"She leads the score with grand sweep and understanding, and her Colorado forces bring out its colors vividly; moreover, she inspires her cast to sing as if they're having a great time with this no-longer-new but still odd opera."


Nonesuch's 1987 recording of this opera, produced when the work was new, was revelatory. Though clearly a piece of mimimalism, it did not rely only on endless repetition; indeed, Adams' musical language was varied enough to make Nixon in China a fascinating opera despite very little action and a somewhat unrevealing text by Alice Goodman. The Nixons and the events of the 1972 visit came across as oddly shallow. It's clear now that that was the point: Nixon's first-act rant, "News has a kind of mystery", is much the key to the opera.

It also seems wittier and more purposefully ironic now, with Kissinger's villainy almost overshadowed by his ladykilling; Pat Nixon's innocence almost charming (we've seen worse since); Madame Mao's berserk aria even more pointedly wacky and funny; and the contrast between Chou En-lai's philosophizing and Richard Nixon's simplemindedness clearer than ever. During the toasts in the third scene of the first act, Chou's toast, an eloquent paean to the future ("Our children race downhill unflustered into peace..."), is accompanied by even arpeggios; when Nixon's clichés take over ("a vote of thanks to one and all who made this possible"), we're jarred into paying attention to his mundanity by disconnected, disparate tones. It's masterly.

Each scene in the first act still strikes me as a few minutes too long, but Act 2, particularly with the spectacular and varied music for the surreal opera performance, is riveting. The frustrating last act is oblique in its dramatic thrust (it features personal reflections from all of the characters except, tellingly, Kissinger), but it is food for thought even if it is a dramatic anti-climax. It's a strange, quiet way to end an opera--but take it for what it is.

This new recording, taken from a live performance at Denver's Ellie Caulkins Opera House in June, 2008, is brilliant. It is sonically way ahead of the Nonesuch (which was recorded at a very low level), thus making it possible to understand almost every word, and Marin Alsop's tempos are slightly slower than Edo de Waart's, which also helps comprehension. She leads the score with grand sweep and understanding, and her Colorado forces bring out its colors vividly; moreover, she inspires her cast to sing as if they're having a great time with this no-longer-new but still odd opera.

Robert Orth's Nixon has just the right amount of self-parody that "playing" Nixon requires--the distance between 1987 and now is very long and we can sense ironies from our vantage point that we were blind to then. Maria Kanyova's Pat also seems more sympathetic while remaining as publicly simple as she always was, and Kanyova's voice and diction are splendid. Marc Heller handles Mao's high tessitura, sometimes bordering on madness, with great character and flavor. Chen-Ye Yuan's Chou is beautifully sung and he captures both the character's joylessness and intelligence. Thomas Hammons (also on the Nonesuch recording) uses his dark, growling bass to show us everything we need to know about the cynical Kissinger, and Tracy Dahl, as Madame Mao, is pretty frightening, even while delivering her Queen of the Night-like aria.

There's not much to decide between this set and the Nonesuch, which is still available. As mentioned, this new one is sonically superior (and cheaper), but otherwise it's pretty much a tie. Naxos, like Nonesuch, supplies a libretto; Nonesuch's booklet has superb essays and a better synopsis.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com (10/10!)

Augusta read thomas : Rhea enchanted (2016)For solo violaDuration: c. 5 minutesFormat: A4 loose sheetsAlso available for solo violin (NMP1035) and solo cello (NMP1037)Available on CD, NI6355“Although highly notated, precise, carefully structured, soundly proportioned, and while the musician is elegantly working from a nuanced, specific text, I like my music to have the feeling that it is organically being self-propelled – on the spot - as if we listeners are overhearing (capturing) an un-notated, deeply musical improvisation.” Augusta Read Thomas

Classical Music

The ‘My First’ album series from Naxos is the ideal springboard for a lifelong journey through classical music. Each selection is carefully tailored for younger listeners and includes famous tracks as well as unexpected gems. The booklet is full of information on every piece of music. Unique and imaginative, these CDs will open a door to a wonderful world that children and parents can discover together.

An orchestra has lots of different instruments producing lots of different sounds. Whether they’re playing on their own or all at the same time, it can be a tremendously exciting experience to listen to them. From Wagner’s grand ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ to Tchaikovsky’s gentle ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’, you can hear on this album how the character of an orchestra changes all the time!

Over the course of the last 15 years, David Lang and The Crossing, the Grammy-winning chamber choir conducted by Donald Nally, have crafted a body of work that stands apart from the rest for it's profound spiritual connection to our shared sense of humanity-through our stories, our myths, our beliefs, and our dreams. The sense of senses is a milestone that celebrates this connection, across time and space, to deliver a message that music can be a benevolent force for change if we only take the time to listen. "This album is a collection of works that capture the intimate side of The Crossing's relationship with David Lang," Nally explains. "Only two were written for us, yet the others reflect a shared world view, a common idea about sound and community, and a collective focus on our reason for singing. David's thoroughly considered thoughts on 'why we do this' have influenced The Crossing's perpetually reexamined thoughts on that question: how to communicate deep feelings, absent of ego."

This album captures the live premiere of a concert performance of the opera, marking it's first-ever recording. The work is based on the libretto of the 18th-century poet and monk, Pietro Metastasio. Azione sacra is a genre closely related to oratorio, but with a distinct emphasis on drama-this is not a static, contemplative work, but rather a mini-opera in two acts. The composer, Lukaszewski, draws partially from a Polish translation while also returning to the original text. He describes Joasza as a sacra rappresentazione, making it the second such work in his compositional legacy. Musically, Lukaszewski stays true to his own distinctive style, which is rooted in tonality and features a rich, varied texture-from intimate recitatives to powerful, dynamic choral segments. The work's intricate structure allows listeners to follow the plot through memorable musical motifs assigned to different characters and storylines. The choir plays a pivotal role, commenting on the action, while instrumental intermezzos add depth and emotional nuance. The recording features a stellar lineup of soloists, whose voices blend seamlessly with the dramatic intensity of the piece, creating an unforgettable listening experience.

The Queen of Instruments meets one of the international leading organists, Iveta Apkalna. The repertoire of the new album includes Vasks' "Viatore" and "Te Deum" as well as Part's famous "Spiegel i'm Spiegel", "Pari intervallo", "Trivium" and "Annum per annum". Two of the most important contemporary composers are united on one album, celebrating Part's 90th birthday in 2025 and Vasks' 80th birthday in 2026. Also a milestone in music history is captured on this release: it is the first ever solo organ recording made on the organ of the Ventspils Concert Hall "Latvija" - one of the most remarkable concert instruments in Norther Europe.

For his third solo album for Alpha, keyboard polyglot Anthony Romaniuk returns to the piano, exploring the seven modes: derived from the major scale, the basis of ancient Greek music but nowadays endemic in folk, jazz, and beyond, each one containing a world of character and mood. Starting with John Adams' Phrygian Gates, Romaniuk devised a programme comprising music by P�rt, Ligeti, Radiohead, and Bj�rk, with his own original compositions; arrangements of traditional Catalan and English/Scottish music; and improvisations. Continuing his search for a personal and original sound, Romaniuk uses two pianos, including a Klavins upright grand piano (from the collection of Nils Frahm), which, thanks to it's massive soundboard and four-metre-long bass strings, overwhelms the listener. The addition of various analogue and digital audio effects, together with innovative recording techniques, brings the listener into a unique sonic landscape, approaching that of a sound installation.

The award-winning vibraphonist Pascal Schumacher and the internationally acclaimed pianist Danae Dorken present their new album 'Glass Two' - an impressive musical homage to one of the most influential composers of our time: Philip Glass. Their unusual instrumentation for piano and vibraphone creates an unrivaled sound world that brings Glass' minimalist worksto life in a new and refreshing way. At the heart of the album are original interpretations of Glass' compositions, complemented by Schumacher's own works. These pieces, inspired by personalities who influenced the American composer, such as the poet Allen Ginsberg or the sculptor Richard Serra, form a unique fusion of two musical worlds. This fusion creates a profound and multifaceted, yet reduced and clear atmosphere. Pascal Schumacher and Danae Dorken impressively demonstrate that less is sometimes more: Their artfully crafted arrangements are characterised by a fascinating transparency that captures the essence of minimalist music. The result is a captivating listening experience that allows the colors and textures of Glass' works to shine in a new light and interact harmoniously with Schumacher's own compositions. The album will be released on the Neue Meister label on CD and vinyl on 8 November 2024 and is an indispensable discovery for all lovers of modern classical music. Immerse yourself in the soundscapes of 'Glass Two' and experience a musical journey that inspires both in it's reduction and diversity

The Queen of Instruments meets one of the world's leading organists, Iveta Apkalna. The repertoire of the new album includes Vasks' Viatore and Te Deum, as well as P�rt's famous Spiegel i'm Spiegel, Pari intervallo, Trivium, and Annum per annum. Two of the most important contemporary composers are united on one album, celebrating P�rt's 90th birthday in 2025 and Vasks' 80th birthday in 2026. Also captured on this release is a milestone in music history: it is the first-ever solo organ recording made on the organ of the Ventspils Concert Hall "Latvija"-one of the most remarkable concert instruments in Northern Europe.

The composer said Music can be defined as a series of proportions in the service of a divine impulse. A philosophy which is shared by composers from Bach to Camilleri, Machaut to Tavener, and which is certainly the ethos of Divine Art Records! While acknowledging the radical experiments of the 1960s and 1970s, Crumb's music became famous for it's instantly recognizable style, integrity and sense of mysticism, and an ability not to alienate audiences.

Lutoslawski was one of the great composers of the 20th century. Although he was imprisoned by the Nazis and subject to the whims of a communist government after the war, Lutoslawski's voice remained original and always provocative. This collection presents orchestral music and two song cycles from a period spanning nearly 50 years of the composer's long life.
Symphony No. 1 was written during the 1940s and is scored for a large orchestra augmented by battery of percussion instruments. The symphony is a work of shifting moods, animated by colorful orchestration. When the Communists took power in Poland they demanded that composers write music based on folk-songs. Lutoslawski's 'Silesian Triptych' written in 1951, meets the party's demands but rises above the genre with its sensitive vocal writing and genial Slavic flavor.
Olga Pasiecznik's warm soprano voice is perfect for the 'Silesian Triptych,' and she floats lovely pianissimo notes in the complex song cycle 'Chantefleurs et Chantefables.' The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra directed by Antoni Wit play this music with energy and technical proficiency.

Recorded in: All Saints' Church, Tooting, London 9-10 June 1992 Producer(s) Brian Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Ben Connellan (Assistant)

SONDHEIM Sweeney Todd • Ulf Schirmer, cond; Mark Stone ( Sweeney Todd ); Jane Henschel ( Mrs. Lovett ); Gregg Baker ( Anthony Hope ); Rebecca Bottone ( Johanna ); Jonathan Best ( Judge Turpin ); Adrian Dwyer ( Beadle Bamford ); Diana DiMarzio ( Beggar Woman ); Ronald Samm ( Pirelli ); Pascal Charbonneau ( Tobias ); Bavarian R Ch; Munich R O • BR 900316 (2 CDs: 123:59) Live: Munich 5/6/2012


Composer-librettist Stephen Sondheim maintains that Sweeney Todd is not an opera, and so does the annotator for the present release. Nevertheless, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (its full title), since it premiered on Broadway in 1979, has been revived by several opera companies, including the New York City Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, and the Chicago Lyric Opera. Why? Musically, it is highly sophisticated, and operatic voices are not wasted on it. Furthermore, with its larger-than-life dramatic themes, including mistaken identity, lust, vengeance, obsession, madness, and murder, how more operatic could a theatrical work be?


There have been several recordings of this work, including the unforgettable original cast recording on RCA with Len Cariou in the title role, and Angela Lansbury in the role of Mrs. Lovett, his cheerfully amoral partner in crime. That version will never be eclipsed, but each new recording adds a welcome new perspective. The one reviewed here, recorded in the Munich’s Prinzregententheater, is the most operatic yet, even more than the one with the New York Philharmonic which features singers such as Heidi Grant Murphy (Johanna), John Aler (Beadle Bamford), and Paul Plishka (Judge Turpin). This time around, we have legitimate operatic singers in all of the main roles; only DiMarzio appears not to be a “classical” musician per se. In other words, here we have an ensemble of acting singers, as opposed to singing actors such as Cariou, Lansbury, George Hearn, Patti LuPone, and Michael Cerveris, who all have made major contributions to this opera’s . . . I mean, musical’s performance history.


It turns out fairly well. I was immediately pulled in by Ulf Schirmer’s conducting, which is tense, taut, and stylish. In fact, you might not hear a better conducted Sweeney Todd anywhere. The Bavarian Radio Choir also adds much to the success of this performance. Although their diction is less clear than that of English-speaking ensembles who have recorded this music, their dramatic involvement is high, as is their musicianship.


This is an actual performance. Apparently the time, funds, or energy to correct the inevitable live lapses was unavailable, and thus we have oddities such as Henschel at one point rechristening Beadle Bamford as “Beadle Rumford.” A few memory lapses are covered professionally, but will leave those who know the show well asking, “What did (s)he just sing?” These issues are minor, though.


I’m more concerned about two other points. One is the lack of (black, very black) humor in this production. For example, I can’t understand why, in “A Little Priest,” the wonderfully uncomfortable pun about a meat pie made from a general (“With or without his privates?”) has been removed. This is a grim show, still there is much about it that can be very funny, and allowing it to be so makes the gore and horror even more effective. As the original Mrs. Lovett, Angela Lansbury was charming and endearing; she might bake you into a meat pie, but you couldn’t stay angry with her for long! Henschel can’t inspire that kind of affection, and she makes it clear that her murderous instincts were present even before opportunity allowed them to come out. The other thing that concerns me is the way in which some of the big dramatic moments are almost thrown away. Todd’s aborted murder of Judge Turpin (interrupted by Anthony’s untimely arrival) should be a big moment, but it isn’t. Similarly, soon after, in Todd’s “Epiphany,” we should feel his mind crack and his murderous rage insanely swell to encompass all of mankind, not just the Judge, but Mark Stone is not that fine an actor, the direction is too hurried, and one of the show’s most Brechtian moments doesn’t come off. The last segment of the show, with its string of murders and its Grand Guignol effects, moves forward jerkily, sometimes grinding to a halt, and sometimes not pausing long enough to make its points. On Broadway, Harold Prince would have fixed these miscalculations, but, at least as I am hearing them on CD, they were not addressed in Munich’s Prinzregententheater.


All of the singing itself is very fine. One curiosity is a baritone Anthony; Gregg Baker’s voice is darker than Mark Stone’s. Anthony is supposed to be an inexperienced sailor, newly arrived in London, and the early scenes between him and Todd feel strange, because the voice relationships have been inverted from the original production. I really missed hearing a tenor’s voice soar into “Johanna,” one of Sondheim’s most rapturous love songs. Also, the multinational cast presents a variety of accents. In 1979, Cariou had almost no accent at all, while Lansbury made the most of hers. Here, we have the reverse: a cockney Todd in Baker, and a Mrs. Lovett of no particular nationality or region in Henschel. Someday, there will be a production of this work in which everyone gets on the same page with dialects.


So, if you want an operatic Sweeney Todd , or a fresh look at it, this new recording will satisfy. It has many enjoyable moments, but a few unfortunate ones as well. If you do not know this show at all, however, the Broadway cast recording—still in print, thank goodness!—is the only place to begin. This show is one of the masterpieces of American musical theater, and absolutely needs to be heard.


FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle

Note: This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

br />
Also available on standard DVD

At one of her rare appearances with orchestra, Martha Argerich, the grande dame of the piano, joined forces with world-famous cellist Mischa Maisky and the fabulous Lucerne Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin – “Romantic Offering”, a double concerto for piano, cello and orchestra dedicated to its very first soloists. The programme was rounded off by late-Romantic masterpieces by César Franck, Antonín Dvo?ák and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony under the baton of renowned maestro Neeme Järvi.

“I’ve attempted to depict and highlight the most distinctive individual qualities of these two musicians … Romantic Offering should inspire new thoughts and experiences. Music isn’t only the product of experiment. It should move your soul and touch your heart.” Rodion Shchedrin

Recorded live at the Concert Hall of the Culture and Convention Center (KKL), Lucerne, 9–10 February 2011.

Bonus:
- Behind the Scenes of a world première with Rodion Shchedrin, Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky.

Picture format: 1080i Full-HD
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 112 mins (concert) + 17 mins (bonus)
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 25)

It would be difficult to find someone who did not recognize the themes from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Arguably one of the most performed pieces of classical music, it seems to have found its way into every corner of the world. This release titled 8 Seasons contains Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and also Astor Piazzolla’s Las Cuatro Estaciones Portenas. Piazzolla composed his Seasons between 1965 and 1969 for an ensemble comprised of violin, electric guitar, piano, double bass, and bandoneon. Fusing jazz, classical tradition, and Afro-Hispanic music, Piazzolla’s Seasons are an interesting compliment to Vivaldi’s.

The CD "Northern Lights" with violinist Kathrin ten Hagen, violist Itamar Ringel and the Folkwang Kammerorchester under the direction of Johannes Klumpp, presents works of Scandinavian and Baltic composers, in particular composers of the late Romantic and contemporary Modern periods. Featured are compositions by Ole Bull, Peteris Vasks, Kurt Atterberg, Anders Eliasson and Jean Sibelius. Consisting of sixteen youthful musicians, Essen, Germany’s Folkwang Kammerorchester, founded 1958, continues to earn acclaim through its festival performances throughout Europe and beyond.

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Adam’s Passion is the moving first collaboration between two “masters of slow motion who harmonize perfectly with each other” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). In the spectacular setting of a former submarine factory, American director and universal artist Robert Wilson creates a poetic visual world in which the mystical musical language of the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt can cast its meditative spell. Three of Pärt’s major works – Adam’s Lament, Tabula rasa, and Miserere, as well as Sequentia, a new work composed especially for this production – are brought together here using light, space, and movement to create a tightly-woven Gesamtkunstwerk in which the artistic visions of these two great artists mirror each other.

Arvo Pärt
ADAM’S PASSION

Lucinda Childs
Michael Theophanous
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
Tõnu Kaljuste, conductor

Robert Wilson, stage director, set and lighting designer

Recorded from Noblessner Foundry, Tallinn, 12 May 2015

Picture format: 1080i Full-HD
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Latin, Russian (orig. sung languages), German, English, French, Korean, Japanese
Running time: 94 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 25)

Krzysztof Penderecki is one of the world’s great contemporary composers and a Polish classical music icon. His 80th birthday in November 2013 occasioned an extraordinary gathering of the world's most significant musicians and his most important interpreters. Companions and long-time friends of the composer presented their homage to Penderecki with some of his most famous works being performed: Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, the Duo Concertante, the Concerto Grosso No. 1 and the unique Credo.

In WAM, British composer Michael Finnissy plays with various elements of "musical culture" - rearranging and re-contextualizing old "classics", writing chamber music without traditional synchronicity, and allowing performers the freedom to reorder their pages of music. Through this deconstruction of classical conventions, Finnissy creates music that is endlessly surprising and wide-ranging in it's emotional character.

Krzysztof Penderecki’s works for string instruments constitute a rather abundant group of compositions of different forms and genres. The selection presented on this release comprises concerto pieces created at various stages of Penderecki’s creative path. The Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra was established in 2007. The Orchestra’s mission is to bring together the most talented students and graduates of musical academies who are under thirty years of age. They are deeply convinced that an opportunity to cooperate with outstanding artists will inspire many talented musicians and make them more eager to continue to develop as artists, and the personal artistic responsibility of each musician will translate into shared responsibility for the shape and quality of the orchestra. They believe that the Polish Orchestra Sinfonia Iuventus will be perceived by young musicians not so much as an institution, but as a community of shared objectives.

Marimbist Fumito Nunoya has enjoyed international fame as one of the most in demand marimba players of our day. A native of Odate Japan, he is currently based out of Herford in Germany, where he teaches at the Academy of Music in Detmold. In addition to performing across Europe, he frequently gives concerts in the United States and Japan. For this release, he has chosen Astor Piazzolla's Tango Suite I-III, Tangata "Silfo y Ondina," and other well-known works by the tango master. Nunoya is joined for this recording by pianist Momoko Shano, fellow marimbist Hiroya Honda, and violinist Yuka Sato.

Helsinki–born Parisian Kaija Saariaho’s music sounds like little else, its kaleidoscopic magic evoking Debussy refracted into the twenty-first century. This album includes the ghostly Terra memoria for string orchestra, expanded from a chamber original for the Emerson String Quartet. The beautifully scored vocal suite from Emilie, a 2011 one-woman opera about pioneering eighteenth-century scientist Emilie du Châtelet, will appeal to those beguiled by Saariaho’s dazzling first opera, L’Amour de loin (the works share a librettist, too, French-Lebanese poet Amin Maalouf). One can’t imagine the high-flying vocal role’s originator, Finnish diva Karita Mattila, being much better than French soprano Karen Vourc’h is here, nor in the shimmering song cycle Quatre Instants, also written for Mattila.

– Bradley Bambarger, Listen Magazine

Ondine continues its long-term collaboration with Einojuhani Rautavaara, the Latvian Radio Choir, and Sigvards Klava by presenting the world premiere recording of Rautavaara’s Missa a cappella. Being praised by Gramophone as an outstanding body of singers, the Latvian Radio Choir is one of the top chamber choirs in Europe. This is the choir’s follow-up disc to their highly successful recording of Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil.

The magical world of Einojuhani Rautavaara is one that evokes other realms. Angels figure particularly heavily, especially those angels that deal with death and destruction. As Rautavaara himself says, “My angels are not those like in the altarpieces of Raphael...my angels are powerful.”

As well as with angels, many mystics have been preoccupied with the language of the birds (Messiaen in music, but think also of Saint Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds). One of the most popular Finnish works of recent years has been the Cantus arcticus, for prerecorded bird sounds and orchestra. It is a hugely impressive three-movement soundscape marked by a timeless feel and by beautiful, glowing lines. The taped birds could easily have sounded like a cheap effect, so it is telling that they emerge as an integral part of the work’s emotional vocabulary. Segerstam’s performance is excellent, as one would expect from this fine musician.

The very title Autumn Gardens seems to invite comparison with Takemitsu—all we need is a descending flock of the birds from the Cantus arcticus. It is certainly easy on the ear, so much so that the acerbic, percussive dissonances of the third movement of the First Piano Concerto come as something of a relief. Gothóni is an excellent pianist here; his way with some rhythms makes me suggest he has links to jazz. Back to pure atmosphere for the Clarinet Concerto, though—truly excellently played by Stoltzmann.

The second disc begins with an Adagio celeste for string orchestra. The strings of the Belgian National Orchestra play really sumptuously in this gently pulsating score; the much more abrasive Flute Concerto excerpt that follows (complete with agile low bassoon and menacing percussion) acts as a necessary corrective, although it is not long before it, too, shows its delicate side.

True and False Unicorn is a reminder of Rautavaara’s stature as a composer of choral works. The second movement, “Young Sagittarius,” is full of delightfully light rhythmic play, as is In the shade of the willow. Anadyomene , subtitled “Adoration of Aphrodite,” evokes more of a sense of the massive, using expansive, coloristic writing and including moments of real light.

The final work, Angels and Visitations , has a deliberately ambiguous title. “Visitations” may indeed refer to the Annunciation, but it may equally invoke something more sinister. Climaxes, therefore, tend towards the darkly hued. There are shades of Sibelius during the course of the piece, but Rautavaara transforms the material so that it glows in a most un-Sibelian way. This tense score (with its Pétrouchka -like mêlée of sounds) is one of the most impressive on either disc here, and is an apt way to close.

Although other companies are championing the Rautavaara cause, most notably Naxos, Ondine has a certain authority. Both sides of Rautavaara’s personality—the meltingly beautiful and the near violent—are given a chance to make their mark here.

-- Fanfare

Magnus Lindberg (b. 1958) is among the leading figures in today’s contemporary music internationally. This new release by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by its chief conductor Hannu Lintu includes world premiere recordings of two new works by Magnus Lindberg: orchestral work Tempus fugit and Violin Concerto No. 2, featuring Frank Peter Zimmermann as its soloist.

This release also celebrates the composer’s 60th anniversary. Violin Concerto No. 2, written for Frank Peter Zimmermann, was composed during Lindberg’s tenure as the composer-in-residence for the London Philharmonic Orchestra. This three-movement work represents well Lindberg’s late lush orchestral style and is reminiscent to the tradition of great romantic violin concertos of the past. The concerto has three movements played without a break, with a solo cadenza towards the end of the second movement. The music is at times lucid and bright and at times lusciously sonorous, and the soloist is called upon to display both fireworks and soaring melodic arcs.

Tempus fugit was commissioned by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and premiered at the gala concert for the centenary of Finland’s independence in Helsinki in 2017. Although the work has a strong positive and even lucid fundamental tone, the composer did not seek to write a traditional anniversary piece. Instead, he sought a new approach through means that he had first employed in the 1980s, going back to the harmonic studies that he had undertaken on computer, using the LISP programming language – the same that he had used when creating his first major orchestral work, Kraft (1983–85). The result, however, is quite different from his edgy, even aggressive, early works: Tempus fugit is a 30-minute orchestral work embracing an Impressionist brightness of color, melodic lines and a warm Romantic glow. The work is dedicated to Hannu Lintu.

Classical Music

Kalevi Aho needs little introduction to people familiar with the BIS label. He is, quite simply, the foremost Finnish composer of his generation as well as the most prolific. This is the ninth disc devoted exclusively to his music and he has contributed single works to numerous other CDs. Aho is unique among contemporary composers in his concern for the music of his immediate forebears and the first half of this disc consists of his homage to the composer Uno Klami (1900-1961). Klami's greatest work, the ballet score 'Whirls' (CD656), was unfinished when the composer died. He was intending to write the definitive Finish ballet based, as one would expect, on stories from Kalevala, the great poem of Finnish mythology that has inspired so much art in Finland. Kalevi Aho undertook to write the missing third act of this ballet so that the ballet could be performed in full and this was the origin of the 'Symphonic Dances' presented here. The second half of the disc comprises Aho's eleventh symphony. Several of Aho's previous symphonies have included a major part for a solo instrument. Here the 'solo' instrument consists of a huge battery of instruments performed by the six members of the Kroumata Percussion Ensemble! Once again Kalevi Aho displays his ability to get under the skin of an instrument and to communicate his insights in a musical language that is readily accessible.

Classical Music