The Penguin Guide first alerted me to the "other white meat", haha, and at the time (many years ago), I was hooked to those BIS discs of his Symphonies. He had the brooding atmosphere. He had length. He wasn't Schnittke!
Shadows, Washington Mosaics, Cello Concerto, Violin Concerto, From a New Zealand Diary, Corali,...his masterpiece, the SQ No.3, Some Aspects of Peltoniemi Hintrik's Funeral March (love that title!). I think I needed money at the time, though :-[,...
I guess I start this Thread because of my 'problems' with Holmboe, and, I realized, that there is a Finn whose music I was taken with (at the time, at least), who had the atmosphere I was looking for in my Nordic questing. I certainly don't want to start nuthin', but the two do perhaps make an interesting comparison, somewhat.
I didn't see much Sallinen talk when I searched the site, so, is this really the first discussion of Sallinen?
I was checking AS's discography. Can anyone comment on the CPO series of symphonies?
Yes, his string quartet #3 is a masterpiece. Other quartets are good, too. I have a few of his symphonies, but his best works are in vocal music. Songs of Life and Death is a masterpiece. His operas are wonderful! I have only seen one LIVE-- that being Kullervo. I have that one and King Goes Forth to France. But I have watched a couple of other operas online. Certainly one of the best if not the best Nordic opera composer.
Anyone heard Sallinen's opera King Lear? I'd be interested to hear it just to see how it compares to Aribert Reimann's ultra-expressionist Lear.
Sallinen is one of the best modern composers working in a traditional style, IMHO.
I second the rec for Songs of Life and Death, which is like a modern Finnish updating of the Brahms Requiem. Symphony #4 is a strident dramatic piece with a lot of atmosphere (I sometimes think of it as "Prokofiev's 8th"). Symphony #8 is another very effective piece.
I've heard a few clunkers from him, but on the whole he's a very good, serious composer.
Quote from: Velimir on April 12, 2010, 08:21:54 AM
Sallinen is one of the best modern composers working in a traditional style, IMHO.
I agree.
Actually, my favorite is certainly his fabulous
Flute Concerto with its magical eerie atmospheres. It's available on this cd, with the magnificent Takemitsu's Toward the Sea (and the not very interesting Flute Concerto by PPenderecki)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BojaM5XOL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)
I also love all the pieces Snyprr already mentioned : the 3rd String Quartet, Shadows, the 5th and 6th Symphonies (respectively "Washington Mosaics" and "From a New Zealand Diary"). My favorites symphonies are probably the 1st and the 4th with their shimmering and metallic string sections. I was a little disappointed by his 7th symphony "The Dreams of Gandalf", which is a fine work but not as gripping as the previous ones.
--Gilles
I remember coming home at 4 in the morning once and turning on the radio where they played his Iron Age suite (from the tv-series). I was mesmerized and had to listen to the entire work even at 4 in the morning to find out who the composer was.
Has anyone heard or seen Sallinen's Punainen Viiva (The Red Line)? I heard a segment of it in a documentary I saw recently. I really enjoyed what I heard of his operas. I am drawn to his purely instrumental works, but most of them haven't exactly clicked for me for some reason.
Quote from: lescamil on May 14, 2010, 10:20:34 PM
Has anyone heard or seen Sallinen's Punainen Viiva (The Red Line)? I heard a segment of it in a documentary I saw recently. I really enjoyed what I heard of his operas. I am drawn to his purely instrumental works, but most of them haven't exactly clicked for me for some reason.
The Finlandia LPs of
'The Red Line' was my introduction to Sallinen. I liked it so well I started collecting all of his music I could find on LP and then on CD. My favorite orchestral work is the
5th Symphony - Washington Mosaics.
Quote from: lescamil on May 14, 2010, 10:20:34 PM
Has anyone heard or seen Sallinen's Punainen Viiva (The Red Line)? I heard a segment of it in a documentary I saw recently. I really enjoyed what I heard of his operas. I am drawn to his purely instrumental works, but most of them haven't exactly clicked for me for some reason.
I watched The Red Line online many years ago and just loved it. I also went to all 6 performances of Kullervo at its premiere in Los Angeles in the 90's. Another great work which you can get on ONDINE. Yes, I do think his operas are his best works.
I love the cello concerto - it's one that grows on you significantly with repeated listenings. I'd nominate it for the masterpiece category - intrigued by the 3rd String Quartet.
Recently, France Musique broadcast an all-Sallinen birthday concert (from last year), and it can be still listened to here (http://sites.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/em/concert-matin/emission.php?e_id=80000054&d_id=420002159) - until Feb 23rd, I think (to start listening, click on the headphones icon to the right). It features several pieces for small ensembles: Barabbas Variations, Cruselliana, Chamber Concerto and The Trees, All Their Green.
With Arto Noras! :)
Maciek, thanks a lot! Listening to it now...
--Bruce
So far Sallinen is really an interesting composer for me. I have took many chances on recordings before, but I'm definitely glad I picked up the CPO set. I heard a work on YouTube not too long ago called "Sunrise Serenade" for trumpet w/ orchestra and this sounded beautiful or as far as I could tell as the audio was quite bad.
Quote from: Mirror Image on July 07, 2011, 09:22:04 PM
So far Sallinen is really an interesting composer for me. I have took many chances on recordings before, but I'm definitely glad I picked up the CPO set. I heard a work on YouTube not too long ago called "Sunrise Serenade" for trumpet w/ orchestra and this sounded beautiful or as far as I could tell as the audio was quite bad.
I suppose if you have CPO you have no need of the BIS discs. Perhaps I will look into getting them back... Sallinen made a pretty big impression there in the early days,... alas they did not survive The Purging. :'(
Quote from: snyprrr on July 08, 2011, 08:00:33 AM
I suppose if you have CPO you have no need of the BIS discs. Perhaps I will look into getting them back... Sallinen made a pretty big impression there in the early days,... alas they did not survive The Purging. :'(
Right now, I'm just trying to get familiar with his style and the music itself.
Quote from: Mirror Image on July 08, 2011, 08:03:07 AM
Right now, I'm just trying to get familiar with his style and the music itself.
Very purposeful sounding,... is it the 'New Zealand Diary' I'm thinking of, where he 'sets sail in a whole new direction'? I remember Symphonies 4-5, my kind of Nordic! Is it No.6 I'm thinking of? Now you got me wondering about the sonics of CPO vs. BIS. ahhh, another rabiit hole!! :-*
oh wait! Don't we have a Thread on that?? !! ;)
But, did he have a license for his pet perch? . . .
Quote from: snyprrr on July 08, 2011, 11:12:06 AM
Very purposeful sounding,... is it the 'New Zealand Diary' I'm thinking of, where he 'sets sail in a whole new direction'? I remember Symphonies 4-5, my kind of Nordic! Is it No.6 I'm thinking of? Now you got me wondering about the sonics of CPO vs. BIS. ahhh, another rabiit hole!! :-*
oh wait! Don't we have a Thread on that?? !! ;)
I'm not sure. As I said, I'm still becoming familiar with his composing style.
Quote from: Mirror Image on July 08, 2011, 07:12:38 PM
I'm not sure. As I said, I'm still becoming familiar with his composing style.
That Thread is still on the first page of the 'Recordings' page.
Did anybody in the UK see "The King Goes Forth to France" when it was done at the RoH way, way back in the 80's I think (and with my memory not being what it was, don't expect accuracy). I remember the staging was imaginative, and the work came over as good stage music. It was also somewhat "modern-ish" in places, but at least it didn't scare the horses. Anybody else have a memory of it, and maybe jog mine along a bit?
Although I have the Ondine recording, I haven't listened to it that often.
Thought I should hear more Sallinen and found this CD cheap second hand on Amazon.
I am especially liking Symphony No 4 - a troubled and darkly eloquent work, reminding me in places of a kind of Nordic Prokofiev (Shostakovich and Kokkonen also came to mind and Sumera in the last movement of the symphony). Immediately I got to the end of the Symphony I wanted to listen again. It is approachable but not unchallenging and seems to inhabit a rather ambivalent emotional world, which appeals to me.
Can't get picture to load but it is a Finlandia CD with Symphony 4, Cello Concerto and Shadows featured (Helsinki PO, Okko Kamu, Arto Noras, Cello).
His perch, eh? And what of his steelhead trout?
Carry on . . . .
Quote from: vandermolen on April 12, 2012, 07:38:33 AM
Thought I should hear more Sallinen and found this CD cheap second hand on Amazon.
I am especially liking Symphony No 4 - a troubled and darkly eloquent work, reminding me in places of a kind of Nordic Prokofiev (Shostakovich and Kokkonen also came to mind and Sumera in the last movement of the symphony). Immediately I got to the end of the Symphony I wanted to listen again. It is approachable but not unchallenging and seems to inhabit a rather ambivalent emotional world, which appeals to me.
Can't get picture to load but it is a Finlandia CD with Symphony 4, Cello Concerto and Shadows featured (Helsinki PO, Okko Kamu, Arto Noras, Cello).
I almost wish you'd have gotten the BIS with 4-5. Let's see if any Sallinen is under $5...
Quote from: snyprrr on April 12, 2012, 08:05:06 AM
I almost wish you'd have gotten the BIS with 4-5. Let's see if any Sallinen is under $5...
Is the BIS a better performance?
Quote from: vandermolen on April 12, 2012, 07:38:33 AM
Thought I should hear more Sallinen and found this CD cheap second hand on Amazon.
I am especially liking Symphony No 4 - a troubled and darkly eloquent work, reminding me in places of a kind of Nordic Prokofiev (Shostakovich and Kokkonen also came to mind and Sumera in the last movement of the symphony). Immediately I got to the end of the Symphony I wanted to listen again. It is approachable but not unchallenging and seems to inhabit a rather ambivalent emotional world, which appeals to me.
Can't get picture to load but it is a Finlandia CD with Symphony 4, Cello Concerto and Shadows featured (Helsinki PO, Okko Kamu, Arto Noras, Cello).
This was available for a while as part of a Finlandia
Meet the Composer 2-CD set that added the 5th symphony, the orchestral version of the 3rd quartet and
Chamber Music I and III. The other two CDs cannibalized for the 2-CD set are on Amazon, though.
As for the music, those three works are a great Sallinen sampler; I'd agree with the symphony's Shostakovichian and Kokkonen's influences, though every bar sounds like Sallinen to me. I'm probably even fonder of the cello concerto, which to my mind pulls off a very unusual structure very successfully: 20' slow movement followed by a 7' fast finale that dissipates the tension of the slow movement. Fabulous playing from Noras--one of my favourite 'cellists--in it, of course.
I'll leave it up to others to debate the merits of these recordings versus the cpo ones; I recall preferring Kamu last time I compared them in the 4th. The BIS with DePriest is very competitive too, to my mind, and the BIS soundscape suits the music very well.
That CPO Box gets more and more tempting.
Quote from: snyprrr on July 16, 2013, 07:58:18 AM
That CPO Box gets more and more tempting.
I'm almost ready. I haven't heard anything negative, as compared to BIS, or otherwise. I await just some final confirmation.
BIS CEO Robert von Bahr strikes again with his eClassical daily deal (http://www.eclassical.com/pages/daily-deal.html?cache=purge) commentary:
"A bassoon player, who had made some sotto voce comments before, stood up, more or less shouting: This cannot be right! I have an F#, but the oboe has an F natural. So which is it??? Whereupon Sallinen, very calmly, stood up in front of the orchestra, saying: Dear xxx, it is called a dissonance. Raucous laughter, noone could play for quite some time."
(http://ecstatic.textalk.se/shop/17115/art15/h5997/4885997-origpic-fc06be.jpg) (http://www.eclassical.com/labels/bis/sallinen-sunrise-serenade-1.html)
Quote from: Brian on September 22, 2014, 04:53:13 AM
BIS CEO Robert von Bahr strikes again with his eClassical daily deal (http://www.eclassical.com/pages/daily-deal.html?cache=purge) commentary:
"A bassoon player, who had made some sotto voce comments before, stood up, more or less shouting: This cannot be right! I have an F#, but the oboe has an F natural. So which is it??? Whereupon Sallinen, very calmly, stood up in front of the orchestra, saying: Dear xxx, it is called a dissonance. Raucous laughter, noone could play for quite some time."
(http://ecstatic.textalk.se/shop/17115/art15/h5997/4885997-origpic-fc06be.jpg) (http://www.eclassical.com/labels/bis/sallinen-sunrise-serenade-1.html)
That's the second "stupid musician" quote we've seen here lately. I'm starting to think that people who play anything other than a chordal instrument for a living are just shit for brains?
btw- great CD
I still haven't got the Box yet,- just got the Sibelius Tone Poems,- working my way up to it-
I do somewhat miss that BIS disc with 4 and 5...
This looks like a useful update to the limited selection of recordings of Sallinen's chamber music:
[asin]B00Q5W3CK2[/asin]
Arto Noras and Ralf Gothoni on the artist list sounds promising too.
Quote from: edward on January 17, 2015, 03:29:01 PM
This looks like a useful update to the limited selection of recordings of Sallinen's chamber music:
[asin]B00Q5W3CK2[/asin]
Arto Noras and Ralf Gothoni on the artist list sounds promising too.
I still haven't got The Box. :-[ It went up in price as I was over-deliberating,... mm,... happens,...
Quote from: edward on January 17, 2015, 03:29:01 PM
This looks like a useful update to the limited selection of recordings of Sallinen's chamber music:
[asin]B00Q5W3CK2[/asin]
Arto Noras and Ralf Gothoni on the artist list sounds promising too.
I have all the cpo Sallinen as single discs and love them. Finlands greatest symphonist since Sibelius IMO. I will definitely get this disc too sooner or later.
Quote from: edward on January 17, 2015, 03:29:01 PM
This looks like a useful update to the limited selection of recordings of Sallinen's chamber music:
Arto Noras and Ralf Gothoni on the artist list sounds promising too.
And Vähälä is a rather nice violinist, even if her Strad turned out to be an Amati. ::)
Cello Concerto (1977)
Again, can anyone give me five paragraphs on this, perhaps especially how it compares with the Holmboe, which you prefer, perhaps? Thanks!