Einar Englund – classicist and classic Marie Samuelsson and the

nor d ic
HIGHLIGHTS
1/2016
NEWSLETTER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN
Einar Englund
– classicist and classic
Marie Samuelsson
and the aspect of love
NEWS
Watch Jansen play Eliasson in RSPO Play!
Mats Larsson Gothe has recently completed his “
…de Blanche et Marie…” – Symphony No. 3,
which is based on material from his opera by
the same name. The symphony will be premiered
by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic/Benjamin
Shwartz during the Composer Festival at the
Stockholm Concert Hall in April.
In connection with the festival,
db Productions will release a portrait
CD including the Symphony No. 2,
Autumn Diary and The Apotheosis
of the Dance, featuring
the Västerås Sinfonietta
under the direction of
Fredrik Burstedt.
Fredrik Högberg will write a
multimedia concerto, including
film, for the Dutch violinist Isabel
van Keulen. The concerto, that
will have a South African theme,
is commissioned jointly by the
Düssel­dorf SO, the Odense
SO, the Norrköping SO and
the Malmö SO; the premiere is
planned for the 2017-18 season.
Urtext of Sibelius Humoresques
Fennica Gehrman has published an Urtext edition of Jean Sibelius’s Six
Humoresques for Violin and Orchestra opp. 87 & 89. Based on the composer’s
manuscripts, it has an extensive preface and commentary shedding light on
the genesis of the work and correcting many misprints and misinterpretations
in the previous editions. The Urtext edition also includes the early version
of Humoresque No. 1, now published for the first time. The study score is
available for sale and the orchestral sets are for hire. A new piano reduction is
scheduled for publication later in the spring. It is more pianistic than the current one (Ekman, 1922), which was never fully acknowledged by Sibelius.
Bikernieki Forest
On 18 March Sven-David Sandström´s St. John Passion will be premiered at the Konzerthaus Berlin by Mogens Dahl´s Chamber Choir,
soloists and the string quartet Brooklyn Rider. The passion will also be
the opening work for the Thüringer Bach Wochen on 19 March, after
which it will receive its Scandinavian premiere in Copenhagen and Lund.
Stefan Parkman will lead the Choir of the West and Choral Union and
the Pacific Lutheran University Symphony Orchestra in the American
premiere of Sandström’s St. Matthew Passion in Tacoma, Washington on
22 and 23 March.
NEWSLE T TER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN
Sound samples
, video clips
and other material are available at
www.gehrmans.se/highlights
www.fennicagehrman.fi/highlights
Cover photo: From the opera Medea/Emma Vetter
(Carl Thorborg), Marie Samuelsson (Josef Doukkali)
Editors: Henna Salmela and Kristina Fryklöf
Translations: Susan Sinisalo and Robert Carroll
Design: Göran Lind
ISSN 2000-2742 (Print), ISSN 2000-2750 (Online)
Printed in Sweden by TMG Sthlm, Bromma 2016
H ighlights
1/2016
Sinfonietta Riga, under the direction of
Normunds Sne, is taking Jonas Valfridsson´s
chamber-orchestra piece Bikernieku Mezs on
tour of Latvia with four performances in May.
This moving piece by Valfridsson was
premiered last November and is written
in memory of the victims (mostly Jews)
of the mass killings in the forest of
Bikernieki outside Riga during the German
occupation of 1941-45.
Beatbox Concerto
by Jennah Vainio
Fennica Gehrman has signed a publishing
agreement for Jennah Vainio’s popular concerto Fujiko’s Fairy Tale
for beatboxer and
string orchestra drawing on influences from
such directions as Oriental music, hip hop,
dance, video games and the world of Manga/
Anime. The concerto has been performed 18
times in five years, mostly in the USA, where
beatboxer Shodekeh added it to his repertoire and has performed it with the Baltimore Symphony
under Marin Alsop. Felix Zenger and RudiRok have been the soloists in Finland. Versions for
symphony orchestra and sinfonietta are being planned.
Photo: Music Finland/Saara Vuorjoki
nor d ic
1/2016
Photo: Viktor Gårdsäter
Sandström’s Passion premieres
HIGHLIGHTS
Photo: Jesper Lindgren
Högberg writes
for van Keulen
Photo: Nikolaj Lund
New symphony by Larsson Gothe
Photo: Jan Olav Wedin
It is now possible to view
Janine Jansen´s performance of Anders
Eliasson´s violin concerto
Einsame Fahrt in a video
recording from the Stockholm Concert Hall in October of last year. Jansen plays
together with the Royal
Stockholm Philharmonic
under Daniel Blendulf.
You will find the film on
rspoplay.se and it will be
available there until 27 May.
Tampere Biennale
P r emie r es
The programme for the Tampere Biennale offers Finnish orchestral classics and highlights. Ville Matvejeff
will conduct the Tampere Philharmonic in a concert on 15 April: Usko Meriläinen’s Visions and Whispers
. This latter
(soloist Mikael Helasvuo) and the premiere of Lotta Wennäkoski’s Amor Omnia Suite
work is based on her silent-film score (an Yle commission) and was recorded last year. Paavo Heininen’s
mammoth organ concerto Aiolos is on the programme for the concert by the Guards Band, with Petri
Komulainen as the conductor and Jan Lehtola as the soloist. Lasting over an hour, the concerto was first
heard in Helsinki in spring 2014.
Spring 2016
VELI-MATTI PUUMALA
Pulses, for vibraphone and marimba
Christian Dierstein, 9.2. Freiburg, Germany
PAAVO HEININEN
Rauhan fanfaari
Guards Band/Pasi-Heikki Mikkola, 9.2. Helsinki, Finland
MIKKO HEINIÖ
Concerto for Organ and Orchestra
Turku PO/Leif Segerstam, sol. Jan Lehtola
11.2. Turku (Katedraali Soi), Finland
Record spring for
Rautavaara concertos
Ingvar Lidholm celebrated his 95 birthday
on 24 February. He has just compiled a new,
revised version of Nausikaa Alone, a scene for
soprano, chorus and orchestra from 1963, to
texts by Nobel Prize Laureate Eyvind Johnson,
to be published this spring. This January saw
performances of Lidholm´s modernistic classic
, with the NDR Sinfonieorchester in
Poesis
Hamburg, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and Brussels, and with the
Tonhalle-Orchester in Zürich, all conducted
by Herbert Blomstedt, who in May will lead
the Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischer Rundfunks in another two performances of the work
in Munich. Conducted by Patrik Ringborg,
Poesis will also be played by the Staatsorchester
Kassel on 25 March.
th
Herbert Blomstedt and Ingvar Lidholm
SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖM
Seven Pieces for Violin and Orchestra
Concertos by Einojuhani Rautavaara will receive
a record number of performances during the spring
season. The Harp Concerto is to get six in Austria in
April, the first being at the Vienna Musikverein on 4
April, when the Niederösterreichisches Tonkünstlerorchester begins its tour of Austria. The soloist will
be Xavier de Maistre and the conductor Kristiina
Poska. Five solo concertos by Rautavaara were heard
at a Helsinki charity concert at the end of January.
O/Modernt CO, Swedish Wind Ensemble/Kasper de Roo,
sol. Hugo Ticcati, 20.2. Stockholm, Sweden
The Giver of Stars
NOTUS Choir/Dominick di Orio, 26.2. Chicago, USA
The Passion of St John
Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir, sol. Lars Møller, baritone,
Daniel Carlsson, counter tenor, Jens Bjørn-Larsen, tuba
18.3. Berlin, Germany
Three Poems
Ensemble Konkret, sol. Marie Alexis, soprano
8.4. Stockholm, Sweden
Concerto for Flute and Orchestra No. 2
Norrbotten CO /Eva Ollikainen, sol. Tobias Carron
14.4. Luleå, Sweden
Kari Tikka
anniversary
concert
JOHAN ULLÉN
The Deadly Sins for piano and string orchestra
Musica Vitae/Magnus Fryklund, sol. Johan Ullén, piano
26.2. Växjö, Sweden
Composer-conductor
Kari Tikka will be 70
on 13 April, when a concert of his works will be
held in his honour at
Temppeliaukio Church
in Helsinki. Among the
items on the programme
will be his Armolaulu
(Grace Song) and music from the opera Luther.
The soloists will be Jenni Lättilä, soprano, Esa
Ruuttunen, baritone and Henri Hersta, organ and
piano. Performances of Tikka’s well-received opera
Luther have been planned for 2017, the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
MARIE SAMUELSSON
Förnimmelser (Perceptions) – Septet
Ellen Ivansson, clarinet, Daniel Handsworth, bassoon,
Dennis Vasiliev, horn, Anders Inge, violin, Ylvali Zilliacus,
viola, Anja Inge, cello, Walter McTigert, double bass
2.3. Stockholm (Hesselby Chamber Music Festival), Sweden
Photo: Britt Vuorio
Lidholm at 95
Aphrodite – Fragments by Sappho
Swedish Radio SO/Daniel Blendulf,
sol. Katija Dragojevic, mezzo-soprano
11.3. Stockholm, Sweden
KALEVI AHO
Kaksi kansankoraalia uruille
Joni Vikki, Irina Vavilova, organ, 6.3. Helsinki, Finland
Concerto for Tenor Saxophone
and Orchestra
Pori Sinfonietta/Jan Söderblom, Lappeenranta City
Orchestra/Tibor Bogányi, sol. Esa Pietilä
10.3. Pori/17.3. Lappeenranta, Finland
Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra
Turku PO/Erkki Lasonpalo, sol. Ari-Pekka Mäenpää
22.4. Turku, Finland
BENJAMIN STAERN
Gageego!, 20.3. Gothenburg, Sweden
Pont de la mer; Morceau de concert pour
cor solo et orchestre Malmö SO/Marc Soustrot, sol. Einar Öhman, horn
30.4. Malmö, Sweden
MATS LARSSON GOTHE
“…de Blanche et Marie…” Symphony No. 3
Royal Stockholm PO/Benjamin Shwartz
7.4. Stockholm (Composer Weekend Festival), Sweden
LOTTA WENNÄKOSKI
Amor Omnia Suite
Tampere PO/Ville Matvejeff
15.4. Tampere (Tampere Biennale), Finland
TAPIO TUOMELA
Auld Rhymes
Photo: Maarit Kytöharju
Lotta Wennäkoski is composing a new Guitar
Concerto as a joint commission from the Kymi
Sinfonietta and the Tapiola Sinfonietta. The
soloist will be Petri Kumela and the premiere
will be in Kotka during the 2017 spring season.
The Sibelius Academy has commissioned a
work for symphony orchestra from Wennäkoski,
to be premiered in November 2016.
PianoEspoo has commissioned a Piano
Concerto from Matthew Whittall. The soloist
with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
at the premiere during the 2017 festival will
be Risto-Matti Marin, who is happy to collaborate with Whittall and has recorded his
.
big piano suite Leaves of Grass
Photo: Music Finland/Saara Vuorjoki
Commissions for Wennäkoski
and Whittall
Waterfall (Imaginative music based
on an etching by M. C. Escher)
Kaari Ensemble/Saara Aittakumpu
13.5. Helsinki, Finland
KIMMO HAKOLA
Partia maestoso
Susanna Kivistö, organ, 6.3. Helsinki, Finland
Sibeliussånger (Sibelius Songs)
Eija Räsänen, soprano, Annikka Konttori-Gustafsson, piano
19.5. Helsinki, Finland
H ighlights
3/2016
1
5
– classicist and classic
Born 100 years ago, Einar Englund composed music of biting irony
and great drama, but also of fleeting beauty and subtle romanticism,
and always brilliantly scored.
Einar Englund (1916–1999) is a Finnish classic. After the Second World War, he set himself
apart from the National-Romantic trends then
dominant in Finland with an idiom reflecting the
influence of Shostakovich, Bartók and Stravinsky.
He had developed a keen interest in contemporary
music while still a student at the Helsinki Conservatory, but his teachers favoured a command of the
traditional compositional crafts rather than experiment. The Piano Quintet he composed as his degree
assignment bears witness to this.
Musical echoes of the war
The Continuation War of 1941–1944 between
Finland and the Soviet Union, during which he
was called to active service, had a decisive influence
on Englund the man and his music. After the war,
when the time came to process his experiences in
music, he felt more in tune with Neoclassical irony,
sarcasm and satire than with safe, familiar National-Romanticism. His new approach had come to
stay – as had the marches and musical explosions
that, he always insisted, were echoes of the war.
His first two symphonies, the War Symphony
of 1946 and the Blackbird of 1947, placed Englund
in the forefront of Finnish music. He also began to
gain a reputation as an outspoken critic and as a
brilliant improviser on the piano. In the 1950s he
wrote the scores for a number of films, radio and
theatre plays. He also composed concert music,
such as the Introduzione e Toccata for piano, the
popular first Piano Concerto
, in which he was
often the soloist, and a Cello Concerto.
H ighlights
1/2016
The 1960s were a “quiet” decade, during which
he composed only some little pieces such as light
songs, the reason for this being ascribed to his disappointment in the trend in new music. Englund
the critic had made it clear that he abhorred the
radical avant-garde, but his silence was also a consequence of the lengthy crisis that followed his first
wife’s death.
New angles on Neoclassicism
The “silent” period ended above all with the third
symphony, Barbarossa (1969–1971). The next
symphony, the Nostalgic
(1976), is one of
the Englund works most frequently performed.
Its elegiac tone is claimed to have been due to his
sense of being alone with his ideals at a time when
Modernism based on 12-tone technique reigned
supreme. He did, however, experiment with dodecaphony in such works as the Passacaglia, the
Hymnus sepulcralis for mixed choir, and the Fifth
Symphony, Fennica (1978). But his basic approach continued to be Classical, not experimental. His music, and especially his solo and chamber works, had pronounced tonal and melodic
features, examples being the two piano sonatinas,
the Piano Sonata and the “happy” Violin Sonata.
In the 1980s his idiom took a deeply expressive
turn in the Concerto for 12 Cellos known as an
“apotheosis of the dance” and in the Cello Sonata
inspired by the sound of church bells.
The text of the Sixth Symphony (1984, for
mixed choir and orchestra) consists of aphorisms
by Heraclitus. For a man with first-hand experi-
Photo: Maynie Sirén
Einar Englund
Erland Johansson’s painting of Englund (1991)
ence of war, they provided a means of expressing his optimistic faith in the dynamics that
dominated the world and human life. The same
underlying philosophy is reflected in the light,
bright Flute Concerto (1985) in which a harpsichord adds a completely new timbre to the orchestral palette. His failing health in the 1990s
ultimately prevented Englund from composing
any new works. By the time he died, he had nevertheless won a growing international reputation, thanks principally to the many recordings
of his works.
Variety of expression and clarity of message
are salient features of Englund’s music. It is
music of biting irony and great drama just as
much as of fleeting beauty and subtle romanticism, and always brilliantly scored. He constantly
discovered new and sometimes surprising angles
on Neoclassicism. For him, the basic Classical
values were not, however, just museum exhibits
in a showcase but creative tools – the hallmarks
of a classic composer.
C h r isti a n H o lm q v ist
Footnotes
* Works by Einar Englund will be heard at numerous concerts in this centenary year. In Kokkola on
11 June, the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra
will perform his 4th Symphony, and also on the
programme will be his Concerto for 12 Cellos. The
Saimaa Sinfonietta paid tribute to him in February,
and the centenary will be evident at several concerts
in the Korsholm Music Festival in summer.
* New, re-copied orchestral parts of Englund’s
fourth symphony, the Nostalgic, have been published, and an orchestral score is now available for
purchase.
Marie Samuelsson
and the aspect of love
Photo: Josef Doukkali
When Marie Samuelsson
enters her 60s, it marks
the start of a new expressive
area in her composing:
music overtly exploring
love in all its forms.
Physicality, Intellect, Rhythm, Force of Personality – these are the defining aspects, the watchwords, of Marie Samuelsson’s music. Physicality is
felt throughout her music through its powerful
sonor­ities, virile impressionistic timbres heard most
spectacularly in the terrifyingly (and terrifically)
elemental Air-Drum III for orchestra (1999), with
its huge metal drum constructed from a metal air
duct which sets the entire atmosphere vibrating. Indeed, the composer remarked to the present writer:
“the physicality in my music is very much attached to
timbre and/or sound” and timbre is something she
works on as a primary aspect of every composition.
Intellect, ever-present in her oeuvre, is best exemplified where it demands something of the listener
as well, whether in her electro-acoustic output, the
grippingly atmospheric I vargens öga (In the Eye of
the Wolf, 1997), or I Am – Are You? (2001), where
an onstage horn duets with an offstage sampled
voice, or her acclaimed violin concerto Bastet the Sun
Goddess
(2004, named from the Egyptian goddess who every night killed the snake-demon Apep
to allow the sun to rise next day), one of Samuelsson’s most substantial utterances. Her brilliant use
of rhythm as a binding structural agent in her music
can be heard in the impressive string orchestral Rotations (1997/2003), a brilliantly conceived textural
fantasia on intertwining tempi and in the chamber
ensemble piece Flow (2000), where the listener’s ear
is taunted and caressed simultaneously. The immediacy of expression of her music, instantly recognizable as hers, is testament to the force of her musical
personality, as in the mesmerizing Airborne Lines
and Rumbles (2009) or Singla (2007)
, arguably
her finest orchestral work to date.
All these elements unite in her largest work
to date, the two-act chamber opera, Jorun – orm
i öga ( Jorun Snake Eye; 2012-13). Lasting around
fifty-four minutes, this is a deeply affecting and atmospheric tale of hope, naivety, betrayal, loss and
(at length) a hard-won understanding of existence.
Jorun is also the composer’s richest score in terms
of instrumental resource (despite the relative modest forces employed: a clutch of soloists, chamber
chorus and chamber ensemble) and expressive
depth. It marks both the high point of a period of
mostly chamber composition but also the start of
a new expressive area: music overtly exploring love
in all its forms.
A Love Trilogy
Jorun’s scale is also carried over in Samuelsson’s
latest major project, one which may have particular
resonance for the newly betrothed composer – well,
in 2015 – as she turned 60 (in February this year),
a Love Trilogy (2015-16). If love in all its forms lies
at the heart of Jorun and, indeed, the micro-opera
Why Would I Not Believe in Love? that followed in
2014, it is even more so in Love Trilogy. The opening work is Aphrodite – Fragments by Sappho, a
radiant 21-minute cantata for mezzo soprano and
orchestra, although in form it can also be viewed
as a continuous song cycle, setting five brief stanzas by the Greek Poetess. One of these was discovered only as recently as 2014 and is set by her – as
the centrepiece – in Jesper Svenbro’s translation
(Kyprispoem). Its expressive theme, like that of Sappho’s familiar verses, is erotic love, of the possessive
desire for a woman that in turn possesses the lover.
In musical terms it builds on the lithe vocal lines
and instrumental depth of Jorun – orm i öga, the
composition which now seems an enabler for the
Love Trilogy. Several extraordinary passages see
some of Sappho’s words declaimed in whispers by
members of the orchestra! The cantata will receive
its world premiere in Stockholm on 11 March by
Katija Dragojevic and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Blendulf.
The central span of the trilogy is A New Child
of Infinity, a smaller-scale clarinet concertino,
roughly half the length of Aphrodite and inspired
by a poem of the Swedish poet Göran Sonnevi,
the recipient of the Nordic Council’s 2006 Literature Prize. Here, the focus is on the love of a child,
so it is no surprise that A New Child of Infinity
is dedicated to the composer’s two sons. Whether
this was a factor governing the choice of a smaller
orchestra than Aphrodite with no clarinets – aside
from the bass instrument – or tuba and only pairs
of horns and percussionists, is unclear. On the
page the score seems unusually sparse in texture,
the orchestra used with delicacy around the whirling clarinet soloist who plays almost incessantly.
That this concertino is slighter in build and duration,
however, does not mean it is lesser in quality or importance to the trilogy as a whole. It was premiered
in Malmö last November by Johnny Teyssier with
the Malmö Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Marc Soustrot.
The Eros Effect
The final panel in the trilogy is still a work in
progress at the time of writing, so has not been released yet. It bears the intriguing title of The Eros
Effect and Solidarity, a reference to the work of the
South Korean-resident North American writer
and social activist George Nicholas Katsiaficas.
Marie Samuelsson interprets the “Eros Effect” as
“the notion that the private love spills over into solidarity, moved out in charity and become a social
movement.” Added to her expressed opinion that
“Hatred and violence are taking too much space in
the media and in social media today, while love is
difficult to approach, on a philosophical level” and
it is clear that The Eros Effect and Solidarity is set
to be the climax and summation of the Trilogy. This
assertion will only be verified, however, at the premiere in October 2016, to be given by the work’s
dedicatees, the Nordic Chamber Orchestra directed
by Sarah Ioannides.
Physicality, Intellect, Rhythm, Force of Personality – these have been the defining aspects,
the watchwords, of Marie Samuelsson’s music
hitherto. Love now needs to be added to the list.
G u y Rick a r d s
H ighlights
1/2016
Repe r t o i r e tips
REVIEWS
21st century works for mixed choir
TINA ANDERSSON
Love´s Philosophy (2013) Dur: 6’
for SSATTBB
Text: Percy Bysshe Shelly (Eng)
“Nothing in the world is single; all things by a law divine in
one spirit meet and mingle. Why not I with thine?” Nature and
romanticism combine here in the best possible way. Tina
Andersson plays with the acoustics by placing the choir in specific positions to bring out echo effects. Love’s Philosophy is
dedicated to the Vocal Art Ensemble of Sweden and Jan Yngwe.
SVEN HAGVIL
Orpheus with His Lute (2013) Dur: 5’30’’
for SSAATTBB
Text: William Shakespeare (Eng)
This work was commissioned by the Kammerchor Hannover and
its conductor Stephan Doormann for their project “Shakespeare
21”. The music reflects the undulating tones from Orpheus´ lyre
that make even the waves of the sea lie down to rest.
KIMMO HAKOLA
De kaspiska tigrarnas gud (The God
of the Caspian Tigers) (2013) Dur: 55’
Seven labyrinths for soprano, baritone and
mixed choir
Text: Stella Parland (Swe)
This piece is a fantastic journey. Parland’s text is brimming with
lively, colourful, allegorical imagery and Hakola writes that the
markings in the choral score – light breeze, fresh breeze, ice,
beasts and paradise – illustrate the mood evoked by the text.
Hakola’s music is a mixture of vibrant and richly-nuanced soundscape enhancing Parland’s magical sense of mystery.
MIKKO HEINIÖ
Ilta (Evening) (2013-14) Dur: 55’
11 Dance Songs for mixed choir,
clarinet and cello
Text: Lorca, Whitman, Baudelaire, Kivi, Boye et al.
(original languages)
A skilfully constructed suite of 11 songs divided into five thematic
entities connected by intermezzos on the clarinet and cello. The
music is demanding without seeming difficult, at the same time
leaving room for the simple and beautiful. The heart of this cycle,
Kaukainen viita, is a moving lullaby sung a cappella. Ilta was premiered together with the ERI Dance Theatre and a choreography
by Tiina Lindfors, making it an all-round experience.
LARS KARLSSON
Tre motetter (Three Motets) (1999)
Dur: 18’
for SSAATTBB and soprano
Text: from the Psalms (Swe)
The three motets together constitute a little choral symphony,
but they can also stand alone. Karlsson has drawn on several
classical genres, from medieval parallel organum to a conven-
H ighlights
1/2016
Photo: Carl Thorborg
for SATB divisi
Text: Marian texts from the Breviary of the Dominican Order (Lat)
This work is a homage to the composer Arvo Pärt, whose
basic triadic technique has inspired it. The work consists of three
movements: Memento, Maria mater gratiae and Gloria tibi,
where melodic lines weave themselves together into a unity.
The work was premiered by the Chamber Choir at the Malmö
Academy of Music.
tional fugue. The third motet may also be taken as a set of variations on a chorale, using various types of canon, also at textual
level. The result is relaxed, communicative music.
OLLI KORTEKANGAS
The Return (2014) Dur: 15’
for SATB divisi
Text: Wendell Berry (Eng)
The Return is based on the poem The Mad Farmer, Flying the Flag
of Rough Branch, Secedes from the Union by the well-known US
writer and environmental activist Wendell Berry. The poem is a
powerful statement against the faceless audacity of the market
economy and in favour of sustainable development. The Return
is skilfully-written, colourful music, its expressive scale ranging
from virtuosic brilliance to lyrical, meditative moods. The Tapiola
Chamber Choir commissioned the work for its 30th anniversary
concert in 2015.
JACOB MÜHLRAD
Nigun (2014) Dur: 11’30’’
for double choir divisi a cappella
Text: Fragment from Jewish church services (Heb)
Jacob Mühlrad´s idea with this piece was to do an abstraction
of a Jewish service. The lyrics are fragments of different services. The word nigun means melody. Within Kabbalah (a part of
Jewish mysticism) the wordless melody is often referred to, as it is
thought to communicate more than a melody with words. Nigun
was premiered by the Swedish Radio Choir in 2014.
EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA
Four Romances from the opera Rasputin
(2003/2012) Dur: 8’ for SAATBB
Text: Einojuhani Rautavaara/
transl. Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (Fin/Eng)
Rautavaara’s opera Rasputin featured a group of singing gypsies.
Instead of borrowing original Roma music, Rautavaara wrote
his own and later thought it was a pity to leave the melancholy,
moonlit songs to languish within the confines of the opera.
He therefore arranged a set of “unabashedly sentimental and
thoroughly melodic” pieces, first for male choir, and in 2012 for
mixed choir. The song Troika trotting is dedicated to his wife Sini,
as the lyrics were inspired by the green of her eyes.
KARIN REHNQVIST
Tenebrae (2012)
Dur: 7’ for SATB divisi
Text: Paul Celan (Ger)
Tenebrae was commissioned by the Norwegian Ultima Festival
for the Latvian Radio Choir. It was included in the Concrescence
Project, which was initiated by Lasse Thoresen to investigate untempered scales and song techniques found in folk music from
diverse parts of the world, with Western choirs. The means of
expression include quarter tones and quasi-imitative passages
alternating with homophone sections accompanying Paul Celan’s
sensitive text.
SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖM
The Half-Finished Heaven (2013)
Dur: 5’
for SMzATBarB
Text: Tomas Tranströmer/transl. Robin Fullton (Eng)
“The eager light streams out, even the ghosts take a draught.”
Tranströmer´s existential and hopeful poem is painted in Sandström’s setting by soft and bright strokes. The Half-Finished
Heaven was commissioned and premiered by the Sofia Vocal
Ensemble, and has now been recorded on the CD One Early Spring
Evening (CR017).
Emma Vetter and Karl-Magnus Fredriksson
Medea – Magnificent and Monstrous
What is most fascinating with Daniel Börtz´s “Medea”
is how he lets the pain spot of perfidy, hate and
death be washed over by beauty and brotherly affection… The music depicts characters and situations, it
simmers and boils, it anticipates and is anxious… It
ranges from intensive suggestion and restless weeping or filmy strings, over vibrating emotions, marked
rhythmical percussion accents and violent outbursts,
to endless tranquillity in chaos…
Emma Vetter´s dramatic soprano is colourful and ex­pansive; her Medea raises levels of emotion to the
ex­tremes and stretches the limits… Confronted with
infan­ti­cide her madness is perforated by flashes of
lucidity and motherly love… Alone in the final scene Emma
Vetter’s Medea is human, magnificent and monstrous.
Svenska Dagbladet 24.1.
Already at the world premiere Medea stands out as
a modern classic, deeply affecting without being the
least sentimental.
Opus 66 Febr-March 2016
The utmost operatic art… Masterly!
Dagens Nyheter 25.1.
This is his sixth opera, and it is without doubt his best.
Swedish Radio Kulturnytt 24.1.
Daniel Börtz: Medea
World premiere: The Royal Swedish Opera/Patrik Ringborg, soloists
Emma Vetter, Karl-Magnus Fredriksson et al., director Stefan Larsson,
23.1.2016 Stockholm, Sweden
Bridge in London
Emerging out of a rumbling
darkness, expertly controlled
by Rouvali, the concerto
swoops and soars between
hard-edged passages in which
a five-note motto is never
far away and a swooning but
never quite resolved theme for
full orchestra. At times, even Hardenberger seemed
to be playing on the very edge of the attainable.
The Guardian 29.1.
Rolf Martinsson: Bridge – Trumpet Concerto No. 1
Philharmonia Orchestra/Santtu-Matias Rouvali,
sol. Håkan Hardenberger, 28.1.2016 London, UK
Five aspects of love
The five movements depict various aspects of love
which Martinsson has captured in intense romantic
expressivity. He utilises the large string orchestra
to the full extent and Lisa Larsson sang exquisitely
with charisma and expression.
Norrköpings Tidningar 5.2.
Rolf Martinsson: Garden of Devotion
Norrköping SO/Michael Francis, soloist Lisa Larsson, soprano,
4.2.2016 Norrköping, Sweden
Photo: mats bäcker
LINDA ALEXANDERSSON
Three Songs from the Dominican
Breviary (2013) Dur: 7’
Masterly Pettersson recording
The Norrköping Symphony Orchestra articulate the music’s ‘soaring melodies and
grippingly searing polyphony… Lindberg seems to feel more keenly the work’s
intense range of mood – the ferocity and depth of its emotion, the consolation that
this engenders – and communicates this to his orchestra in a masterly fashion.
Gramophone January 2016
Allan Pettersson: Symphony No.13
CD: Norrköping SO/Christian Lindberg (BIS-2190)
It was music that could be felt throughout one’s
whole body. In the tranquil middle movement the
soloists were initially surrounded by soft waves in
the strings and winds. In the solo parts it rippled
gently until Bridger and Raab restored order in the
finale and drove the music up to the boiling point
in a furious display of virtuosity.
Helsingborgs Dagblad 9.11.
Tobias Broström: Theatron
Lily-Marlene Puusepp
Helsingborg SO/Stefan Solyom, sol. Johan Bridger, Patrick Raab,
5.11.2015 Helsingborg, Swedenf
Expressive harp
The basic tone of Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Harp
Concerto is romantic but the mode of expression
is surprisingly vigorous. The soloist has a chance to
demonstrate the harp’s enormous expressive range,
from ethereal arpeggios to fierce glissando effects.
Hufvudstadsbladet 1.2.
Einojuhani Rautavaara: Harp Concerto
Hakola’s crowd raiser
Kari Kriikku gave a unique performance…The music
incorporates many different styles from Jewish music
to gypsy music and blues. The audience was given
evidence that contemporary music is not difficult to
appreciate...a delightful concert.
Chosun-ilbo 16.11.
The third movement had wild rhythms, which led
to the Finale, the definite highlight, where Klezmer
music takes over. The main melody here, in the
harmonic or so-called gypsy minor, sounds infinitely
beautiful. And the audience appreciated this work,
which was also a crowd raiser: rarely can we see such
overwhelming enthusiasm.
Stavanger Aftenblad 30.1.
Kimmo Hakola: Clarinet Concerto
Seoul PO/Osmo Vänskä, 13.11.2015 Seoul, South Korea
Stavanger SO/Christian Vasquez, 28.1.2016 Stavanger, Norway,
sol. Kari Kriikku
A microtonal escapade
The CD is a hefty survey of electro-acoustic music.
Electronics expand an instrument or turn it into a
super-instrument, unleashing caustic humour from
the music, as in the poppy microtonal Boost by
Juhani Nuorvala.
Rondo 2/2016
Juhani Nuorvala: Boost
CD: Defunensemble/Markus Hohti, cello, Emil Holmström,
keyboard (SRCD-1014 8 “Define Function”)
Photo: Henna Salmela
Overwhelming Theatron
Mikko and Riitta Heiniö at Turku Cathedral
Sacral beauty in Heiniö concerto
The catchy starting point for the Heiniö concerto is
the Summer Hymn [Suvivirsi]…it makes pleasingly
colourful use of the theme material, drawing on the
vast range of timbres and volumes of both orchestra
and organ. The concerto could be described as sunny
and tranquil, beautiful in a sacral way. Rondo 3/2016
The Turku Philharmonic and Jan Lehtola placed Mikko
Heiniö’s brand-new organ concerto on a pedestal. The
dialogue between orchestra and organ was enjoyable
in the Turku Cathedral acoustics… The music is bright,
undulating, even thundering. Turun Sanomat 13.2.
Mikko Heiniö: Concerto for Organ and Orchestra
World premiere: Turku PO/Leif Segerstam, sol. Jan Lehtola,
11.2.2016 Turku, Finland
Versatile Kleemola
Mikko Heiniö’s Through Green Glass is nothing short
of a masterpiece. Kleemola’s versatility does justice
to its wide palette of musical devices and influences.
However, instead of adopting different styles as such,
Heiniö manages to capture the nature or “spirit” of
them; as if his works were elaborations of the very
bedrock of our musical understanding. FMQ 11/2015
Mikko Heiniö: Through Green Glass
CD: Patrik Kleemola, guitar (Pilfink JJVCVD-150)
Project orchestra/Sakari Oramo, sol. Lily-Marlene Puusepp,
30.1.2016 Helsinki, Finland (charity concert)
The Accordion King
Piano music has been a side-line interest for Aho,
which for a violinist should not come as a surprise. But
one should be wary of dismissing the pieces on this CD
as occasional music, or as the insignificant juvenilia of
a composer who was to become a famous symphonist;
Aho’s capabilities (which were apparent very early on
in his career) are no less evident in his piano music.
Klassik.com 31.1.
Kalevi Aho: Works for Solo Piano
CD: Sonja Fräki (BIS-2106)
Photo: Birger Karlsson
CD of Aho piano works
Fredrik Högberg has written a concertizing accordion part that
demands a phenomenal technique and a clear musical form,
and with soloist passages that Jörgen Sundeqvist executed
masterfully…The music caresses itself onwards in wonderful
lines, and in the next moment it bombards us with full-bodied
rhythms, and overpowering and surprising sonorities.
Västerbottenskuriren 6.2.
Fredrik Högberg: The Accordion King
Norrlandsoperan SO/Elim Chan, soloist Jörgen Sundeqvist,
5.2.2016 Umeå, Sweden
Lush, haunting cantata by Kortekangas
The concert begins with the world premiere of a lush, haunting cantata by
contemporary Finnish composer Olli Kortekangas. “Migrations” commemorates
the Finnish migration to North America, with painterly words by Northern
Minnesota poet Sheila Packa, whose grandparents are Finnish. Minnpost 5.2.
A very intriguing piece. TwinCities.com 4.2.
Packa described her work as uplifting, and Kortekangas echoed that compositionally...he showed a deft ability to make use of the chorus as a percussive instrument
and also made excellent use of the instrumental soloists; the horn solos and duets
were particularly excellent, with their rich, silvery tone. stephcranford.tumblr.com
Olli Kortekangas: Migrations
World premiere: Minnesota Orchestra, YL Male Voice Choir/Osmo Vänskä, sol. Lilli Paasikivi,
4.2. 2016 Minneapolis, USA
H ighlights
1/2016
new p u blic a ti o ns
C H O R A L / V ocal
ANNA CEDERBERG-ORRETEG
RICHARD FALTIN
Namnet Människa
JACOB MÜHLRAD
Solo Songs / Samlade solosånger
/ Kootut yksinlaulut
for mixed choir and recitation
Text: The UN Prayer (Sw)
An’im Semiraus
for mixed choir a cappella
(reduced version SSAATB)
Adaption: Sofia Ågren
Text: Old Jewish song
(Hebrew)
German born Richard Faltin (1835–1918)
was in his day a leading figure on the
Finnish musical scene. This edition
presents his complete song oeuvre
including six songs now published for
the first time.
GE 12884
MATTIAS EKSTRÖM KOIJ
Ave Maria
for female choir a cappella
Text: in Latin
GE 12856
KARIN WESTBERG
FG 55011-266-7
GE 12891
I folkviseton
MARTIN LARSON
CHRISTIAN ENGQUIST
for mixed choir
and solo voice
arr: Emil Westberg
Text: Nils Ferlin (Sw)
The Brightest Spring
Upon the Body of Our Blessed
Lord, Naked and Bloody
GE 12874
GE 12882
I N S T R U M E N TA L / C H A M B E R
ORCHESTRAL
TUTORS
TOBIAS BROSTRÖM
LOUHOS, JURIS,
LIU-TAWASTSTJERNA
for mixed choir a cappella
Text: Richard Crashaw (Eng)
for mixed choir a cappella
Text: Christian Engquist (Eng)
TIMO-JUHANI KYLLÖNEN
Two Romances
Theatron
FG 55011-276-6
GE 12661 (score) GE 12663 (study score)
GE 12653 (score) GE 12655 (study score)
Version for extended orchestra
GE 12883
for two percussion soloists and orchestra
for cello and piano
Hermes
Toccata for two accordions
FG 55011-275-9 (parts)
Pianon avain 2 / Piano Key 2
FG 55011-186-8 (revised edition)
EINAR ENGLUND
ROLF MARTINSSON
Symphony No. 4
Suite fantastique
FG 55011-278-0 (score)
music from Concert Fantastique
for clarinet and piano
TOMMIE HAGLUND
Serenata per Diotima
for string orchestra
GE 11977
PER THUNARF
GE 12686 (score) GE 12688 (study score)
Parafras på Jämtländsk
brudmarsch
(Paraphrase on Bridal
March from Jämtland)
SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖM
Concerto for Flute and Orchestra No. 2
GE 12673 (score) GE 12675 (study score)
for organ
GÉZA SZILVAY
Supplementary Material
ALBERT SCHNELZER
GE 12844
Appendix to the Colourstrings
Violin ABC Book D
Magical Allusions
for oboe and small orchestra
HARRI WESSMAN
Six Violin Pieces
for Alisa Ojanen /
Kuusi viulukappaletta
Alisa Ojaselle
FG 55011-234-6
GE 12799 (score) GE 12801 (study score)
JEAN SIBELIUS
FG 55011-280-3
Six Humoresques for Violin
and Orchestra opp. 87 & 89
MATTHEW WHITTALL
FG 55011-261-2 Score (Urtext edition)
Leaves of Grass
JONAS VALFRIDSSON
12 preludes for piano
Temples of Kamakura
for orchestra
FG 55011-279-7
GE 12703 (score)
new cDs
LARS KARLSSON
LARS-ERIK LARSSON
Jaguaren
Akademiska sångföreningen/Kari Turunen
Fuga-9406 (”I Dreamt”)
MARTIN WEGELIUS
Symphony No. 2, Orchestral
Variations op. 50,
Barococo Suite
Sånger (Songs)
CPO 777 672-2 (Orchesterwerke Vol. II)
Fuga-9410
Helsingborg SO/Andrew Manze
Hedvig Paulig, soprano, Tuomas
Lehtinen, baritone, Gustav Djupsjöbacka,
piano, Spira Ensemble
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H ighlights
3/2015
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