This new double-album by pianist Lars Vogt, violinist Christian Tetzlaff and cellist Tanja Tetzlaff includes some of Franz Schubert's greatest works of chamber music, including his Piano Trios and the Arpeggione Sonata in breath-taking interpretations. Pianist Lars Vogt tragically passed away on September 5, 2022 due to a serious illness before this album of Schubert’s chamber music was released. This album stands as a testament of his outstanding chamber musicianship together with his long-time chamber music partners Christian Tetzlaff and Tanja Tetzlaff. “If not much time remains, then it’s a worthy farewell. - - Incomprehensible. Such expression. Such fragility, such love.”

REVIEWS:

These are studio recordings made in separate sessions in 2021. Everything one could want in Schubert’s Piano Trios is present: rhythmic buoyancy, beautiful phrasing, united ensemble playing that still leaves room for individual voices, and inner joy in the music-making. There’s also the ineffable feeling of sympathy among three friends who feel free to be themselves without departing from the wholeness of a performance.

-- Fanfare

These 2020–2021 recordings containing the complete extant works for piano trio of Franz Schubert and featuring the well-known trio of cellist Tanja Tetzlaff, pianist Lars Vogt, and Tanja’s brother, violinist Christian Tetzlaff, are being released at this time partly in memory of Vogt’s untimely passing in September of last year. The recollections of both Tetzlaffs and their dignified expressions of sorrow for the loss of a longtime friend and collaborator who will certainly be very difficult to replace as the piano voice of the trio are most eloquent and moving.

In two well-filled CDs we are given all the music Schubert is known to have written for piano, violin and cello, including Piano Trios No. 1 in B-flat, D898 (Op. 99) and No. 2 in E-flat Major, D929 (Op. 100), the indescribably lovely Notturno in E-flat, D897, which was originally intended as the slow movement of Trio No. 1; a “Rondo brillant” in B Minor. D895; and a fine arrangement for cello and piano of the “Arpeggione” Sonata in A Minor, D821. The last-named gave new viability to a richly textured work originally written for a hybrid instrument that was soon considered strictly from Vaudeville and vanished from the musical scene.

All these works receive a stamp of excellence for the artistry Vogt and the Tetzlaffs apply here.

-- Audio Video Club of Atlanta (Phil Muse)

Arturs Maskats (b. 1957) is an award-winning Latvian composer who has been at the center of Latvian cultural life for decades, especially in the field of theater and opera. Besides operas, incidental music and film music, his catalogue of works includes several orchestral works and concertos, songs and choral works. Maskats’ compositions are tonal, often romantic and cinematic, and marked by deep atmosphere. One of Maskats’ latest creations in the field orchestral music is his Accordion Concerto (2021) here performed by his fellow Latvian, star-accordionist Ksenija Sidorova, one of the brightest names in classical music today. His Tango (2002) for symphony orchestra is Maskats’ internationally most well-known and one of the most often performed orchestral pieces of Latvian music.

REVIEW:

A wonderfully diverse collection of music from this contemporary Latvian composer whose work spans a number of different musical fields. The spirited Tango (2002) pairs well with the very recent Accordion Concerto “What the wind told the sea” and is followed by a further two pieces, Cantus Diatonicus (1982) and the extended My river runs to thee from 2019. All of this music was new to me and very enjoyable.

-- Lark Reviews (Stephen Page)

Finnish composer Lotta Wennäkoski (b. 1970) is one of Finland’s most distinguished composers of the last two decades. The most consistent feature in Wennäkoski’s music is its rich palette of tonal colour, not restricted to musical pitches but also incorporating noise as required. Her expression ranges from sensitive lyricism to forceful outbursts. Her output is wideranging, including orchestral music, vocal works, chamber music and solo pieces. This second album of her music on Ondine includes Wennäkoski’s international breakthrough work, Flounce (2017) from the BBC Last Night of the Proms performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and its new chief conductor Nicholas Collon. Premiered in 2022, Wennäkoski’s Harp Concerto Sigla was written for harpist Sivan Magen.

REVIEWS:

Lotta Wennäkoski (b. 1970) is one of Finland’s most distinguished composers of the last two decades. The most consistent feature in Wennäkoski’s music is its rich palette of tonal colour, not restricted to musical pitches but also incorporating noise as required. Her expression ranges from sensitive lyricism to forceful outbursts. Her output is wide-ranging, including orchestral music, vocal works, chamber music and solo pieces. This second album of her music on Ondine includes Wennäkoski’s international breakthrough work, Flounce (2017) from the BBC Last Night of the Proms performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and its new chief conductor Nicholas Collon. Premiered in 2022, Wennäkoski’s Harp Concerto Sigla was written for harpist Sivan Magen.

-- Records International

After recordings of Beethoven’s complete symphonies; two Ravel albums; one Rautavaara album; and the award-winning album ‘Americascapes’; Robert Treviño now turns his focus on the symphonic poems by Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936).Together with the Orchestra Nazionale Sinfonica della RAI; Robert Treviño presents the composer’s famous Roman Trilogy; an exciting orchestral masterpiece culminating in the triumphant Pines of Rome.

Respighi's fascination with the Eternal City is nowhere better expressed than in the three symphonic poems that make up the so-called Roman Trilogy. He had rarely taken on works of such proportions and his most recent large-scale orchestral work, the Sinfonia Drammatica, dating from 1914, still reveals the lasting influence of Brahms and Franck. But just one year later, he finally shook off the shackles of late 19th-century Romanticism, and offered a first glimpse of the remarkable use of color that would soon become a hallmark of his orchestral writing.

REVIEW:

Respighi’s three tone poems, collectively known as the “Roman Trilogy,” have been popular since their premieres, and there is no shortage of recordings. However, here is one that is worth consideration from a rising conductor and a major orchestra that is not recorded as often as it ought to be. This is absolutely infectious fun, and the performances are fully in the spirit of these evergreen favorites. Here is a release that will make one remember what it was they loved about this music in the first place.

-- AllMusic,com (James Manheim)

The early death of award-winning pianist and conductor Lars Vogt on September 5, 2022 shocked profoundly the international music world. Some 16 months earlier, already aware of his diagnosis and in the middle of his treatment sessions, the artist had an urgent desire to record a Mozart piano concerto album together with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris. He believed that performing these fantastic works that he so much admired would also be the best medicine for his condition. For this Mozart album Lars Vogt coupled two concertos: the early, exuberant Piano Concerto No. 9, nicknamed ‘Jeunehomme’ and written by Mozart in his early 20s; together with the melancholic and nostalgic Piano Concerto No. 24, which is considered by many to be Mozart’s greatest piano concerto – a perfect closure to Vogt’s final concerto album.

REVIEWS:

The slow movements, deeply felt, inevitably emerge with extra poignancy, but elsewhere Vogt revels in Mozart’s playful wit. The album is a fitting memorial to Vogt’s musicianship, courage and humanity.

-- The Times of London

Vogt was particularly distinguished by his remarkable interpretations of Brahms which earned him numerous laudatory reviews. Former musical director of the Paris Chamber Orchestra, with whom he collaborated for the last time on this disc, he also assumed the role of professor at the prestigious Hochschule für Musik in Hanover. Despite being diagnosed with cancer in 2021, he decided to immerse himself in recording Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos. 9 and 24 with unwavering determination. This is reminiscent of the context in which the Requiem in D minor was written, which, according to some accounts, was composed in anticipation of the Austrian composer's own funeral.

As for Vogt, he unfortunately never had the opportunity to hear the finished disc. From his entrance [in Concerto no. 9], Lars Vogt uses a slightly shy sound, dictated by a delicate restraint, thus creating an intimate atmosphere conducive to the sonic development of the piece. A form of mutual respect between musicians and conductor emerges, at the same time creating a virtuous circle which, through the minutes that pass, gradually contributes to strengthening the emotional depth of the interpretation.

What follows is one of the most painful pages that Mozart has written, the opening of the second movement of this concerto. Tragically reflecting the condition in which Vogt found himself, the first chords in C minor resonate like a death knell, the darkest and most poignant moment of this record. Finally, after a clarification brought by the modulation in E flat major, this concerto closes with a rondo overflowing with hope.

The Piano Concerto No. 24, completed in 1786 in Vienna, is introduced by an orchestral overture lasting more than two minutes which, it should be noted, is performed masterfully by the Paris Chamber Orchestra. Directed by Vogt himself, together they succeed in perfectly capturing the overall dramatic color of this work, thereby creating the most favorable terrain for the musical development of the solo that follows. By breaking through the silence left by the orchestra, Vogt transports us, while reassuring us with his simple and charming playing. The second movement, for its part, does not seem to deviate from the very essence of this disc, namely unequaled finesse.

The soft moments are played like a caress on the keyboard, evoking emotions which unfold with a more than captivating sweetness. Each note seems to be enveloped in a veil of tenderness, creating a significant intimate atmosphere. Finally, this concerto closes with a lively allegretto in apotheosis which brings a final touch of vitality to the whole work. Despite his state of health, Lars Vogt leaves us with this record a testimony of perseverance and unwavering optimism. He succeeds with flying colors in captivating us in the space of an hour while ultimately retracing a life journey. A touching album to discover this September.

-- Crescendo

This new album by the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra and Aapo Häkkinen together with the Audi Jugendchorakademie and bassoonist Jani Sunnarborg featuring late works by composer Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775–1838) makes an important addition to the recordings of Nordic Classical period works and of early Finnish music. Highlight of the album is the world première recording of Crusell’s Viking-themed ‘The Last Warrior’ (Den sista kämpen) from 1834, the composer’s last large-scale composition.

Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (1963)
1. Hitaat ja karseat hautajaisvalssit / Grim and Glacial Funeral Waltzes 5:23

Hannu Pohjannoro (1963)
Carmen de Sole / Song of the Sun
2. Prologium (1:43)
3. I (2:49)
4. II (2:36)
7:08

Riikka Talvitie (1970)
5. Tulen värinä / The Flicker of Fire 6:11

Uljas Pulkkis (1975)
6. Zer Zauberlehrling / The Sorcerer's Apprentice 9:27

Joji Yuasa (1929)
Four Seasons from Basho's Haiku
7. I (2:24)
8. II (2:17)
9. III (2:29)
10. IV (1:40)
8:50

Lars Karlsson (1953)
11. Body of a Woman 5:23

Erik Bergman (1911)
12. Svanbild / Swan Image 2:58

Seppo Pohjola (1965)
13. Hommage á Schubert 4:08

Mikko Heiniö (1948)
14. Tomumieli / Mind of Dust 6:22

[ 57:10 ]

YL Male Voice Choir
Petri Bäckström, tenor
Matti Hyökki, conductor

REVIEWS:

John Corigliano's Second Symphony won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize, not that most listeners will care or should care. It's an arrangement for string orchestra of the 1996 String Quartet, a work in five-movement arch form similar to Bartók's Fourth Quartet, in which related pairs of movements balance on either side of a central "night music" fulcrum. As might be expected from a composer acknowledged for his brilliant orchestration, this arrangement is no mere transcription; instead it takes advantage of the full resources of the modern string orchestra and ranges stylistically from the exquisite melody that opens the final Postlude to the avant-garde atmospherics of the opening and central Night Music. This isn't easy music to take by any means, but it is extremely well written and consistently engaging in a dark and gloomy sort of way. The fourth movement, an intriguing lopsided fugue, is especially imaginative.

With The Mannheim Rocket we're on more familiar ground, and the sparks really fly. This "collage" piece takes us on an orchestral ride through musical history, with references to a multitude of famous German composers, including Mozart and Wagner, all seamlessly integrated into a highly colored orchestral fabric. It's great fun and it comes as something of a relief after the intensity of the Second Symphony. A great deal of that intensity comes from the excellent performances by the Helsinki Philharmonic under John Storgards. Although this orchestra is not well-known for its string section, recent recordings under Segerstam (Sibelius) and now this new one reveal an amazing richness and body to the sound, to say nothing of virtuosity in what must be very difficult music. Ondine's sonics do the musicians proud as well, being exceptionally lifelike and offering a drop-dead silent backdrop to the Symphony's frequent moments of extreme quietude. Challenging music, perhaps, but a challenge met with complete confidence and success.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

John Corigliano has enjoyed one of the most successful careers of any American composer of his generation. Now in his mid sixties, he began more than 40 years ago as a talented scion of the Barber-Bernstein axis, producing works characterized by ingratiating showmanship and lyrical warmth. But that was during the 1960s, when accessible lyricism could relegate one to the American aesthetic equivalent of Siberia. Not temperamentally suited to an impoverished life spent beating his head against the wall in the name of artistic “truth,” Corigliano assessed the musical climate and calculated how he might turn his talents to profitable use. What he arrived at during the mid 1970s was an unabashed eclecticism: rather than renounce the neo-Romanticism that was his birthright, he surrounded it with virtually every new compositional “ism,” including extended instrumental usages, aleatoric techniques, atonality, exotic multiculturalism, quotations from earlier music, surrealistic soundscapes of the sort associated with György Ligeti and Jacob Druckman, and, later, touches of minimalism. This placed him within the movement Druckman termed “The New Romanticism,” referring to those composers who felt that the innovative techniques that emerged after WW II needed to be placed in the service of poetic or expressive aesthetic objectives. While the term “New Romanticism” never really took hold, the approach itself has proven to be one of the more fruitful compositional movements of the late 20th century, and includes most of those figures who are neither die-hard serialists, die-hard traditionalists, minimalists, or explorers of the more recent postmodern tributaries. It is probably safe to say that Corigliano stands today as the most celebrated exponent of this approach, having earned the most prestigious awards and commissions available to the American composer, even including an Academy Award for his soundtrack to the film The Red Violin.

Initially, Corigliano’s work in this vein was characterized by a sort of manic “kitchen-sinkism,” with incongruous elements of all kinds thrown together to produce dazzling entertainment spectacles that flattered the audience’s desire to appreciate “new music” relatively painlessly. But during the course of the past 30 years or so, he has matured as a creative artist, and seems in his recent major works to be aiming toward deeper levels of expression. This is not to suggest that Corigliano has joined those composers for whom music is a revelation of one’s “inner heart and soul”; rather, he is one of those who prefer to present a “show,” and probably always will be. But some of his recent “shows” have been more serious in their aesthetic content.

These reflections are prompted by this remarkable new release: a Finnish production devoted to first recordings of two of Corigliano’s most recent compositions, in performances by the Helsinki Philharmonic, conducted by John Storgårds, who has been active throughout Scandinavia as a violinist as well as conductor. As I listened to these two pieces, the Symphony No. 2 (2000) and The Mannheim Rocket (2001), it occurred to me that Corigliano’s approach has moved toward that pursued by Dominick Argento, who uses music to develop “concepts” rather than to bare his “heart and soul.” In fact, although it is a third again as long, Corigliano’s Symphony No. 2 is remarkably similar in impact to Argento’s In Praise of Music (1977). Both works are designed to illustrate intriguing concepts, both fulfill them with remarkable ingenuity and in a way that is clearly perceptible to the attentive listener, while both produce a sense of satisfaction that is more intellectual—though aesthetic—than visceral.

Corigliano’s Symphony No. 2, winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize, was first performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Seiji Ozawa. Comprising five substantial movements lasting some 45 minutes, it is a revision and adaptation for string orchestra of his 1996 String Quartet. The first movement begins in near inaudibility, as disparate threads of sound eerily coalesce into cluster textures, then achieve a sense of concord, before gradually dwindling away. The second movement is a dissonant scherzo in which wild, slashing gestures surround a “trio” passage of gentle serenity. The third movement, a mysterious and terrifying nocturne inspired by a night in Morocco, is the lengthiest and most impressive movement of the work. This is followed by a most unlikely fugue, relatively active, but not contrapuntal in the conventional sense, and quite dissonant. It, too, achieves repose in a central oasis. The final movement begins darkly, with some microtonal textures, and builds to a climax of intense severity before subsiding into mystery, ending the symphony as it began.

Despite the evocativeness of the concepts on which the work is based and the imaginativeness of the musical treatment, the symphony is quite demanding of the listener, largely because of the long duration and slow rate of activity of each movement and the nearly complete absence of tonal melodic contours and regular rhythmic pulse. In fact, knowing the way Corigliano offers his work in multiple packagings, I suspect that at least some of these movements—especially the central Nocturne—will be authorized for individual performance. Indeed, they may be more effective in such short doses than joined together in full-length form.

Corigliano composed The Mannheim Rocket for the National Theater Orchestra of Mannheim. The title refers to the familiar device developed by the early symphonic composers who flourished in Mannheim, Germany, during the 18th century, whereby a movement is launched by a theme in rapid ascent (e.g., the fourth movement of Mozart’s 40th Symphony). However, Corigliano joins this musical meaning with a more literal, yet fanciful, concept, suggesting a space vehicle gradually ascending through musical history until it reaches a timeless ether before making its inevitable descent. Corigliano fulfills this intriguing notion through an ingenious application of evocative imagery combined with the cleverest and most effective use of quotation-collage I can recall having heard. The result suggests such pieces as Honegger’s Pacific 231 and Villa-Lobos’s Little Train of the Caipira, but in 2001 style. The listener who takes the trouble to understand and follow the program as it plays out will be rewarded by a brilliant 10-minute tour-de-force of pictorial orchestral imagery. Both works are performed with the astounding proficiency and polish we have come to expect from the major—and some of the minor—Finnish orchestras. The sound quality of the recording is notably superb

--Walter Simmons, Fanfare

Sibelius, J.: Early Chamber Music, Vol. 2 - Suite / Adagio /

PEKKA KUUSISTO AND THE LUOMU PLAYERS: Folk Trip

1. Minä laulan sun iltasi tähtihin 1:37
2. Onnelliset 3:29
3. Akselin ja Elinan häävalssi 3:24
4. Sulle kauneimmat lauluni laulan 4:03
5. Äideistä parhain 2:51
6. Ständchen 4:29

Tre sånger om kärleken
7. Spanande kretsar (1:35)
8. Tillbedjan (1:02)
9. Så skall vår kärlek dröja (2:02)
4:39

10. Uudelleen jos luokses tulla voisin 3:33
11. Mikset mua huomaa 2:06
12. Aamun satama 5:10
13. Sinua, sinua rakastan 3:29
14. Armi 4:14
15. Ramona 3:45
16. Tunturisatu 3:28
17. Jos vielä oot vapaa 3:45

[ 55:11 ]

Sulle kauneimmat lauluni laulan

Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat
YL Male Voice Choir
Matti Hyökki, johtaja • conductor
Matti Salminen, basso • bass (4, 10)
Tuomas Katajala, tenori • tenor & Kristian Attila, piano (6)
Jouni Kannisto, tenori • tenor (14)

Kvartetti • Quartet Tom Lindqvist, Jussi Salovaara, Timo Mannonen, Tuukka Haapaniemi (11)
Lauluyhtye • Vocal Ensemble Talla (12)
Christoffer Sundqvist, klarinetti • clarinet (2)
Riitta Paakki Trio (4, 14, 17)

Triple Feature.

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

MOZART JUBILEUM - COLLECTION

Sibelius, J.: 10 Little Pieces / 2 Serenades / The Tempest /