Kalevi Aho(born 1949)

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

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lescamil

Bumping this because of the new release of a disk containing the second piano concerto and Symphony No. 13. This is one of my favorite new disks. The two pieces on the disk could not be any more different from each other. The piano concerto is scored only for solo piano and a 20 piece string orchestra. It is a work with piano writing that stems from the Brahmsian piano tradition, but is still in a modern idiom. It is quite a "joyful" piece (according to the composer) and makes use of the piano quite well. The Symphony is a huge work, clocking in at 40 minutes, and has two 20 minute movements. It uses a huge orchestra, including some brass placed in the audience (I didn't notice any spatial effects in the recording), and is a piece of extremes that is very soft at times, but very bombastic and loud at times. It is a serious piece in contrast to the concerto, with lots of smaller sections within the two large movements that are all interconnected.

Also, regarding the still unrecorded symphony, I read somewhere that the reason why it has not been recorded yet was because, and I directly quote, "it is too large for the Lahti Symphony Orchestra". As far as I know, they still have no plans to record it. The next recordings in production are the three chamber symphonies, the double bass concerto, the clarinet quintet, and the trio for clarinet, viola, and piano. All of this info came from email correspondence with BIS.
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Premiere recording of the Aho 4th Symphony:



String Quartet No. 3:

20th Century Music - Ecrater Storefront:
http://20thcenturymusic.ecrater.com/

CRCulver

I listened to the Cello Concerto this evening, my first exposure to Aho. Silly me, I thought Aho was a lightweight, easy listening composer as he studied under Rautavaara (and wrote a major study of that composer) and has stayed aloof from the Finnish modernists. But I haven't heard as much angry crashing and clanging since Pärt's early Credo or Carter's Symphonia, it's great. While I'm not so wowed to immediately go out and buy everything, I do intend on exploring Aho's output in greater depth when I find the time.

snyprrr

Quote from: CRCulver on July 15, 2011, 09:08:31 AM
I listened to the Cello Concerto this evening, my first exposure to Aho. Silly me, I thought Aho was a lightweight, easy listening composer as he studied under Rautavaara (and wrote a major study of that composer) and has stayed aloof from the Finnish modernists. But I haven't heard as much angry crashing and clanging since Pärt's early Credo or Carter's Symphonia, it's great. While I'm not so wowed to immediately go out and buy everything, I do intend on exploring Aho's output in greater depth when I find the time.

Do study this guy before purchase!

btw- I'm assuming that I'm seeing a lot of you Great Reviews on Amazon? ;)

snyprrr

Quote from: CRCulver on July 15, 2011, 09:08:31 AM
I listened to the Cello Concerto this evening, my first exposure to Aho. Silly me, I thought Aho was a lightweight, easy listening composer as he studied under Rautavaara (and wrote a major study of that composer) and has stayed aloof from the Finnish modernists. But I haven't heard as much angry crashing and clanging since Pärt's early Credo or Carter's Symphonia, it's great. While I'm not so wowed to immediately go out and buy everything, I do intend on exploring Aho's output in greater depth when I find the time.

How did he get up to 14 Symphonies behind my back? >:D

I just checked Amazon last night, and wow! :o, look at all that BIS! I used to have the Ondine disc of 5/7, but I'm curious, I've been turned on to the likes of Norgard 5 and I'm wondering if Aho (what an Aho! :D) has anything with the same submersing feeling?

14 Symphonies!! :o

springrite

Quote from: snyprrr on December 05, 2011, 08:20:58 AM

14 Symphonies!! :o

Once a symphonist gets past #9 with no dire consequence, they sure take off, don't they?
Do what I must do, and let what must happen happen.

snyprrr

Quote from: springrite on December 05, 2011, 08:25:57 AM
Once a symphonist gets past #9 with no dire consequence, they sure take off, don't they?

Haha! ;) Just ask Segerstam,...oy! :o

Do you Aho?

springrite

Quote from: snyprrr on December 05, 2011, 08:27:24 AM
Haha! ;) Just ask Segerstam,...oy! :o

Do you Aho?

Don't ask. Don't tell.







Alright, on occasions.
Do what I must do, and let what must happen happen.

lescamil

Quote from: snyprrr on December 05, 2011, 08:20:58 AM
14 Symphonies!! :o

Actually, Aho now has 15 symphonies (and I have recordings of all of them, teehee). He's probably the only other composer besides Shostakovich to write that many full length symphonies with such consistent quality. On the other hand, I recently heard Leif Segerstam's Symphony No. 212, which was nice, but... yeah, I can imagine there would be a serious proportional drop-off in quality in relation to quantity. I'm eagerly waiting Aho's 16th symphony (which I assume is coming) and any new BIS disks! His chamber symphonies are supposedly up next in BIS's release queue.
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snyprrr

Quote from: lescamil on December 05, 2011, 11:31:23 AM
Actually, Aho now has 15 symphonies (and I have recordings of all of them, teehee). He's probably the only other composer besides Shostakovich to write that many full length symphonies with such consistent quality. On the other hand, I recently heard Leif Segerstam's Symphony No. 212, which was nice, but... yeah, I can imagine there would be a serious proportional drop-off in quality in relation to quantity. I'm eagerly waiting Aho's 16th symphony (which I assume is coming) and any new BIS disks! His chamber symphonies are supposedly up next in BIS's release queue.

Gimme yer... Top5. Where to start? ???

lescamil

#90
Quote from: snyprrr on December 05, 2011, 08:31:10 PM
Gimme yer... Top5. Where to start? ???

I'm not sure I could say where the best places to start are, but I can try my best. In no order: 1, 3, 7, 8, 13. I picked the two early symphonies 1 and 3 because I think that, even though they are heavily indebted to Shostakovich and other symphonists that Aho admires, they are very well crafted works and have some great music in them. The 3rd symphony is pretty much a violin concerto in all but name and is quite beautiful. The seventh is his "Insect Symphony", which takes music from his (as far as I know) unrecorded opera "Insect Life". It's a funny symphony that reminds me a lot of the satirical Schnittke. The eighth is a huge symphony with a large organ part. However, it is conveniently segmented into lots of short contrasting movements and has some very grand organ writing and some fierce sections that show off a lot of virtuosic interplay between organ and orchestra. The 13th symphony to me is a large sort of concerto for orchestra in two huge movements. It calls for a large orchestra that contains of all things a heckelphone (he seems to like this instrument) and some brass that is distributed in the orchestra. These are not necessarily my favorites, but I think these show off his style best and are the best places to start. Some others are quite quirky in their stylistic variety, such as the symphonies 9 and 14. The 9th symphony is sort of like getting in an erratic time machine, and the 14th symphony is like a trip to Africa, Indonesia, and the Middle East, all held together with European glue. I've heard all of them at least once, and there are some I definitely need to listen to a few more times, but as far as I've heard, I haven't found many relative weak spots in them that could happen with so much quantity. They've all held my attention, even though I definitely do prefer some over others.
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snyprrr

Quote from: lescamil on December 05, 2011, 10:08:53 PM
I'm not sure I could say where the best places to start are, but I can try my best. In no order: 1, 3, 7, 8, 13. I picked the two early symphonies 1 and 3 because I think that, even though they are heavily indebted to Shostakovich and other symphonists that Aho admires, they are very well crafted works and have some great music in them. The 3rd symphony is pretty much a violin concerto in all but name and is quite beautiful. The seventh is his "Insect Symphony", which takes music from his (as far as I know) unrecorded opera "Insect Life". It's a funny symphony that reminds me a lot of the satirical Schnittke. The eighth is a huge symphony with a large organ part. However, it is conveniently segmented into lots of short contrasting movements and has some very grand organ writing and some fierce sections that show off a lot of virtuosic interplay between organ and orchestra. The 13th symphony to me is a large sort of concerto for orchestra in two huge movements. It calls for a large orchestra that contains of all things a heckelphone (he seems to like this instrument) and some brass that is distributed in the orchestra. These are not necessarily my favorites, but I think these show off his style best and are the best places to start. Some others are quite quirky in their stylistic variety, such as the symphonies 9 and 14. The 9th symphony is sort of like getting in an erratic time machine, and the 14th symphony is like a trip to Africa, Indonesia, and the Middle East, all held together with European glue. I've heard all of them at least once, and there are some I definitely need to listen to a few more times, but as far as I've heard, I haven't found many relative weak spots in them that could happen with so much quantity. They've all held my attention, even though I definitely do prefer some over others.

Great,... I'm off!!

Dundonnell

"Exploring the music of a new composer to whose idiom one feels attuned is a wonderful voyage of discovery(I know that sounds a bit pretentious-but it's true!). When it is a living composer one has the additional knowledge that the composer will develop his art further in the future(hopefully, at least). And when a record company has kindly put most of that composer's music onto disc the task is so much easier! :)

I started with Aho's Symphony No.1 because it was the first one recorded and because it had been highly praised by the perceptive British music critic Robert Layton-whose views I respect, particularly with regard to Scandinavian music on which he is an authority.
The 1st is clearly indebted to Shostakovich(the Shostakovich of the Eighth and Eleventh symphonies, for example) but shows considerable imagination for a 20-year old composer still in his first year as a student at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki(studying under Rautavaara)with its eerie distortions of a baroque idiom. The fourth movement is a very Russian-sounding, grimly impressive fugue of considerable power. It seemed obvious to me that this was a young man with something to say, that there was a clear underlying purpose to the music, that it was 'going somewhere'-which is not something, I fear, that I can say of some very modern music!

(I admit that I do like a lot of Scandinavian music for that very reason and because the serious, Nordic sound does appeal very much to my ear.)

Of course, Aho's idiom does develop and become somewhat more challenging in the later symphonies but I can appreciate and admire them all. He has not 'lost me' despite my 'conservative' tastes in music. "

"To add a little to my earlier posts-

Aho's symphonies really divide into three groups:

Firstly, those he wrote whilst still in his twenties(Nos. 1-6, 1969-80). Of these, No. 1 is clearly indebted to Shostakovich with a very Russian sense of the grotesque, No.2 is a very fine work in one movement which, as in several of the early Aho symphonies makes extensive use of the fugue. No. 5, again in one huge movement requires a very large orchestra and, although it has received an adequate recording on Ondine by the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra under Max Pommer, BIS has not yet got round to recording either it or No. 6 because Robert von Bahr is looking for a larger orchestra than the Lahti Symphony to perform these works(which does seem a little odd since the Lahti orchestra has managed very well with the others!).

My own favourite out of these first six(I haven't heard No.6 of course) is No.4. This is on BIS-CD-1066 coupled with the Chinese Songs.
The symphony was composed in 1972-73(when Aho was 23 years old). It is a big symphony-44'20 minutes long and is immensely impressive, in my opinion. Yes, it does still-to an extent-remind one of Shostakovich or, to a lesser extent, Prokofiev-particularly in the violent percussive second movement-but there is a power and grandeur which is almost Brucknerian in its intensity without sounding like Bruckner-if I can make that distinction-in other words it doesn't sound like Rautavaara's 3rd.

Secondly, there is No. 7-the 'Insect Symphony'(1988)-which does stand apart from the others. Yes, it is great fun but it really is more of a suite, drawing as it does on material from Aho's Opera 'Insect Life'.

Thirdly, there are the symphonies Aho has composed for the Lahti Symphony Orchestra as composer-in-residence-Nos. 8-14. I haven't heard Nos. 12-14 but Nos. 8-11 are an extremely interesting and diverse group. No. 8 is for organ and orchestra, No. 9 is a virtuoso tour de force for trombone and orchestra, and No. 11 an amazing work for six percussionists and orchestra.

My own personal favourite out of the later symphonies is No.10(1996), a monumental masterpiece in my judgment and one of the greatest contemporary symphonies. The symphony quotes from both Mozart and Bruckner. It contains passages of tremendous lyrical outpourings from the strings, particularly in the 20 minute long Adagio slow movement.

I urge all those who have not heard any or much Aho to try Symphonies No.4 and No.10! They are fantastic achievements. I can think of few-if any-living composers still capable of writing such extended compositions combining strength, power and beauty as to be found in these two symphonies! As I write I am listening again to the Lento finale of No.4. It contains the most breathtaking desolation, a la Shostakovich, but a beauty too which recalls the magical world of the early Stravinsky ballets, just occasionally(believe it or not) Vaughan Williams-but all in a modern contemporary idiom. Sometimes I think of Schnittke but without the manic depressive overtones. I defy anyone not to be swept away, however, by the closing pages of a great symphony!

And...if you don't believe me, try this-

http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=12114&highlight=1&highlightterms=&lstKeywords="


I wrote all this three years ago ;D ;D

lescamil

That seems like a very good run through of his symphonic cycle. You really should check out 12-15, which could not be different from one another. 12 is of course the Luosto symphony, which is for orchestra and chamber orchestra, with tenor and soprano voices and an alto saxophone soloist. It is perhaps the most ambitious of his symphonies, which is meant to be performed outdoors at the foot of the Luosto mountain. There are some spatial effects in the recording, but I would imagine that it is one of those pieces where you really had to be at the premiere (as with most of these spatial or outdoors works). I talked about the 13th symphony a few posts ago, but now that I think of it, it seems to be almost a throwback in scope to the earlier, huge symphonies. The 14th symphony is for percussion soloist and chamber orchestra, and it is part of a concert-length cycle of 3 works, and the first two parts are Kysymysten Kirja (Book of Questions), which is a song cycle, and a Viola Concerto, and all three works are to be played attacca, almost as if they are one work. They are all performable separately, but they do share DNA, and they have similar sound. The solo percussionist plays darabuka, djembe, and gongs, but the piece doesn't have huge ethnic influences. The 15th symphony had its premiere this year. It reminds me of another recent work for orchestra, Minea (written in 2008), which has a real feeling of a procession, complete with ethnic drums and wind instruments playing incantation-like melodies. It has a much brighter, shimmering sound to it, though, than Minea. It has some similarities with the 14th symphony also, but it calls for a much bigger orchestra, and he exploits all of it.
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snyprrr

Wow, how can you not be impressed by Aho after those two Posts? :o :-* It's amazing how words can set of a firestorm of sounds in the mind.


I think there are many Composers (on BIS) who sound like Schnittke without the drama. That's good!

Thank you both.


Dundonnell

I have only very recently managed to come by copies of Symphonies Nos. 6 and 15-which makes the complete set for me too ;D-but have not yet had time to listen to them.

The trouble with such a recent quite amazing quantity of downloading of music I never expected in my wildest dreams to ever get the chance to hear is that there has been virtually no time-yet-to actually listen to much of it ;D ;D

Christo

Quote from: Dundonnell on December 07, 2011, 10:47:05 AM
The trouble with such a recent quite amazing quantity of downloading of music I never expected in my wildest dreams to ever get the chance to hear is that there has been virtually no time-yet-to actually listen to much of it ;D ;D

That explains so many silences in a forum like this the best.  ;)
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Mirror Image

I bought nine Aho recordings on BIS. I look forward listening to them and absorbing the music. He's certainly a fascinating composer.

Mirror Image

I just heard the first movement to Symphony No. 9 and it's amazing! Wow, I should have listened to a friend of mine from my days on TalkClassical that I would seriously enjoy Aho.

radi

Quote from: Mirror Image on May 30, 2012, 08:54:29 PM
I just heard the first movement to Symphony No. 9 and it's amazing! Wow, I should have listened to a friend of mine from my days on TalkClassical that I would seriously enjoy Aho.

Symphony #9 is indeed a great piece. Fun and energetic.
Some of my favourites from Aho besides sym#9 include the Flute concerto, Clarinet concerto, Chamber symphonies 2-3 (recently released), Chinese Songs, Symphonies 3, 4, 11 (listen to the last movement, it's like you're in a sweet dream with some nightmares off and on), 12, 14.. But I do enjoy other stuff too, depends on my mood.
Can't wait for the release of Symphony #15. What a fantastic piece, I only have a radio recording of it. I heard BIS made a recording of it last summer with Slobodeniouk/Lahti SO, but so far it hasn't been released.
Aho seems to be a very productive composer, I think he had (or will have) four premieres this year. I hear he follows some kind of strict schedule that allows him to compose so much. How he keeps the level so high and keeps coming up with new ideas is beyond me. :) The latest I've heard of him are concertos for Percussion and Trombone. Both great pieces, unsurprisingly.


-r