Kalevi Aho(born 1949)

Started by Dundonnell, May 28, 2008, 03:43:07 PM

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foxandpeng

Quote from: Symphonic Addict on October 20, 2024, 09:23:11 AMAt last! I was missing this part of his output for long. To be released on December 13th:



I look forward to this, also
"A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people ... then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbour — such is my idea of happiness"

Tolstoy

Maestro267

Considering how much he's written in the other major forms, I'm surprised he only has 5 numbered string quartets to his name, with a 50-year gap between Nos. 3 and 4 (1971-2021)

relm1

Quote from: Maestro267 on October 21, 2024, 06:59:11 AMConsidering how much he's written in the other major forms, I'm surprised he only has 5 numbered string quartets to his name, with a 50-year gap between Nos. 3 and 4 (1971-2021)

That is interesting.  His youthful works were more brooding so should be interesting to hear how he's evolved. 

Brian



All three of these quartets are student works and all three make heavy use of fugue techniques. No. 1 was written before his formal studies in a traditional key (G minor) and was skilled enough that Rautavaara gave him a pass through certain classes on the tonal basis of composition. Looking back, Aho now says it's full of a teenager's seriousness and Weltschmerz, which is pretty funny coming from a dude whose whole career has been preoccupied with very Serious musical ideas!

It's also funny because the music is so light. It's very, very old-fashioned; the only thing in the first movement that doesn't sound like it's from 1840 is a repeated harmony in the main theme that gives me a slightly painful Hollywood easy listening feeling. I'm struck by how naive this 18 year old seems to be.

Anyway, it's a theme and variations to start - nicely written for the four players and somewhat virtuosic. Then a slow movement that sounds like a movie version of medieval court music. By contrast, the third movement scherzo is so much more modern - Nordic, Nielsenish - that it feels like it came from a different piece, or like the composer aged 100 years between tracks. Then, in the finale, we're back to a chorale-like andante that again sounds like it comes from centuries past, with lots of carefully worked-out counterpoint.

No. 2 is the fuguest of all; they're all in three movements, especially the highly energetic central Presto. It's a very, very accomplished piece that reminds me of Shostakovich, Bacewicz (her neoclassical era, not avant garde - this is in traditional tonality), and some other Eastern European composers. 15 short minutes and they fly by. Really good. A huge stride from the First.

No. 3 is still early, but engages in one of Aho's favorite structures: the symmetrical piece that starts simply, builds in complexity and tension, and then returns to the beginning, but with a loss of innocence. The beginning has a rhythmic lilt like a country dance, but by the grinding, intense fourth movement, you'll be very far away from dance territory. When the dance returns at the end, the viola repeats a pessimistic two-note refrain that sends the music into a tailspin. "You can't go home again." It's amazing how quickly he found his own voice, as documented here.

Although No. 1 is probably the "least" of all the Aho works I've ever heard, this is still a really, really engaging CD. Hope the recording of the newer works comes soon. By the way, Aho says in his notes that there is an even earlier, unpublished and unplayed "No. 0."

relm1

Quote from: Brian on December 16, 2024, 12:27:26 PM

All three of these quartets are student works and all three make heavy use of fugue techniques. No. 1 was written before his formal studies in a traditional key (G minor) and was skilled enough that Rautavaara gave him a pass through certain classes on the tonal basis of composition. Looking back, Aho now says it's full of a teenager's seriousness and Weltschmerz, which is pretty funny coming from a dude whose whole career has been preoccupied with very Serious musical ideas!

It's also funny because the music is so light. It's very, very old-fashioned; the only thing in the first movement that doesn't sound like it's from 1840 is a repeated harmony in the main theme that gives me a slightly painful Hollywood easy listening feeling. I'm struck by how naive this 18 year old seems to be.

Anyway, it's a theme and variations to start - nicely written for the four players and somewhat virtuosic. Then a slow movement that sounds like a movie version of medieval court music. By contrast, the third movement scherzo is so much more modern - Nordic, Nielsenish - that it feels like it came from a different piece, or like the composer aged 100 years between tracks. Then, in the finale, we're back to a chorale-like andante that again sounds like it comes from centuries past, with lots of carefully worked-out counterpoint.

No. 2 is the fuguest of all; they're all in three movements, especially the highly energetic central Presto. It's a very, very accomplished piece that reminds me of Shostakovich, Bacewicz (her neoclassical era, not avant garde - this is in traditional tonality), and some other Eastern European composers. 15 short minutes and they fly by. Really good. A huge stride from the First.

No. 3 is still early, but engages in one of Aho's favorite structures: the symmetrical piece that starts simply, builds in complexity and tension, and then returns to the beginning, but with a loss of innocence. The beginning has a rhythmic lilt like a country dance, but by the grinding, intense fourth movement, you'll be very far away from dance territory. When the dance returns at the end, the viola repeats a pessimistic two-note refrain that sends the music into a tailspin. "You can't go home again." It's amazing how quickly he found his own voice, as documented here.

Although No. 1 is probably the "least" of all the Aho works I've ever heard, this is still a really, really engaging CD. Hope the recording of the newer works comes soon. By the way, Aho says in his notes that there is an even earlier, unpublished and unplayed "No. 0."

I thought the same thing that some of these feel like exercises in counterpoint but they are still very impressive for his age.  I thought I read the first symphony was an orchestration of the first quartet so was surprised by what I heard.  I think Aho's comment about a teenager's seriousness is something he refers to quite a bit.  I recall he believed he was going to die young so his early symphonies were written as if that was the last he would live to write though he might have been in his mid 20's.  I found the album very enjoyable but it does make me want to hear more so hopefully No. 4, 5, and 0 get released soon.

lordlance

New performance of the Viola Concerto -

If you are interested in listening to orchestrations of solo/chamber music, you might be interested in this thread.
Also looking for recommendations on neglected conductors thread.

foxandpeng

Quote from: Brian on October 18, 2023, 10:52:34 AMThe very last post in my Ahodyssey! (Until the next release in the series is published...)



The Oboe Concerto of 2007 dates from a time when Aho was looking for new frameworks to look at tonality and seeking answers in Arabic musical scales. Thus the first movement's long, slow lament with achingly gorgeous oboe melodies sounds a lot like certain Middle Eastern moods. Two orchestral cor anglais echo many of the oboist's solo lines.

It's an immediately atmospheric, gripping opening - the kind of thing I am a total sucker for. Soft, misty strings, floating soloist with an emotionally expressive big tune, gradual buildup to a more tense atmosphere. It's a passionate movement. Then we get a Presto scherzo-type movement with lots of Arabic percussion. The oboe squawks a bit but mostly dances, and the atmosphere here is again very convincing. The oboist gets a chance to relax during a short interlude after this, where Aho experiments with what other orchestral sections can do in his chosen tonal range and gently melancholy/nostalgic mood. Then the oboe soloist gets a three-minute cadenza that leads into an Andante finale. This finale starts with a surprisingly romantic, almost Hollywoody vision - horns softly intoning a melody, Arabic percussion pattering gently, the violins soaring upwards. It's sunrise in the desert. As is so typical of Aho, the mood gradually returns to the lament of the concerto's beginning, with tension gradually rising again. The finale is slow, but exciting enough not to feel it. In fact, almost all this concerto is slow, taking advantage of the oboe's strengths.

There's a loud ending, too. It all feels much more "conventional" than the usual Aho concerto in form - but not in the tonal language itself. As a person with romantic leanings and Middle Eastern family roots, I was perfectly set up to love this piece. It shoots right up to the top of my list of favorite Aho.

Solo IX is much harder to digest. Aho's Soli are all about 10 minutes and all designed to push the instruments to technical extremes. In this case, that means the oboist is asked to perform lots of transitions from traditional technique into what I can only describe as car alarm imitations  ;D . Midway through the soloist gets to perform some more lyrical, slow material before the recapitulation. All in all this is quite a test of strength, stamina, breathing, and ability to make odd noises. Piet van Bockstal is really extraordinary.

The Oboe Sonata is a much earlier work, from the mid-1980s. It is by far the most abstract work on the album, full of spikes and stabbing chords and repeated notes and unusual effects. Aho describes the work as a battle between the pure tones of conventional oboe playing and the "impure" effects he achieves by other means; the third-movement climax is a pitched battle which is won by traditional "pure" oboe playing so the soloist doesn't have to do any more car alarm screeches in the finale. In fact, it seems to find a measure of peace and tranquility as it fades into softness.

And now it's time for the very last thing on my Ahodyssey...



Perhaps most widely appreciated and discussed as a masterpiece, the Flute Concerto has been advocated by Sharon Bezaly all over the world. It's all about atmosphere, pretty perfectly encapsulated by the cover of the atmosphere. Without ever really betraying a clear "point" or dramatic arc, the music manages to move forward effortlessly, make time stand still - whatever your favorite metaphor. Using two flutes, he really fully exploits the coloristic potential of the instrument. I think I've known this piece too long and too well to describe it as surgically/analytically as many of the other works in the Ahodyssey. I don't know if it remains my ultimate favorite.

Ranking seems foolish, but I can at least create some tiers now. Personal and subjective, of course!

Definite Favorites
Flute Concerto
French Horn Concerto
Mussorgsky Songs
Oboe Concerto
Preludes for solo piano (19)
Soprano Saxophone Concerto
Symphonies Nos. 9, 11
Triple Concerto (violin, cello, piano)

Very Interesting
Bassoon Concerto
The Book of Questions
Cello Concerto No. 2
Clarinet Concerto
Contrabassoon Concerto
Double Concerto (cor anglais and harp)
Quintet for alto sax, bassoon, viola, cello, and double bass
Symphonies Nos. 2, 3, 12, 15
Tenor Saxophone Concerto
Theremin Concerto
Trumpet Concerto
Viola Concerto
Wind Quintets Nos. 1 and 2

Tough to Chew On, but Worth It
Cello Concerto No. 1
Chamber Symphonies Nos. 1-3
Oboe Sonata
Piano Sonata Nos. 1 and 2
Quintet for flute, oboe, violin, viola, and cello
Rejoicing of the Deep Waters
Sonata for Two Accordions
Symphony No. 5

More Populist, but Not in a Bad Way
Bassoon Quintet
Chinese Songs
Clarinet Quintet
Minea
Quintet for clarinet, oboe, bassoon, French horn, and piano
Recorder Concerto
Symphonic Dances
Symphony No. 4 (just because it is so much in the tradition of Shostakovich)
Symphony No. 13
Timpani Concerto
Trombone Concerto

For the Real Aho Lover
Oboe Quintet
Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2
Piano miniatures written for young players
Prelude, Toccata, and Postlude for cello and piano
Seven Inventions and Postlude for cello and oboe
Sieidi
Sonata Concertante for Accordion and Strings
Symphonies Nos. 1, 8, 10
Trio for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano
Violin Concerto No. 2

Not for Me
Double Bass Concerto
Music for solo violin
Pergamon
Silence
Symphony No. 7
Tuba Concerto
Violin Concerto

This traversal and accompanying notes, is immensely helpful, thank you. I'm pondering exploring Aho's work, and these posts are filled with thoughtful reflections for a beginner like me.

I've just finished listening for the first time to the Viola Concerto and Symphony 14, 'Rituals'. The VaC might need a few more plays, but I really like the S#14.

I noticed that this is omitted from your tiered list. Deliberate or an oversight?
"A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people ... then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbour — such is my idea of happiness"

Tolstoy

lordlance

#327
A new performance of his Theremin Concerto - Acht Jahreszeiten:


And the very niche Third Accordion Sonata:

If you are interested in listening to orchestrations of solo/chamber music, you might be interested in this thread.
Also looking for recommendations on neglected conductors thread.