedish Church is overly banal in his opinion. “What drives me on is that my music should be alive”, he says. “When I see that music is lacking, music that is needed, then I want to write it.” There are those who think he is too traditional. But he sees the discussion about modernism and tonality as a meaningless question. “What is experimental music today? We have explored the tonal system now. One way of writing music for our time is unexpected
REVIEWS
Music for organ The organ is a great source of inspiration. One of his large-scale organ works is Triptyk (2004), which is performed in both Europe and the USA. One musician who has played it is Hans Fagius, organist and professor at the Royal Danish Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. “At first I thought it sounded familiar, almost like a pastiche, but it is a matter of his writing in a special tradition. It is very skillfully composed, technically advanced and the more I have played the work the more I like it. It is an excellent piece of music”, he says. A flirt with Bach, some say, and Fredrik Sixten does not deny it. But it is not a question of imitation – then one has not listened carefully – but rather a wink to the old master. And in the same breath Fredrik Sixten mentions Prokofiev, Poulenc and Prince. Otherwise he thinks it is risky with musical references. He would rather speak of something in common that touches us.
US premieres Fredrik Sixten has recently delivered a commissioned work to the San Francisco Symphony and Ragnar Bohlin. Let There Be for choir and a percussionist who is kept very busy. “We have just started to get to know it, and it is music that we immediately get the urge to play”, says Ragnar Bohlin, who will conduct the premiere performance of the work in April at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. The reception feels decisive, relates Fredrik Sixten, as well as the premiere of Variations for Organ in New Jersey in March. Even though he has been embraced by musicians, singers and audiences here, his ambitions as a composer extend further. “I also try to market my music, something that is rather unusual in Sweden, but entirely normal in, for example, the USA. But I write music that I believe in myself, and then I have to put in a little work to get it performed. Life is too short to sit around and wait.”
Nordgren tended not to get the attention of more international Finns, slightly younger folk like Aho, Lindberg, Salonen and Saariaho. He had things to say of equal importance, but did not have quite the same exposure… Two things unite these three works: the integration of folk elements with concert music, and an exultant charge of energy that seems to emerge from the land itself. Finnish Music Quarterly 4-2009 / Martin Anderson Pehr Henrik Nordgren: Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8, Summer Music
CD: Turku PO, cond. Juha Kangas (Alba ABCD 288 “Transient Moods”)
Uniquely beautiful
Enjoyable and refined Dafgård
Angel of Dusk, the 1980 double-bass concerto, is noteworthy for a solo part that is astonishingly inventive. Cantus arcticus, the 1972 concerto for (taped) birds and orchestra, remains one of Rautavaara’s best-known works with absolute justification – even if Respighi first laid the egg of taped birdsong in the Pines of Rome, the Cantus arcticus remains uniquely beautiful. Finnish Music Quarterly 4-2009 / Martin Anderson CD: Einojuhani Rautavaara: 12 Concertos
It was extremely enjoyable: a refined, sparse tone language with a certain Gallic-impressionistic touch and a distinct thread throughout the entire composition. Skånska Dagbladet 13.2. / Lars-Erik Larsson Jörgen Dafgård: Mosaique Vibrante
Various performers (Ondine ODE 1156-2Q)
Malmö SO, cond. Daniel Raiskin, 11.02.2009 Malmö, Sweden
Strident harmonies and glaring rhythms It was also Anders Eliasson’s Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra that turned out to be the real highlight of the evening, and the performance received the most enthusiastic ovation from the audience. Helsingin Sanomat 28.11. / Jukka Isopuro
Deep and wide The two orchestral works by Heiniö make extremely interesting listening; new music at its very best. …Heiniö is a brilliant dramatist and orchestrator, but the most fascinating thing about his music is the way he flirts with tonality despite his atonal approach to composition. Turun Sanomat 3.2. / Tomi Norha Mikko Heiniö: Alla madre, Symphony No. 2
CD: Turku PO, cond. Petri Sakari, sol. Kurt Nikkanen, violin, Tommi Hakala, baritone (Sony Classical 88697 630212)
Subtle hues and colouration
J enn y L eon a r d z
Kai Nieminen calls himself a ‘painter in music’ and this triptych of works goes a long way to proving the point. ...[In Palomar] we find loquacious voicings, incessant birdsong in which all nature seems soprano-like to be teeming, luscious and avidly vibrating. Then an achingly beautiful and warmly hued string melody courses romantically through the undergrowth, lovely as a Rota song… It’s a fine work, impressionistic, less reliant on Messiaen than you may think from my description – and charming. MusicWeb International November 2009 / Jonathan Woolf Kai Nieminen: Palomar (Flute Concerto), Through Shadows I Can Hear Ancient Voices (Clarinet Concerto), Vicoli in ombra
More information on www.fredriksixten.com
CD: Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä, cond. Patrick Gallois, sol. Gallois, flute, Mikko Raasakka, clarinet (Naxos 8.572061)
With his strident harmonies and glaring rhythms Eliasson brings the late Shostakovich to mind, and this has obviously appealed to Juha Kangas as well as his orchestra. Hufvudstadsbladet 28.11. / Wilhelm Kvist Anders Eliasson: Concerto for Violin, Viola and Chamber Orchestra
World Premiere: Ostrobothnian ChO, cond. Juha Kangas, sol. Ulf Wallin, violin, Lars-Anders Tomter, viola, 25.11.2009 Helsinki, Finland
Seriously recommended Eliasson CD The journey through the Sinfonia’s yearning, heightened first movement via the restless second to a gentler but still troubled resolution in the third is prolonged and intense, but ultimately satisfying. Quite simply, this is a major work ... the tautness and variety of the shorter pieces functioned as a refreshing contrast to the emotional intensity of the longer work: a splash of cold Nordic water after an anxious, sleepless night. Fanfare November 2009 / Phillip Scott Anders Eliasson: Desert Point, Ostacoli, Sinfonia per archi
CD: Arcos ChO, cond. John-Edward Kelly (NEOS 10813)
Photo: Fimic/Maarit Kytöharju
Master in memoriam
Photo: Annu Mikkonen
combinations, where there are a great many unexplored possibilities.” The challenge is to get the audience to listen. Only then can he take them along with him to something they did not imagine from the start. But he will always be tonal, he maintains, although this does not keep him from twisting and turning around the concepts. He likes to introduce troublesome elements – he sometimes even speaks of ugliness as a contrast, of reflecting the beautiful in the ugly, despite his affection for a lovely melody, of seeking out the difficulties in life and conveying something that chafes, the edge of melancholy and vulnerability which is needed.
N E W C Ds NATANAEL BERG
Catchy cheerfulness
Hertiginnans Friare (The Suitors of the Duchess)
The evening’s gem turned out to be Kalevi Aho’s ingenious Oboe Concerto. Aho succeeds in making the Arabic influences an integral part of his personal expression, and not a trace is there of superficial ethno-ing…The result is a catchy cheerfulness very rare in contemporary music. Kaleva 14.11. / Hannu Hirvelä Kalevi Aho: Oboe Concerto
Mikko Heiniö
Talla Vocal Ensemble, YL Male Voice Choir, cond. Matti Hyökki, Pasi Hyökki
Ondine ODE 1155-2 (“Talescapes”)
Mikko Heiniö
Inventive Schnelzer
Swedish ChO, cond. Thomas Dausgaard, 07.02.2009 Stockholm, Sweden
breath durations, and fashions ornaments from scale runs. It is clearly satisfying music to play, and this a recording made by players who are committed to every note of it. Music Web International December 2009 / Gavin Dixon Albert Schnelzer: Predatory Dances, Frozen Landscape, Wolfgang is Dancing etc.
CD: Tobias Ringborg, violin, Claes Gunnarsson, cello, Per Lundberg, piano, Francisca Skoogh, piano, Staffan Mårtensson, clarinet, Susanna Andersson, soprano (Daphne CD 1031)
Puumala’s enigmatic Chainsprings Chainsprings now revealed a hundred times more timbral treats than at its ill-fated premiere… The masterly Chainsprings also uses a variety of percussion instruments. The form is still tantalisingly enigmatic. Helsingin Sanomat 6.12. / Vesa Sirén Veli-Matti Puumala: Chainsprings Tampere PO, cond. Hannu Lintu, 4.12.2009 Tampere, Finland
Explosive and concentrated homage
Allan Pettersson’s unfinished and mythical First Symphony was given a premiere that was as spirited as it was high calibre by the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. Svenska Dagbladet 16.1. / Carl-Gunnar Åhlén Allan Pettersson: Symphony No. 1 (Unfinished)
World Premiere: Norrköping SO, cond. Christian Lindberg, 14.1.2009, Norrköping, Sweden
Photo: Gunnar Källström
The First Symphony is a major contribution to the understanding of Pettersson’s music and no less exciting than the next few symphonies that follow. Dagens Nyheter 16.1. / Thomas Anderberg
Pori Sinfonietta, cond. Jukka Iisakkila, sol. Erkki Palola
Pehr Henrik Nordgren
Symphony for Strings, Concerto for Strings etc.
Ostrobothnian ChO, cond. Juha Kangas
Alba ABCD 294 (“Lamentations”)
ALLAN PETTERSSON
Concerto No. 3 for String Orchestra
Nordic ChO, cond. Christian Lindberg BIS-CD-1590
HILDING ROSENBERG
Symphonies Nos. 3 & 6
Gothenburg SO, cond. Mario Venzago BIS-CD-1383
WILHELM STENHAMMAR
Cheremissian Fantasy, Kalevala Suite etc.
Symphony No. 2
Ondine ODE 1143-2
Daphne CD 1037
Helsinki PO, cond. John Storgårds
I was captivated by the bizarre cinematic humour in the work’s rhapsodical and intensely rhythmical character. Svenska Dagbladet 9.2. / Sofia Nyblom Albert Schnelzer: A Freak in Burbank
The craftsmanship of his writing comes through in its remarkable clarity of texture, even in the densest passages. A mastery of rhythm is the secret to the success of his faster music, and as the title of the disc suggests, dance is an important inspiration… He creates rhythmic complexity out of easily performed repeated note patterns, structures melodies around
Turku PO, cond. Petri Sakari, sol. Kurt Nikkanen, violin, Tommi Hakala, baritone
Uuno Klami
Dagens Nyheter 9.2. / Thomas Anderberg
Schnelzer’s mastery of rhythm
Alla madre, Symphony No. 2 “Songs of Night and Love”
Sony Classical 88697 630212
The work was written for a Haydn-sized orchestra but with a tone language half-way between an updated Stravinsky and a lyrical Britten. Well-balanced but still with a number of surprising twists.
Thomas Dausgaard and Albert Schnelzer after the performance of A Freak in Burbank
Pilfink JJVCD-79 (”Il Viaggio”)
The Bishop’s Spring Dream etc.
Photo: Ghadi Boustani
Yomiuri SO, cond. Osmo Vänskä, 15.12.2009 Tokyo, Japan
Erik Bergman
Yö (Night)
Aho symphony in Tokyo Kalevi Aho’s Symphony No. 7 now performed for the first time in Japan was 40 minutes long and had rich instrumentations. … Aho uses his instruments in a unique and intellectual way and creates colourful sounds. Even without the subtitle (Insect Symphony), we would fully appreciate the work. Ongaku no Tomo 2010 / Hideo Tojo Kalevi Aho: Symphony No. 7 (Insect Symphony)
Norrköping SO, cond. Ari Rasilainen CPO 777 325-2
Oulu SO, cond. Timothy Redmond, sol. Piet van Bockstal, 12.11.2009 Oulu, Finland
Kai Nieminen
Violin Concerto ”Il viaggio del cavaliere... (inesistente)”, In Mirrors of Time, Viola Concerto ”La Serenissima”
Malmö Academy of Music SO, cond. Neil Thomson
new p u b lic a tions C H A M B E R & I N S T R U M E N TA L TOBIAS BROSTRÖM
CHORAL MUSIC LARS KARLSSON
Open Music
Kjell Perder
Tre motetter (Three Motets)
for brass quintet
Livets källa (The Well of Life)
GE 11549 (score and parts)
for mixed choir and soprano Text in Swedish
for mixed choir (SATB) a cappella Six songs from the Book of Psalms Text in Swedish
FREDRIK HÖGBERG
Body of a Woman
GE 11524
for instrument within range and disc Parts for C and B instruments
FG ISMN 979-0-55009-646-2
In honorem Sancte Birgitte
FG ISMN 979-0-55009-645-5
for male choir Text: Pablo Neruda (English)
Bogo Bogo
PER GUNNAR PETERSSON
for mixed choir a cappella I Introitus (SSAATTBB) II Alleluia (SATB) Texts from Birger Gregersson’s officium Birgitte, matris inclite, 1381. (Latin)
GE 10664
OLLI KORTEKANGAS
Invisible Duet
for instrument within range and disc Parts for C and B instruments
De profundis
More is More
FG ISMN 979-0-55009-647-9
GE 10918 (score) GE 10919 (parts)
KAI NIEMINEN
for chamber choir and tuba Text in Latin
GE 10469
GE 11492
Also available for female voices:
for string quartet
GE 10550 (Introitus, SSSSAAAA) GE 10551(Alleluia, SSAA, s-solo)
Unen maasta (From the Land of Dreams)
PopMusikk
Suite for mixed choir Text: Hannele Huovi (Finnish)
for instrument within range and disc Parts for C and B instruments
Sven-David Sandström
Hear the Voice of the Bard
FG ISMN 979-0-55009-649-3
for mezzo soprano, male choir and organ Text: William Blake: Introduction from Songs of Experience (English)
GE 10008
PulsMusikk
EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA
for instrument within range and drums Parts for C and B instruments
Neljä romanssia oopperasta Rasputin (Four Romances from the opera Rasputin)
GE 7401
for male choir Text in Finnish
Visible Duet
for soprano, instrument within range and disc Parts for C and B instruments
GE 11558
Magnificat
for SATB solo, mixed choir and chamber orchestra Texts in Latin and German
FG ISMN 979-0-55009-650-9
GE 10723 (score) GE 10724 (vocal score)
GE 10470
ERLAND VON KOCH
Fem karaktärsstycken
Five pieces for organ GE 11374
Per Gunnar Petersson
Dancing Pipes
for organ GE 11523
FREDRIK SIXTEN
Tre cantilene
for solo flute GE 11529
VICTORIA YAGLING
Larghetto & Siciliana
for cello and piano A set of two pieces including Larghetto, a piece in ancient style, and a dance-like Siciliana.
SCORES
FG ISMN 979-0-55009-644-8
SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖM
Vocalise
for cello and piano Yagling, herself a cellist, knows how to write lyrical melodies for her own instrument.
Complete Works Volume IV Symphonies Nos 7 & 8
GE 10909 (score) GE 10911 (vocal score)
Subscribe to Eduard Tubin Complete Works! Download the subscription folder at www.gehrmans.se/english/abonnemang.
for mezzo soprano and symphony orchestra Text: Ylva Eggehorn (Swedish)
FG ISMN 979-0-55009-643-1
EDUARD TUBIN
Kärlekens fyra ansikten (Four Faces of Love) – Symphony No. 3
GE 11566
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