Aulis Sallinen , which recordings?

[Scarpia]

I've been listening to Aulis Sallinen recently and have been fascinated by his symphonies, to varying degrees.  Sallinen is Finnish, so comparisons to Sibelius are obligatory, although I hear very little relationship between their sound worlds.   So far I have heard 3, 4 and 5 from the cpo series.  Of these 3 was probably the one that impressed me most, it is mostly constructed of small fragments of melodies that seem to coalesce into a grander structure, creating some wonderful sonoroties and ominous harmonies along the way.  Symphony 5 is called Washington Mosaics, and has three striking intermezzi which are the most interesting part for me, full of enchanting sonorities an orchestral textures.  No 4 seems to be the most lighthearted that I have heard so far.  In any case, I thought I would share my impressions and not that I plan to continue listening through the cpo series of recordings.

[Daverz]

A good place to start.  This CD made it into the Fanfare "Hall of Fame" if that matters.  Yeah, you duplicate if you start collecting the CPO series.  All part of collecting the damn things.  It is a gorgeous CD. 

http://www.amazon.com/Aulis-Sallinen-Sinfonia-Chorali-Sebastian/dp/B00000166E

There was also a "Meet the Composer" 2-CD set on Finlandia, and I've been collecting the CPO series.

I don't think I've been disappointed by any Sallinen.  He writes high quality stuff.

[The new erato]

I don't think I've been disappointed by any Sallinen.  High writes high quality stuff.

I'll second that. I've got the symphony series on cpo, and I'm looking to collect more.

[Scarpia]

I'll second that. I've got the symphony series on cpo, and I'm looking to collect more.

Just ordered the remaining two items in the cpo symphony cycle (releases including symphonies 1, 7 and 8 ) at a cost which is not too painful.  Looking forward to hearing them (although one is on backorder so it may be a while). 

[snyprrr]

Thanks Colin, very helpful (albeit clearly written under the influence of 15 or so cocktails  ) I think that I will go for Symphony No 4 and 5 on BIS next. No 4's grimness should appeal to my sense of impending catastrophe.

Thanks again

Jeffrey

Yea, BIS 4-5.

[Daverz]

Here's that Meet the Composer set at Amazon UK:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meet-Composer-Sallinen-Aulis/dp/B0000252WN

[Scarpia]

Depressing to see all of those Finlandia recordings out of print.  On a brighter note, is this one any good?
[asin]B0000014F3[/asin]
Comments?

[Daverz]

Depressing to see all of those Finlandia recordings out of print.  On a brighter note, is this one any good?

Comments?

I don't know, but how can you go wrong with Okko Kamu?

[Scarpia]

I don't know, but how can you go wrong with Okko Kamu?

Good point!

[Scarpia]

Well, I've discovered the first Sallinen piece that I didn't enjoy, Symphony No 2.  That's the one that is essentially percussion concerto.  I might have like it, but cpo really exaggerated the percussion, so that it sounded like a Led Zeppelin Drum solo in parts.  Too bad, because there was some fascinating music in between the boom-boom parts.   

[Scarpia]

Seems like I'm on my own in my exploration of Sallinen.  Listened to his cello concerto today, and found it a magnificent piece on first listen.  The coherence of the piece is maintained through the continuous development of various musical motifs as the music develops.  The long first movement is very expressive, starting in a lyrical vein, and progressing through several climaxes to an off-kilter funeral march.  The short second movement is full of insuppressible high spirits.

A quick listen to the first movement of the symphony no 6 reveals lots of awesome sonorities.  Will have to postpone a careful listen of that work to another time.

[asin]B002O2MCN0[/asin]

For some reason, sellers are discounting it dramatically on amazon.com

[Daverz]

CPO has finally released the complete symphonies and concertos in a box, though I don't know if Sallinen is done writing symphonies or concertos.

[not edward]

I'm a big admirer of the cello concerto (have the old Arto Noras recording on Finlandia), but really didn't warm up to the 6th symphony from the BIS recording. Maybe I'll give Rasilainen a try, though I've generally found the older BIS recordings interpretatively more interesting than the cpo remakes.

[Mirror Image]

Just bought this CPO set:

[asin] B004P96WQ8[/asin]

And this Ondine recording:

[asin] B00000378D[/asin]

I'm really looking forward to digging into this composer's music.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I'm really looking forward to digging into this composer's music.

Good choices. I think it's time for me to revisit Songs of Life and Death. It's like a modern, Finnish analog of the Brahms requiem.

[Mirror Image]

Good choices. I think it's time for me to revisit Songs of Life and Death. It's like a modern, Finnish analog of the Brahms requiem.

Yes, Songs of Life and Death seemed to come highly recommended to newcomers of Sallinen's music here on GMG.