NO

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IC4/2013HIGHLIGHTS

N E W S L E T T E R F R O M G E H R M A N S M U S I K F Ö R L A G & F E N N I C A G E H R M A N

Einojuhani Rautavaara

at 85

Mirjam Tally &

Jonas Valfridsson

N E W SN

OR

DIC

HIGHLIGHTS 4/2013

NEWSLET TER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN

Sound samples , video clips and other material are available at

www.gehrmans.se/highlights

Cover photos: Einojuhani Rautavaara

(Photo: Heikki Tuuli), Mirjam Tally (Photo: Mattias

Ahlm), Jonas Valfridsson (Photo: Cato Lein)

Editors: Henna Salmela and Kristina Fryklöf

Translations: Susan Sinisalo and Robert Carroll

Design: Tenhelp Oy/Tenho Järvinen

ISSN 2000-2742 (Print), ISSN 2000-2750 (Online)

Printed in Sweden by TMG Sthlm, Bromma 2013

H I G H L I G H T S 4 / 2 0 1 3

Swedish MPA Awards 2013

Th e Swedish Music Publishers’ special an-

niversary prize was handed out on 8 No-

vember to the Grand Old Man of Swed-

ish music Ingvar Lidholm for his lifetime

achievements within music. Sven-David Sandström received the Classical Music

Award of the Year in the orchestra/opera

category for his Requiem, in which he has

created “a work rich in sonorous and me-

lodic beauty”. We congratulate both prize

winners!

Kalevi Aho Composer in

Residence at Loisiarte

Kalevi Aho is to be Composer in Residence at

the Loisiarte festival in Austria on 27–30 March

2014. Th e festival for contemporary music and

literature will present choral and chamber mu-

sic by Aho, who will join the four-day event. At

the opening concert his string quintet Hommage

à Schubert will be paired with Schubert piano

trios. Th e Finnish focus at Lousiarte 2014 also

includes selected works by Olli Mustonen.

Tommie Haglund – Music of the Soul On 5 October Anders Gustafsson’s acclaimed documentary

“Tommie Haglund – Music of the Soul” was broadcast on

Swedish Television. Now it is possible to watch the fi lm on

Sempre Media’s homepage with subtitles in English (http://

sempremedia.se). Gustafsson has followed the multifaceted

Haglund for four years. He writes music, which is often lyr-

ic, and derives inspiration from among other things, nature,

primitive people, outer space and Fredrick Delius. It has been

said that a streak of spirituality permeates his tonal language.

Art song feverTh e new anthology Svenska romanser (115 Swed-

ish Art Songs) was released in connection with

a concert in November. Pianist Bengt Forsberg

presented songs from the book together with

singers Hillevi Martinpelto and Erik Roseni-us. In January an art song collection for English

speakers, Romanser – 24 Swedish Songs, is due

to be published. It includes phonetic (IPA) and

word-for-word English translations, a concise

guide to Swedish diction, and more information.

Lady Macbeth in Örebro

Johan Ullén’s Lady Macbeth was premiered

before an enthusiastic Örebro audience on 3

October by mezzo-soprano Katarina Karnéus

and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra/Gérhard

Korsten. Th e original version was composed on

commission from the Swedish Radio in 2009

and consists of three songs to texts by Shake-

speare for mezzo and piano. In the new 25-min-

ute orchestral version, Johan Ullén has added an

atmospheric prelude, a grand orchestral inter-

lude, as well as a short but “horribly triumphant”

epilogue to the songs, creating a dramatic scene.

Release of Kärkkäinen focus concertPilfi nk Records are releasing Alchemy

2006, the concert of works by Tommi Kärkkäinen, in digital format. It will be

available at all leading online distribution

points in December 2013 and later possi-

bly in DVD format. Performed at Musica

nova Helsinki in 2006, Alchemy 2006 was

a visually spectacular multimedia concert

of tape and chamber music.

Phot

o: E

lias S

jögr

en

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hadi

Bou

stan

i

Award statuettes designed

by Bertil Vallien

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er M

ölle

r

H I G H L I G H T S 4 / 2 0 1 3

P R E M I E R E S

November 2013–March 2014

TOMMIE HAGLUNDString Trio - Sollievo (dopo la tempesta)

Trio ZilliacusPerssonRaitinen

11.11. Stockholm, Sweden

OLLI KORTEKANGASAi margini della luce

Varpu Haavisto, solo viol

27.11. Tampere, Finland

Adventus, fantasy for organ, Five Christmas Song Arrangements

Tiina-Maija Koskela, soprano, Nicholas Söderlundh, bass-baritone,

Tuomas Tainio, percussion, Kari Vuola, organ

8.12. Naantali, Finland

JYRKI LINJAMADas fl ießende Licht der Gottheit

Susannah Haberfeld, mezzo-soprano, Ilmo Ranta, piano

12.12. Espoo, Finland

ALBERT SCHNELZERAnimal Songs

Helsingborg SO/Clemens Schuldt, sol. Susanna Andersson, soprano

12.1. Helsingborg, Sweden

SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖMNumber Four

NorrlandsOperan SO/Rumon Gamba

16.1. Umeå, Sweden

St Matthew Passion

Staatskapelle Halle, Philharmonischer Chor Berlin, Uppsala

Academic Chamber Choir, Gustaf Sjökvist Chamber Choir/Stefan

Parkman

16.2. Berlin, Germany

TOBIAS BROSTRÖMOn Urban Ground

NorrlandsOperan SO/Rumon Gamba

18.1. Umeå, Sweden

MIRJAM TALLYLament

NorrlandsOperan SO/Rumon Gamba

23.1. Umeå, Sweden

From Darkness to Light

Norrlandopern SO, Sångkraft Chamber Choir/Risto Joost

28.2. Umeå, Sweden

ANDERS ELIASSONTrio d’archi – Ahnungen

Trio ZilliacusPerssonRaitinen

10.2. Stockholm, Sweden

DANIEL BÖRTZSinfonia 12

Swedish Radio SO/Daniel Blendulf

15.2. Stockholm, Sweden

JONAS VALFRIDSSONA Sudden Recollection: Le Jardin des Plantes

Norrköping SO/Michael Francis

27.2. Norrköping, Sweden

MIKKO HEINIÖFive Preludes for Guitar

Patrik Kleemola

21.3. Milan, Italy (Giornate Festival)

New Rautavaara publicationsIn honour of his 85th birthday, Fennica

Gehrman has published fi ve works by Eino-juhani Rautavaara this autumn. Two of

these are for mixed choir: Ave Maria, gratia

plena and Four Romances from the opera Ras-

putin. Four Songs to Poems by Aleksis Kivi is

for male choir. Hymnus for trumpet and or-

gan, and Con spirito di Kuhmo for violin and

cello are now also available as sheet music.

Schnelzer newsTh e Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the

Stockholm Royal Philharmonic are commis-

sioning a 25-minute Concerto for Orchestra by

Albert Schnelzer for the 2014/2015 season.

Th e premiere is scheduled for 26 November,

2014 in Gothenburg. Th e BBC Symphony Or-

chestra has announced that Kirill Karabits will

conduct the world premiere of Schnelzer’s Tales

from Suburbia, at the Barbican Centre London

on 15 March, 2015. Subsequent to that, the

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra will give

the Swedish premiere in Stockholm.

Tapio Tuomela websiteComposer Tapio Tuomela has set up a website

in Finnish and English at http://tapiotuomela.

fi . In addition to a composer biography, reviews

and sound bites, the site in-

cludes samples of new scores

such as his saxophone con-

certo Swap and the Suite

française for wind ensemble.

Ruiz plays Martinsson

Th e Venezuelan double bass phenomenon Edicson Ruiz has taken

up Rolf Martinsson´s Double Bass Concerto in his repertoire. Th e

fi rst performance took place last autumn in Caracas with the Simon

Bolivar Orquesta, and in April Ruiz was a guest of the Gothenburg

Symphony Orchestra. In October he played the concerto with

the Youth Orchestra of Caracas in Tokyo. Ruiz tells that “the

piece caused an emotional tsunami in Japan. Th e audience went

crazy.” At the end of December Ruiz will give another four

performances in Alicante, Spain.

Kortekangas premieres

& recordingsOlli Kortekangas has three premieres in No-

vember-December. His latest work for solo

viol was performed by Varpu Haavisto on

27 November, while Adventus, a fantasy for

organ, and fi ve new Christmas Carol arrange-

ments can be heard in Naantali on 8 Decem-

ber. Varpu Haavisto has also been involved in

fi ve earlier works by Kortekangas for period

instruments, and there are plans for recording

them. Jan Lehtola is also making a CD of or-

gan music by Kortekangas.

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Jea

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Ada

mik

H I G H L I G H T S 4 / 2 0 1 3

Rautavaara quotes A young person must collect traumas. Th ey are engines, sources of energy.

An artist should have a charismatic relationship with the audience. Th e worst thing he can do is to express and interpret himself.

If you’re very profoundly and thoroughly bohemian, you don’t really have time to make art. Th is is my experience, because being bohemi-an is awfully time-consuming. It’s a job in itself.

A young composer must learn everything – and not obey anything but the will of the work in progress.

Nothing in the world goes on forever. Th at is what’s so terrifi c.

Composing

a way of life for Einojuhani Rautavaara

Einojuhani Rautavaara wrote his fi rst compositions while still at

school, sitting at the piano and experimenting with chords until

he learnt to induce a state reminiscent of trance. His career got

off to a brisk start when, in 1954, his A Requiem in Our Time

won a composition competition in the United States. It was performed now

and then on the radio, and heard by Jean Sibelius, who had by then sunk

into silence at Ainola. For his 90th birthday in 1955, a US foundation gave

Sibelius a grant named after conductor-composer Sergei Koussevitzky,

to be awarded to a young composer.

“It was an unusual birthday present, and the gratifying verdict fell on

me,” Rautavaara still recalls in amazement. “Th e trip to the United States

was to signify a decisive change in my development. I went and thanked

Sibelius for the grant, and on my return, for the chance of spending near-

ly two years at the Juilliard School of Music and the Tanglewood Music

Center.”

Breakthrough workRautavaara’s career as a professional composer began after the years spent

in the United States. His breakthrough came when the University of Oulu

commissioned him to compose something for its degree ceremony in 1972.

Th e result was a work that has since become a classic: the Cantus arcticus

concerto for birds and orchestra . Th e cries of the birds are taped.

Rautavaara was not immediately aware he had struck gold. Not until the

concerto was recorded did it begin to be played by foreign radio stations,

and enquiries soon poured in from all over the world. Th e Cantus arcticus

is still by far the most often-performed orchestral work by him: over the

past ten years it has been played 25–57 times a year at concerts across the

world, and that does not include broadcasts on the radio.

Th e 1970s were a trying time in Rautavaara’s private life. A new, more

tranquil period began when he married again in the mid-1980s. It was then

that he discovered the mode of expression that has continued right up to

the present.

“While I was composing my fi fth symphony, it occurred to me that a

symphony is more than just some kind of scheme or mould. It is a way of

thinking, one in which there is no rush to create musical drama. Th ere’s no

hurry to get things done quickly to make way for the next ones. I wanted to

compose long continua I could settle down in.”

Snowball eff ect From then onwards, things began to happen. Th e scores of Rautavaara’s

fi ve symphonies were published in the late 1980s and the Ondine record

company released them on two discs. A booklet and sampler disc of or-

chestral music by him was produced by his publisher. Under gentle pres-

sure from Ondine, the seventh symphony of 1994 was renamed Angel of

Light . Th is all set a snowball eff ect in motion. All over the world, people

eagerly began to await new orchestral works, concertos and operas by Eino-

juhani Rautavaara; they got wide press coverage and went out on hundreds

of radio stations. Rautavaara had become a symbol of international success

in contemporary music.

Th ough no precise public statistics are available, Einojuhani Rautavaara

is, with his 216 works, probably second only to Sibelius as the Finnish

composer whose works are most often performed. He still spends a few

hours a day composing. “I can’t manage more, but composing is a way of life

for me. I’ll go on doing it, I hope, until the end.”

Pekka Hako

This article is a shortened version of that published in Teostory.

Einojuhani Rautavaara is the epitome of Finnish

classical music and probably second only to Sibelius

as the Finnish composer whose works are most often

performed abroad. At 85, he nowadays still composes

for a few hours a day.

Phot

o: H

eikk

i Tuu

li

H I G H L I G H T S 4 / 2 0 1 3

Could you describe your music shortly?

Mirjam Tally (MT): Th e most important el-

ement in my music is no doubt colour. I often

think visually, and associate tones with colours.

I also try to broaden my palette with diff erent

kinds of noise sound. Stylistically, I have been

infl uenced by both minimalism and modernism,

and mix elements of the two in my music.

Jonas Valfridsson (JV): What I strive for in my

music is above all beauty, which for me is some-

thing fl eeting and elusive. Th is is probably why

my music is often distinguished by the mystical

and fragile. Th roughout the years I have devel-

oped a rather characteristic sound, a lyrical treat-

ment of quite modern sonorities.

Where do you fi nd your inspiration?

MT: I often take long walks or go for bike rides.

On the island of Gotland, where I live, there are

good opportunities and beautiful natural scenery

for that. I am also an amateur photographer, and

look for the same thing in my musical creativity as

when I take pictures: colour, light and space.

JV: For me it comes quite randomly and unex-

pectedly. Suddenly one thought collides with

another and everything seems clear, the music is

just there. It is vital for me to have the discipline

to go on composing even when I am not inspired.

Inspiration is a bonus, but it is not always there.

Jonas, your works often have lengthy and poet-

ic titles. Do you derive inspiration from them?

JV: No, the title often comes later on during

my work on the piece. For me it is actually not

that important, but for the listener it can be ab-

solutely decisive for how he or she approaches

the work, for what is to be anticipated. For this

reason I often try to give the work a title that

stimulates the imagination and sticks out a bit.

You both made major breakthroughs with

your fi rst works for symphony orchestra.

MT: Indeed, my work Turbulence was per-

formed both at the ISCM World New Music

Days and at the Venice Biennale in 2008. It was

also awarded the Little Christ Johnson Prize.

It is probably the work in which I have gone

the farthest with my musical experimenting.

I worked more with sound qualities than with

pitches. Various kinds of factory and machine

sounds were important sources of inspiration.

Th ere is also an electric guitar here that puts its

characteristic stamp on the work.

JV: When I began writing In Killing Fields Sweet

Butterfl y Ascend the orchestral medium was

new to me, and I learned novelties at such a fast

pace that I had to revise and re-orchestrate a

number of times. In the end it turned out to be a

highly concentrated and poetical work, three short

movements that fl utter transitorily by. It won third

prize in the 2007 Toru Takemitsu Composition

Award. Th e reception in Tokyo was a powerful

experience. Th e title was charged with meaning

for the seniors in the audience, since it alluded

to the War. When it was announced that I “only”

came in third a murmur of disappointment went

through the auditorium; I’ll never forget that.

Th ree years later I won the Uppsala Composi-

tion Competition with Th e Only Th ing Th at You

Keep Changing Is Your Name.

Mirjam, your violin concerto Birds and Shad-

ows was performed by John Storgårds and the

Lapland Chamber Orchestra during the Nor-

dic Music Days in Helsinki this October. Can

you tell us something about this work?

MT: It’s a lyrical work with a melody in the cen-

tre that ties everything together. Around this I

have built a landscape with whisperings, noise

and rhythmical elements. Over and above their

playing, the musicians in the orchestra also get

to participate in the whispering.

On 27 October the Jönköping Sinfonietta

gave the fi rst performance of A Fragmented

Memory; My Overgrown Little Tree House.

Jonas, what was it like to compose for the or-

chestra of your old home town?

JV: I tried to pack this piece with experiences of

a more personal nature. I’m not usually so pri-

vate in my works, but here memories from my

childhood and places I have visited off er some

Mirjam Tally and Jonas Valfridsson are two new interesting

composer profi les on the Swedish contemporary music scene.

sort of ambient sound, hence the title. It became

my version of nature romanticism, an angle of

approach that has earlier been entirely alien to

me, but it contributed to a renewal and ended up

a very fi ne work.

What are you working on at the moment?

JV: My fi rst priority is a work for string orchestra

commissioned by the Stockholm New Chamber

Orchestra (SNYKO). Th en there are a number

of other projects in progress concurrently; but it

is this score that is lying on my desk just now.

MT: I have just fi nished a work, Vortex, for

Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, which is to be

premiered during the Estonian Music Days in

April, 2014. It starts out with very vigorous and

rhythmical passages, which are a little unusual

for me. Th en I have begun sketches on a work

for fl ute, electro acoustics and chamber orchestra

for Monika Mattiesen and the Danish Athelas

Sinfonietta for early March of next year.

What else is coming up during 2014?

MT: Th e NorrlandsOpera Symphony Orchestra

is going to premiere two works of mine in the

beginning of next year. Lament is a companion

piece to Beethoven’s Ninth, in which I have used

the recitative in the cello part from the begin-

ning of movement IV. I repeat it in my work to

such an extent that it almost becomes a kind of

mantra, and mix in my typical elements: clus-

ters, bisbigliandos, overtone glissandi etc. Th en

I have also written a 50-minute work, Light and

Darkness for choir and orchestra, to poems by

the Sami poet Paulus Utsi.

JV: My new orchestral work, A Sudden Recol-

lection: Le Jardin des Plantes, will receive its pre-

miere performance by the Norrköping Sympho-

ny Orchestra on 27 February; I’m excited about

this. It will be a kind of distillate of my last two

orchestral works, and a sort of balance sheet of

the material I have worked with over an extend-

ed period.

Kristina Fryklöf

Mirjam Tally and Jonas Valfridsson

in the limelight

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attia

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ato

Lein

H I G H L I G H T S 4 / 2 0 1 3

DANIEL BÖRTZSinfonia 12 (2010-2011) Dur: 40’3343-4441-15-hp-pf-str, solo baritone

(Text: Kjell Espmark Sw/Eng)

Börtz utilises a richly coloured palette

in his Twelfth Symphony, in four move-

ments, where he eff ectively alternates

between the large symphony orchestra

and more chamber music like sections. Motoric drive, suddenly fl our-

ishing dream sequences, gongs and glockenspiel sonorities are incor-

porated into the music. A baritone soloist appears in the slow second

movement, in which Börtz has set a poem by Kjell Espmark.

JÖRGEN DAFGÅRDSinfonia No. 1 (2003-2004)

Dur: 21’2222-2200-10-str

Dafgård’s chamber symphony begins

with a prelude, which strikes a creepy

and desolate mood that remains in the

background. A lyrical cantilena that starts out in the fi rst violins puts

its imprint on the Sinfonia’s second part, after which follows a Scherzo

with a virtuoso clarinet part in the leading role. The fi nale is divided

into a slow and a fast section, and reverts to material from both the

slow beginning and the rhythmically playful Scherzo.

ANDERS ELIASSONSymphony No. 4 (2005) Dur: 25’4333-6331-13-str

Eliasson’s fourth symphony seizes the

listener by the throat, at the same time

as it conveys a most singular beauty with

its tenderly entreating melodic melan-

choly. It is music charged with energy,

constantly moving forward with strong and steady force. But at the

very end comes a sudden opening to something else: the symphony

ebbs away in a short epilogue with a fl itting solo for fl ugelhorn.

HALVOR HAUGSymphony No. 4 (2001) Dur: 23’3333-4331-13-hp-str

Haug composed his Fourth Symphony in

the autumn of 2001, deeply aff ected by

the events of 9/11. The symphony, con-

ceived in one single movement, express-

es sadness, anxiety and powerlessness,

but Haug also wants the listener to perceive the feeling of hope that is

concealed in the music. The end is quite lovely when Haug lets the bells

sound over a soft carpet of strings. The symphony is dedicated to “all

innocent victims of terrorism around the world”.

PAAVO HEININEN

Symphony No. 5 (2003) Dur: 33’3333-4330-14-hp-cel-str

The fi fth symphony followed the fourth

after an interval of over 30 years. The very

opening already says what to expect: a

true orchestral horn of plenty. Heininen

describes the music as thematic-melodic,

with details festooning its textural simplicity. There are studies in har-

monic colour, Baroque-like allusions, and a violin in the background

evoking associations with Heininen’s Violin Concerto of 1999.

JUHA T. KOSKINENSymphony No. 1 (2006) Dur: 40’3333-4331-12-hp-cel-str

The middle movement is the heart and

dynamo of this refi ned three-movement

symphony – the sun around which the

other movements revolve as planets. As

work on it progressed, the materials travelled from one movement to

another, leaving tracks by the wayside and setting up “colonies”. The

symphony also acquired a musical narrative, or rather several, that

culminate in the fi nal bars of the last movement.

PASI LYYTIKÄINENSymphony (2006) Dur: 40’2222-4230-11-str

Lyytikäinen likens his fi rst symphony to

a journey: “My music is like a passing

winter landscape. There are changing

sound views, sometimes open fi elds and

sometimes icy rocks.” In the focus of at-

tention are not only stringed instruments but also French horns, which

have an important role in presenting new thematic motifs. The march

episodes in the second movement add Shostakovich-like irony to the

vigorous music.

PEHR HENRIK NORDGRENSymphony No. 8 (2006) Dur: 25’2222-4220-13-hp-pf+cel-str

The whole gamut of life is woven into

what was to be the last symphony by

Nordgren; the expression is dream-like

in places, as if reaching out into another

reality. The expectant mood of the fi rst

movement, Minore, and the clock-like tick of two notes (A-F) stimulate

associations with the relentless passing of time. The delicate, limpid

Intermezzo leads to a movement entitled Maggiore that is full of joie

de vivre and marked by a rollicking folk tune quotation.

SVENDAVID SANDSTRÖMSymphony No 3 – Kärlekens fyra

ansikten (Four Faces of Love,

2006) Dur: 35’2222-4230-12-hp-str, solo mezzo-soprano

Text: Ylva Eggehorn (Sw)

This symphony is built around four texts

by poet Ylva Eggehorn refl ecting on the vicissitudes of life, the extraor-

dinary in the ordinary. The tumultuous sound forces, violent eruptions

in the percussion and densely interwoven strings, form an expressive

soundscape around the sensitive, elegiac, ardent and melodious vocal

part.

HARRI VUORI

Symphony No. 2 (2007) Dur: 38’2222-2210-02-hp-pf-str

The chords in Vuori’s second symphony

are based on manipulated spectral har-

monies, and the result is astoundingly

bright “spatial” music. Vuori also speaks

of the reconciliation of opposing worlds. The translucent, glittering

harmony is off set by symphonic grandeur and spectacular orchestral

eff ects.

REPER TOIRE T IPS R E V I E W S

Topnotch Broström In Tobias Broström´s Samsara we are immersed in a

fl oating state, lyrically shimmering, rhythmically exu-

berant, where we never reach fi rm ground…The con-

cluding Cello Concerto off ers a darker, more dramatic

sound palette. The fi nale is quite in the manner of Si-

belius, with its glittering French horn part emerging

out of the energetic whirlpool of strings. Topnotch!

Dagens Nyheter 11.9.

Tobias Broström: Samsara, Cello Concerto

CD: Västerås Sinfonietta/Johannes Gustavsson, Hugo Ticciati, Johan

Bridger, Mats Rondin (dBCD154)

Angels and furiesThe most gorgeous piece of the evening was Kimmo

by recently deceased Anders Eliasson. Six percussion-

ists fi lled the auditorium with angels and furies. In the

slow middle movement the trumpet stood out like a

sorrowfully singing Orpheus, before the third move-

ment´s journey into the percussionists´ paradise

where the blissful trumpet was welcomed by three

pairs of cymbals. Sydsvenskan 28.10.

Anders Eliasson: Kimmo

Håkan Hardenberger, Bridger & Friends, 25.10.2013 Malmö, Sweden

Powerful Jubilate in HelsinkiIn the Swedish composer Benjamin Staern´s Jubilate

there is powerful energy and a lot of “go”, not unlike in

the music of Magnus Lindberg and Sebastian Fager-

lund. Staern writes diligently for orchestra at the same

time as he keeps a fi rm grip on the listener thanks to

his sense of dramaturgy. Hufvudstadsbladet 19.10.

Benjamin Staern: Jubilate

Finnish premiere: Helsinki PhO/Baldur Brönnimann, 18.10.2013 Nordic

Music Days Helsinki, Finland

Some 21st century symphonies

Phot

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irjam

Tally

Benjamin Staern

in Helsinki

H I G H L I G H T S 4 / 2 0 1 3

Emotional power in

Haglund’s TrioThere is a heartrending beauty in Haglund’s vibrant

music that sometimes makes you feel the need to

hold onto something. But in the new string trio this

has evolved into the form of a healing process of

mourning… The emotional power was at least as

compelling. Dagens Nyheter 13.11.

Tommie Haglund: String Trio - Sollievo

(dopo la tempesta)

World premiere: Trio ZilliacusPerssonRaitinen, 11.11.2013 Stockholm,

Sweden

Colourful fi lm music by HakolaHakola uses the symphony orchestra cleverly, col-

ourfully and dramatically…the music may also be

thought of as a fairly independent concert piece

inspired by a fi lm. Helsingin Sanomat 13.10.

A successful investment by the RSO culminating in

a way that is spectacular to say the least. The score

is fearlessly melodic, rich in timbres and where nec-

Puumala and SibeliusThe Sibelius melodramas with a modern work by Veli-Matti Puumala in between them made an unusual pro-

gramme in which compositions born of two diff erent worlds complemented one another. Puumala convinced

me already four years ago with his Memorial Fragment. Keskipohjanmaa 22.9.

Veli-Matti Puumala: Rime

World premiere: Ostrobothnian ChO/Tuomas Hannikainen, 20.9.2013 Kokkola, Finland

Ostrobothnian

Chamber

Orchestra

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ami H

elen

ius

Focus on Lars KarlssonKarlsson knows how to handle a choir in an artful

and fi rmly polyphonic way… Jaguaren is a wild work

building up to a combustive and primitive witches’

dance. The surprise at the concert was the magnifi -

cent soloist Kristian Lindroos in the powerful, brood-

ingly ecstatic Pär Lagerkvist song cycle. The two

freshly refi ned chamber works, Arioso and Koralmeta-

morfoser, brought out Karlsson’s softly lyrical side.

Helsingin Sanomat 10.11.

Lars Karlsson: Åländsk symfoni, Tre motetter, Koral-

metamorfoser, Arioso, Seven Songs to Texts by Pär

Lagerkvist

Jubilate/Timo Nuoranne, Akademen/Kari Turunen, Wegelius Chamber

Strings/Arturo Alvardo, etc., 8.11.2013 Helsinki, Finland

Phot

o: M

aarit

Kyt

öhar

ju/M

usic

Fin

land

Lars Karlsson

Martin Fröst

Phot

o: M

ats B

äcke

r

Diversity and beautyThe world of sound seems to be as diversifi ed and

beautiful for Kortekangas as nature itself. The work ir-

radiates various delicate moments in diff erent shades.

The music proceeds naturally from classical to jazzy

and even to Negro-spiritual expression, yet without

being any patchwork quilt… Sowing the Seed is a

magnifi cent kaleidoscope of notes, words and tim-

bres. Aamulehti 15.9.

Olli Kortekangas: Seven Songs for Planet Earth

Finnish premiere: Tampere PO, Tampere Philharmonic Choir/Jani Sivén,

sol. Tuija Knihtilä, Aarne Pelkonen, 13.9.2013 Tampere, Finland

Pettersson x 2 in NorrköpingHere [Symphony No. 16] in the myriads of ideas and

impulses there are more often glimpses of jazz and

playfulness than of gloom and harshness, and a warm

melancholy at the end where Jörgen Pettersson´s fer-

vent tone is supported by soft strings… It [Symphony

No. 4] is swarming with exquisite details of orchestra-

tion, dexterity, and the technique behind the perfor-

mance is impressive. Folkbladet 6.11.

Allan Pettersson: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 16

Norrköping SO/Christian Lindberg, 31.10.2013 Norrköping, Sweden

Swedish clarinet showFröst showed off in this work that was

specially written for him: from swelling

crescendi to magnifi cent glissandi and

vocal/playing passages. It put on display

his whole gamut of technical skill. But

mere virtuosity does not make a concert.

It was the masterly fusion of the solo in-

strument and the ensemble that made it

“Concert Fantastique”… with its at times

expressionistic, at times seemingly mod-

ern sounds it made the “Première Rapso-

die” for clarinet and orchestra by Claude

Debussy, with all its impressionistic tone

painting, seem almost colourless by com-

parison. Der Bund 12.10.

Rolf Martinsson: Concert Fantastique

Swiss premiere: Berne SO/Rumon Gamba, sol. Martin

Fröst, 10.10.2013 Berne, Switzerland

Work by Heiniö the highlight of a

choral discMikko Heiniö’s 18-minute Maria Suite is the highlight

of the disc… Heiniö, 65, is 20 years younger than Eino-

juhani Rautavaara but has much in common with his

older colleague, not least an interest in language…

The esoteric, dissonant harmonies and the slow tem-

pos evoke also associations with Rautavaara…

Åbo Underrättelser 23.10.

Mikko Heiniö: Maria Suite, for mixed choir

CD: Key Ensemble/Teemu Honkanen (Fuga 9351)

essary decorated in folk style, lyrically sensitive or

dramatically expressive – whatever the moment

demands. Hufvudstadsbladet 13.10.

Kimmo Hakola: Music for the silent fi lm

Tukkijoella

World premiere: Finnish RSO/Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 11.10.2013

Helsinki, Finland

A refi ned riot of

colour by MelartinA consummate work and

exceedingly delicate music.

And with what fi re

and glow was it

performed!

Hufvudstadsbladet

17.11.

Erkki Melartin: Traumgesicht

Finnish RSO/Hannu Lintu,

14.11.2013 Helsinki Finland Erkki Melartin

VOCAL

TINA ANDERSSONLove’s Philosophy

for eight-part mixed choir a cappella

Text: Percy B. Shelley (Eng)GE 12287

 

ULRIKA EMANUELSSONRösten ur mörkret sjunger

for mixed choir a cappella

Text: Göran Sonnevi (Swe)GE 12255

 

CHRISTIAN ENGQVISTIt Is so Peaceful here Now

for mixed choir or male choir a cappella

Text: the composer (Eng)GE 12199 (SATB)

GE 12293 (TTBB)

 

STAFFAN LINDBERG ARRVittskövlevisan

for mixed choir or male choir and piano

Text: Trad. (Swe)GE 12288 (SATB)

GE 12290 (TTBB)

Staff ansvisa från Orust

for mixed choir or male choir and piano

Text: Trad. (Swe)GE 12289 (SATB)

GE 12291 (TTBB)

LEEVI MADETOJAKootut yksinlaulut ja duetot 1-2

(Solo Songs and Duets 1-2) FG 9790-55009-000-2 & 55009-001-9

ORCHESTRA & CHAMBER

N E W P U B L I C AT I O N S

KALEVI AHOSymphony No. 15, Double Bass Concerto, Minea

Lahti SO/Osmo Vänskä, Jaakko Kuusisto, Dima Slobodeniouk,

sol. Eero Munter, double bassBIS-SACD-1866

MIKKO HEINIÖMaria Suite

Key Ensemble/Teemu HonkanenFuga 9351

ALLAN PETTERSSONSymphony No. 9

Norrköping SO/Christian Lindberg

DVD included: Vox Humana, TV documentary (1973-78)BIS-2038

EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA Notturno e Danza

Erkki Palola, violin & Teppo Koivisto, pianoPilfi nk JJVCD-124 (”Refl ections”)

ALBERT SCHNELZERApollonian Dances

Hugo Ticciati, violin, Henrik Måwe, pianoOrchid Classics ORC 100038 (“Sonic Philosophy: Colour and Aff ect”)

EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARAFour Romances from the opera

Rasputin/ Neljä romanssia oopperasta

Rasputin

for mixed choir

Text: the composer (Eng/Fin)FG 9790-55011-148-6

Neljä laulua Aleksis Kiven runoihin

(Four Songs to Poems by Aleksis Kivi)

for male choir

Text: Aleksis Kivi (Fin)FG 979-0-55011-158-5

KARIN REHNQVISTVärldsklockan

for mixed choir and violoncello

Text: Harry Martinson (Swe)GE 12252

 

SVENDAVID SANDSTRÖMThe Half-fi nished Heaven

for six-part mixed choir a cappella

Text: Tomas Tranströmer (Eng)GE 12356

 

FREDRIK SIXTENMagnifi cat & Nunc dimittis

for mixed choir and organ

Text: Luke I and Luke II (Lat)GE 12304

 

EVERT TAUBE/ARR: ROBERT SUNDFragancia

for mixed choir or male choir and piano

Text: the composer (Swe)GE 12249 (SATB)

GE 12250 (TTBB)

Gehrmans Musikförlag AB

Box 42026, SE-126 12 Stockholm, Sweden

Tel. +46 8 610 06 00 • Fax +46 8 610 06 27

www.gehrmans.se • info@gehrmans.se

Hire: hire@gehrmans.se

Web shop: www.gehrmans.se

Sales: sales@gehrmans.se

Fennica Gehrman Oy Ab

PO Box 158, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland

Tel. +358 10 3871 220 • Fax +358 10 3871 221

www.fennicagehrman.fi • info@fennicagehrman.fi

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Sales: kvtilaus@kirjavalitys.fi (dealers)

For further information about our works or representatives worldwide check our web sites or contact us at:

INSTRUMENTAL

ANDERS ELIASSONTrio d’archi – Ahnungen

for string trioGE 12262 (score and parts)

EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARACon spirito di Kuhmo

for violin and celloFG 9790-55009-945-6

MIRJAM TALLYBirds and Shadows

Concertino for violin and string orchestraGE 12311 (score)

EDUARD TUBINComplete works volume XXII – Quartets

Piano Quartet in C sharp minor, String

Quartet, Elegy for two violins and two

violoncellosGE 12251 (scores and parts)

JOHAN ULLÉNLady Macbeth

for mezzo-soprano and chamber

orchestra

Text: William Shakespeare (Eng)12357 (study score)

TOMMI KÄRKKÄINENTener tenebrum 1 & 2

for guitarFG 9790-55011-159-2

It Is so Peaceful here NowLyrics and music

Version forMixed choir a cappella

Love’s Philosophy

Mixed choir a cappella

Staffan Lindberg

Vit t sköv lev i sanför manskör

VärldsklockanSATB, violoncell

The Half-finished HeavenText: Tomas Tranströmer

Mixed choir a cappella

N E W C D s

ARJA

SUORSARANNANMÄKIColour Keys

The Piano ABC, Book A

A new, inspiring tutor

for small piano players.FG 9790-55011-155-4