What are you listening 2 now?

[Linz]

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 4 in E Flat Major, 1880 (aka 1878/80) - Ed. Robert Haas
Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim

[vandermolen]

Pictures from Finland
Works by Selim Palmgren, Leevi Madetoja, Robert Kajanus, Jean Sibelius, and Väinö Raitio.
Oulu Sinfonia – Rumon Gamba
Recording: 2024, Madetoja Concert Hall, Oulu Music Centre, Oulu, Finland
Streaming: 192 kHz/24 bit (downloads only)


In the wake of Overtures from Finland, maestro Rumon Gamba and the Oulu Sinfonia return with another evocative tribute to the Finnish musical landscape—Pictures from Finland, a rich gallery of tone poems and orchestral sketches drawn by the hands of both familiar masters and lesser-known visionaries.

Though Jean Sibelius needs no introduction, it is the "odd ones out" that stir the deeper fascination here: Selim Palmgren, Robert Kajanus, and Väinö Raitio—all deserving of our attention. This album, in many ways, is a quiet act of reclamation—a gesture of respect for the marginalised voices of Nordic romanticism and modernism, each with their own distinctive accent and palette.

Palmgren, a refined pianist and consummate orchestrator, paints in the lush tonal colours of late romanticism. His Aus Finnland, Op. 31 evokes a windswept, wistful lyricism—a kind of nostalgic pastoralism that never cloys. Kajanus, better known as a conductor and early champion of Sibelius, reveals his own striking musical imagination in the compact Allegro symphonique and the atmospheric Suomenlinna—works that pulse with character and purpose.

Most intriguing is Väinö Raitio, a composer of broader gestures and broader horizons, who sought to drag Finnish music into modernity with dreamy textures and French-tinged colours. His Fantasia estatica unfurls like a twilight reverie, simmering with mystery and a touch of decadence—a piece that speaks more to Debussy or Scriabin than to his compatriots.

Leevi Madetoja, of course, remains the inheritor of Sibelius's national legacy. His works are economical in form but rich in spirit. Marian murhe (Mary's Sorrow) for female choir and strings—a 1917 meditation on grief—is arguably the emotional nadir of the disc, though one whose austere beauty may not appeal to all listeners. I found it less persuasive than his orchestral contributions, but its sincerity cannot be questioned.

Throughout, the Oulu Sinfonia under Gamba responds with both affection and precision. Their playing is unforced, elegant, and deeply idiomatic—allowing the music to bloom at its own pace, like morning light across snow. If the recorded sound feels at times a touch distant, it is never lacking in detail or atmosphere. One senses the hall's acoustic warmly framing every phrase.

In sum: Pictures from Finland is a lovingly curated album, one that invites the listener to wander off the well-trodden Sibelius trail and into the quieter glades of Finnish music history. A balm, a window, and a worthy follow-up in every respect.

Postscript.
Among the lesser-known lights of Finnish music, Väinö Raitio (1891–1945) remains an enigmatic figure. A modernist in a largely nationalist era, his harmonic language leaned toward the mystical and expressionistic, influenced by Scriabin and Debussy, and often swimming against the Sibelius tide. His orchestral works shimmer with colour and daring, but their advanced idiom left them neglected for decades—until recent revivals began to redress the balance.

Robert Kajanus (1856–1933), by contrast, was a national pioneer. A composer, conductor, and close ally of Sibelius, he founded the Helsinki Orchestral Society (now the Helsinki Philharmonic) and helped establish Finland's musical infrastructure. His works, steeped in folklore and romantic grandeur, have a strong civic character—music meant to inspire and bind a people. Yet even he has long stood in Sibelius's imposing shadow.

Both men, in their way, helped shape Finland's musical identity—Kajanus as the architect, Raitio as the dreamer.

A most interesting review! Thanks Harry. I have a CD of piano concertos by Palmgren which I like and Ratio's 'The Swans' is a marvellously atmospheric work. Definitely on my wish list. Rumon Gamba is a local boy!

[DavidW]

CD 5 from my favorite set:

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Paul Creston Sy 2 and 3. Howard Mitchell; National Symphony Orchestra. Hot performance.

[Linz]

Franz Schubert Mass No, 2 in G major D 167
Mass No. 6 in E flat major D 950
Ildko Raimonddi soprano Elisabeth Lang alto, Helmut Lippert tenor, Helmut Wildhaber tenor, Klaus Mertens bass, Franz-josef Selig bass
Hugo-Distler Chor, Wiener Akademie, Martin Haselböck

[Mandryka]

Well that's it, I am now clear that Alma's songs are better than Gustav's

[brewski]

Berio: Sinfonia (ADDA Simfònica Alicante / London Voices / Josep Vicent, conductor, live recording from June 2024). A lot of beautiful transparency in this reading, with some parts audible that I don't recall before, such as the harpsichord.

[DavidW]

Sublime, I also can't believe how well La Mer works on piano trio, but all the works are enchanting. This album is highly recommended.

[JBS]

Well that's it, I am now clear that Alma's songs are better than Gustav's

88 keys was just not big enough for his palette

TD

[hopefullytrusting]

Alison Luthmers plays Roman's Assaggis for Solo Violin



I had never heard of this composer prior to coming across this disc on Presto, but their solo violin works are easily in the same league as Biber and Tartini (I need more listens to see if I'd put them in the same tier as Bach, whose solo violin works I rank as supreme).

The production value is high, the sound is clear and crisp. The playing - obviously top notch. High recommend for solo violin lovers.

[Symphonic Addict]

Prokofiev: Symphonies 6 and 7
Martinu: Suite concertante for violin and orchestra, H. 276 (two versions) and Concerto-Rhapsody for violin and orchestra

Many of those who claim that the 6th is Prokofiev's most accomplished symphony seem to be right. A staggering masterpiece. The 7th is not too far behind in inspiration, just that in a different fashion. Prokofiev's symphony cycle is one of the very best of the first half of the 20th century. A tentative order of favorites would be:

6, 5, 2, 7, 4 op. 112, 3, 4 op. 47 and 1.

I had never heard these concertante pieces by Martinu, save for the Concerto-Rhapsody in the version with viola. Both Suites concertantes are significantly different each other, being the first version superior, more inventive and fresh-sounding than the another one, and it's an absolutely riveting work. It really took me by surprise.

[DavidW]

[JBS]

Alison Luthmers plays Roman's Assaggis for Solo Violin



I had never heard of this composer prior to coming across this disc on Presto, but their solo violin works are easily in the same league as Biber and Tartini (I need more listens to see if I'd put them in the same tier as Bach, whose solo violin works I rank as supreme).

The production value is high, the sound is clear and crisp. The playing - obviously top notch. High recommend for solo violin lovers.

Good to see you!

I have Fabio Biondi's recording of these Assagi on Naive. I too had never heard of Roman, and I didn't know about this recording.

I'd rate the Assagi as better than Biber, but nothing matches Bach.

[JBS]

TD

Keeping on with Papa

[Daverz]

I had never heard these concertante pieces by Martinu, save for the Concerto-Rhapsody in the version with viola. Both Suites concertantes are significantly different each other, being the first version superior, more inventive and fresh-sounding than the another one, and it's an absolutely riveting work. It really took me by surprise.

I think I prefer Matoušek in the Violin Concerto No. 1 even to the classic Josef Suk with Vaclav Neumann and the Czech Phil.  Matoušek sounds more romantic and characterful than Suk, a reaction which surprised me.

[Symphonic Addict]

I think I prefer Matoušek in the Violin Concerto No. 1 even to the classic Josef Suk with Vaclav Neumann and the Czech Phil.  Matoušek sounds more romantic and characterful than Suk, a reaction which surprised me.

These recordings featuring Matousek are exemplary, so your perception of the Violin Concerto No. 1 sounds apt.

[steve ridgway]

Birtwistle - Gawain's Journey

[AnotherSpin]

Matthias Weckmann: Complete Organ Works
Bernard Foccroulle

Quiet and peaceful music. A consolation after yet another night of attacks on civilian targets in Odesa: a burned supermarket, shattered apartment windows, damaged cars. No reported casualties.

What is, is. The world appears and disappears.

[Que]

A consolation after yet another night of attacks on civilian targets in Odesa: a burned supermarket, shattered apartment windows, damaged cars. No reported casualties.

Glad to hear that hopefully there were no casualties and that you are still safe.

[Mandryka]

Such lovely music - a mass and a handful of motets.