Scandinavian and Finnish composers.

Started by Harry, April 13, 2007, 05:33:51 AM

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Haffner

Quote from: Harry on April 24, 2007, 08:48:17 AM
Well I agree with you!
Are there any favourite recordings from the piano concerto for you?



I play this one most, but of course I also have a couple of nice box sets (one you reccomended) which are excellent as well.

Harry

Quote from: Haffner on April 24, 2007, 08:52:25 AM


I play this one most, but of course I also have a couple of nice box sets (one you reccomended) which are excellent as well.

Well I never heard that one Andy, I have I believe a recording on the lable BIS with Derwinger on the piano, but I am not sure.
Comes with a big collection like mine. :)

Haffner

Quote from: Harry on April 24, 2007, 09:11:12 AM
Well I never heard that one Andy, I have I believe a recording on the lable BIS with Derwinger on the piano, but I am not sure.
Comes with a big collection like mine. :)




Excellent playing and the recording isn't too bad either. Considering your collection, Harry, it wouldn't surprise me if you had this...or similar...buried somewhere  ;) :).

Harry

Quote from: Haffner on April 24, 2007, 09:20:55 AM



Excellent playing and the recording isn't too bad either. Considering your collection, Harry, it wouldn't surprise me if you had this...or similar...buried somewhere  ;) :).

Well I have a data base of course, but sometimes I forget to write it down, and then I end up not knowing that I have it.
It so happens that I suddenly have two copies of recordings.
Last time was recently! I bought a extra copy of the Reger SQ, on CPO, simply because I forgot to write that down.
Took it to the office with me.

Haffner

Quote from: Harry on April 24, 2007, 09:25:33 AM
Well I have a data base of course, but sometimes I forget to write it down, and then I end up not knowing that I have it.
It so happens that I suddenly have two copies of recordings.
Last time was recently! I bought a extra copy of the Reger SQ, on CPO, simply because I forgot to write that down.
Took it to the office with me.
\


But, it's better to accidentally have two of the same great recording, than none at all, nicht wahr mein Freund?


Harry, I reccomend the above recording. I'm pretty sure you'll play it plenty.

Harry

Quote from: Haffner on April 24, 2007, 09:27:32 AM
\


But, it's better to accidentally have two of the same great recording, than none at all, nicht wahr mein Freund?


Harry, I reccomend the above recording. I'm pretty sure you'll play it plenty.

Well if I can get it, I can try, let me see on JPC, if it is there! :)

SonicMan46

Quote from: XXXPawn on April 14, 2007, 06:05:29 AM
I am not sure wether Finnish composers were counted in in this thread but anyway I like to mention the Finnish composer Erki Melartin who wrote 6 symphonies



Erkki Melartin (1875-1937) - Six Symphonies - just received this 'box set' in the mail & listened to the first disc last night (Nos. 1 & 3) - superb review on MusicWeb - one encompassing quote "don't expect Sibelius. Instead, picture Mahler/Bruckner on a northern vacation, perhaps borrowing a few tricks from Sibelius......".   Apparently, Melartin's First Symphony was only the fourth symphony written in Finland, so he was there w/ Sibelius (who had written two by then) - this is glorious music - looking forward to hearing the other four!  :D

Harry

Quote from: SonicMan on April 26, 2007, 09:16:35 AM
Erkki Melartin (1875-1937) - Six Symphonies - just received this 'box set' in the mail & listened to the first disc last night (Nos. 1 & 3) - superb review on MusicWeb - one encompassing quote "don't expect Sibelius. Instead, picture Mahler/Bruckner on a northern vacation, perhaps borrowing a few tricks from Sibelius......".   Apparently, Melartin's First Symphony was only the fourth symphony written in Finland, so he was there w/ Sibelius (who had written two by then) - this is glorious music - looking forward to hearing the other four!  :D

I moi, envy you!
Simple as that! :)

Benji

...though I am tempted to widen the net just so I can talk about the Nielsen concertos sometime, but no, not now.

But yes, Finnish Concertos; turns out there's a lot of the buggers and, with the exception of the most famous of them, surely being Sibelius' for violin, they don't get an awful lot of coverage here. So, i'm going to start the ball rolling. All contributions/opinions welcome of course.

To begin, the inspiration for this thread and one of my major discoveries of the year so far:


Magnus Lindberg's Concerto for Clarinet.

I must say, this piece is a kick up the bum to anyone who has convinced themselves that music written in a contemporary language cannot be at all beautiful. Here we have a work full of modern sonorities and extended techniques, pushing the boundaries of every player and instrument. Of course, such writing can lead to some very intellectual, even interesting music but Lindberg, clearly a master of orchestration,  has created something far more engaging: a work of astonishingly sensuous and lyrical beauty, which, to me at least, has been most affecting. I find there is more than a touch of the oriental in this work; often it occurred to me that in Lindberg we perhaps have a Finnish equivalent of Takemitsu, and it certainly seems to me that Lindberg has an ear for impressionist harmonies/sonorities. That said, in this piece at least, Lindberg doesn't have the restraint of a Takemitsu and, indeed, we are treated (and it really is a treat) to a climax at the end of near-romantic proportions.

I can't praise this concerto highly enough: it really is a 21st Century classic and deserves to be peformed and live on forever.



Some highlights:

[0:00] A gripping start: emerging from the silence a series of clarinet figures, which strung together make up something of an indistinct melody, fragments of which will reappear throughout the work.

[1:00] Listen for the woodwind/string interjection which is surely a nod and a wink to Charles Ives!

[3:40] Fragments of the theme, this time on strings and percussion

[5:20] Jittering clarinet, reminiscent of Rautavaara in the bird song mode. Did we forget Lindberg is a Fin?!

[7:30+] By now, the piece has descended into a more predominantly minor mode (the slow movement), but there is no let up for the soloist, with what sounds to be highly demanding passages.

[9:30] Fragments of the theme return fleetingly on the clarinet

[11:30] Strings dominate as the clarinet figures at last finds its theme from the fragments we have heard before, together at last in a flowing melody, before ending on a high sustained, eardrum-piercing high note from our soloist. From here, the music descends into a period of wildness. At this point we have some really guttural sonorities coming from the clarinet, which I can only describe as being similar in sound to a didjeridu.

[19:10] Wow, listen to this high note from the soloist, for a moment it could be mistaken for violin harmonics! Now into a virtuosic cadenza, which really must be pushing the instrument to its limits.

[21:00] Return of the orchestra, with string-led passages, clarinet in gasping, almost John Adams-esque repetitions of fragments, building to a glorious and spine-tingling final climax with the clarinet singing the theme in its full guise.

In conclusion, a completely satisfying lyrical and dynamic new clarinet concerto for the 21st Century, written in very contemporary musical language but challenging any notion that classical music in the new century cannot be approachable, even lovable (i'm on my 6th hearing in 2 days now!)

bhodges

Thanks for posting this.  You are not the first who has praised this recording to the skies!  I haven't yet heard it.  (And I was just discussing Lindberg the other night at a concert of Kimmo Hakola's music.  We liked Lindberg a bit better.)

And I love it that you've listened to it six times in two days.  Isn't it great when you discover a new piece (preferably, one under four hours  ;D) and can do that? 

Have to get this recording...

--Bruce

Benji

Quote from: bhodges on April 26, 2007, 02:16:56 PM
Thanks for posting this.  You are not the first who has praised this recording to the skies!  I haven't yet heard it.  (And I was just discussing Lindberg the other night at a concert of Kimmo Hakola's music.  We liked Lindberg a bit better.)

And I love it that you've listened to it six times in two days.  Isn't it great when you discover a new piece (preferably, one under four hours  ;D) and can do that? 

Have to get this recording...

--Bruce

Hakola's concerto, also for clarinet, is next under the spotlight, Bruce! What piece did you hear? I don't rate Hakola's work anywhere nearly as highly as the Lindberg, but it's not without it's charms.

And yes, it is great to find a recent work that can withstand repeated listening and that even rewards it. And especially great to hear Lindberg that I love, as I absolutely hated Kraft; i'm so glad I gave him another chance.

Rabin_Fan

Agree of the Lindberg Clarinet Conc. - amazing work after hearing an extract on the G-sampler.

Robert

Quote from: The Notorious MOG on April 26, 2007, 02:12:09 PM
...though I am tempted to widen the net just so I can talk about the Nielsen concertos sometime, but no, not now.

But yes, Finnish Concertos; turns out there's a lot of the buggers and, with the exception of the most famous of them, surely being Sibelius' for violin, they don't get an awful lot of coverage here. So, i'm going to start the ball rolling. All contributions/opinions welcome of course.

To begin, the inspiration for this thread and one of my major discoveries of the year so far:


Magnus Lindberg's Concerto for Clarinet.

I must say, this piece is a kick up the bum to anyone who has convinced themselves that music written in a contemporary language cannot be at all beautiful. Here we have a work full of modern sonorities and extended techniques, pushing the boundaries of every player and instrument. Of course, such writing can lead to some very intellectual, even interesting music but Lindberg, clearly a master of orchestration,  has created something far more engaging: a work of astonishingly sensuous and lyrical beauty, which, to me at least, has been most affecting. I find there is more than a touch of the oriental in this work; often it occurred to me that in Lindberg we perhaps have a Finnish equivalent of Takemitsu, and it certainly seems to me that Lindberg has an ear for impressionist harmonies/sonorities. That said, in this piece at least, Lindberg doesn't have the restraint of a Takemitsu and, indeed, we are treated (and it really is a treat) to a climax at the end of near-romantic proportions.

I can't praise this concerto highly enough: it really is a 21st Century classic and deserves to be peformed and live on forever.



Some highlights:

[0:00] A gripping start: emerging from the silence a series of clarinet figures, which strung together make up something of an indistinct melody, fragments of which will reappear throughout the work.

[1:00] Listen for the woodwind/string interjection which is surely a nod and a wink to Charles Ives!

[3:40] Fragments of the theme, this time on strings and percussion

[5:20] Jittering clarinet, reminiscent of Rautavaara in the bird song mode. Did we forget Lindberg is a Fin?!

[7:30+] By now, the piece has descended into a more predominantly minor mode (the slow movement), but there is no let up for the soloist, with what sounds to be highly demanding passages.

[9:30] Fragments of the theme return fleetingly on the clarinet

[11:30] Strings dominate as the clarinet figures at last finds its theme from the fragments we have heard before, together at last in a flowing melody, before ending on a high sustained, eardrum-piercing high note from our soloist. From here, the music descends into a period of wildness. At this point we have some really guttural sonorities coming from the clarinet, which I can only describe as being similar in sound to a didjeridu.

[19:10] Wow, listen to this high note from the soloist, for a moment it could be mistaken for violin harmonics! Now into a virtuosic cadenza, which really must be pushing the instrument to its limits.

[21:00] Return of the orchestra, with string-led passages, clarinet in gasping, almost John Adams-esque repetitions of fragments, building to a glorious and spine-tingling final climax with the clarinet singing the theme in its full guise.

In conclusion, a completely satisfying lyrical and dynamic new clarinet concerto for the 21st Century, written in very contemporary musical language but challenging any notion that classical music in the new century cannot be approachable, even lovable (i'm on my 6th hearing in 2 days now!)
go to www.ondine.net you can hear abit of it.....

bhodges

Quote from: The Notorious MOG on April 26, 2007, 02:24:29 PM
Hakola's concerto, also for clarinet, is next under the spotlight, Bruce! What piece did you hear? I don't rate Hakola's work anywhere nearly as highly as the Lindberg, but it's not without it's charms.

And yes, it is great to find a recent work that can withstand repeated listening and that even rewards it. And especially great to hear Lindberg that I love, as I absolutely hated Kraft; i'm so glad I gave him another chance.

Hakola's Clarinet Concerto was the reason I was really eager to hear the program last night.  One hearing impressed me tremendously.  But as it turned out, I'm not sure that anything else we heard quite measured up to the clarinet piece.  Oh well, it happens!  :D

Of the things below, most of us liked Capriole best, for bass clarinet and cello.  All were very well played by Present Music (a new music group in Milwaukee), and equally well conducted by Kevin Stalheim.

Arara Zagrara (1995, rev. 2002)
Theme, Eleven Etudes, and a Grand Cadenza (1998)
Capriole (1991)
Chamber Concerto (2002)


Definitely check out Hakola's Clarinet Concerto, though.  I want to relisten to it now to double-check my first impressions.

--Bruce

uffeviking


May I point out that we already have a very lengthy and informative thread about Finnish and other Scandinavian composer going here:

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,256.0.html

- - or would you prefer I move this new one to the established one?  :-\

Benji

What has happened? Why has my thread been merged with another? This was about Finnish Concertos, and now the mandate has been widened considerably.  :(

Can this be undone, please Liz, as I have many concertos to review.

Harry

Quote from: The Notorious MOG on April 27, 2007, 11:50:25 AM
What has happened? Why has my thread been merged with another? This was about Finnish Concertos, and now the mandate has been widened considerably.  :(

Can this be undone, please Liz, as I have many concertos to review.

Well this thread is also about Finnish composers dear Mog. :)

karlhenning

Quote from: Harry on April 27, 2007, 11:56:20 AM
Well this thread is also about Finnish composers dear Mog. :)

Sound like Coca-Cola assuring Barq's Root Beer that there's plenty of shelf space  8)

Harry

Quote from: karlhenning on April 27, 2007, 11:57:57 AM
Sound like Coca-Cola assuring Barq's Root Beer that there's plenty of shelf space  8)

Well another one, that needs explanation dear Karl, since I am not that versed into the mysteries of the USA language. ;D

uffeviking

Dear Karl's post must have something to do with the brand name of American soft drinks but since I don't touch that stuff, I can't help you translating, Harry.

I merged the two subjects to make the 'Composer Discussion' section easier to manage, eliminate duplication, and shorten the number of topics in the identical section.  $:)