Final volume in the first-ever complete recorded cycle of symphonies by Talivaldis Keninš (1919–2008), one of the most prominent post-WW2 composers in Latvia and Canada. This album includes three of the composer’s eight numbered symphonies performed by the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra under Andris Poga.

Although born in Latvia, Keninš lived most of his life as an exile. He was educated in Paris, where he studied under Tony Aubin and Olivier Messiaen, and won several awards. Keninš emigrated to Canada in 1951 and became a respected pedagogue and a very influential figure in Canada’s music life. Alongside his eight symphonies, the composer also wrote 12 concertos. However, he also included many concertante elements in his symphonies and the Symphony No. 2, “Sinfonia concertante” (1967), scored for three wind instruments and symphony orchestra, is very close to a triple concerto. The symphony’s extensive second movement is based on a lullaby of the Mi’kmaq First Nations people. Symphony No. 3 (1970) was completed few years after its predecessor and is a step forward in the composer’s journey as a symphonist. Here we encounter the idea of a lyrical hero, which, in the ears of the listener, could be personified. Although many consider Kenins’ 8th Symphony to be his symphonic climax, the 7th Symphony (1980) is by no means a lesser work: it could be even considered as one of the composer’s most personal and intimate creations. The symphony ends with an aria based on a text by the composer’s father and the atmosphere of the work seems to stem from the composer’s emotional trauma on the occupation of his native Latvia by the Soviet troops.

REVIEW:

Ķeniņš composed his first symphony when he was forty and almost a decade elapsed before he turned to the genre again. However, his Symphony No 2 “Sinfonia concertante” does not strictly adhere to any symphonic mould. That the composer had a trio of wind instruments as some sort of a concertino tends to show that he was not completely sure of how to tackle that form again. This also shows is the lay-out of the piece, i.e three movements of strongly contrasting character as well as weight. In fact, the whole weight of the symphony lies in the long central movement whereas the brief opening Lento and the equally brief final Molto animato e marcato merely function as a prelude and epilogue of some sort. Moreover, the central Molto moderato: Tema e variazioni is twice as long as the two other movements put together. The weighty central movement is cast as a theme and variations on a lullaby of the Mi’kmaq First Nations people which the composer also used in his Suite in D major for organ. Anyone interested in what the Mi’kmaq First Nations people may be referred to Wikipedia for it all seems a rather long story. The variation movement of the Second Symphony is an impressive piece of music in which Kenins’ contrapuntal mastery is already fully displayed.

The Symphony No 3 is Ķeniņš’ first large-scale work for large symphony orchestra and again the composer demonstrates his assurance in his handling of form and counterpoint. The central movement Lento inquieto, though shorter than that of the Second Symphony, is again the emotional heart of the piece but it is nevertheless counterbalanced by two outer movements of fairly equal length but of quite different character. Georgs Pelēcis is quoted in Orets Silabriedis’ excellent notes as saying that “Kenins rejects seemingly essential symphony ingredients, such as the sonata form. That does not appear in any of the three movements … only one main theme is developed in each movement, and they are all interrelated. The unifying element is the rich chromatic intonations …”. The Third Symphony is clearly a work by a composer in full command of his aims and means, which shows in the way that the composer handles polyphony – an essential component of his music making. The first and second movements end with uncertainty, preparing for what is to follow, but the final movement Molto animato e brioso ends with an assertive gesture. As Silabriedis puts it: “I am responsible for everything that I have said and done”. (Incidentally, one might be reminded of RVW, whose Fourth Symphony also ends abruptly with a fist banging on a table and a door brutally slammed.

The Symphony No 7 “Symphony in the form of a Passacaglia” is scored for large orchestra and a mezzo-soprano in the final aria. Half the duration of the piece is purely orchestral and cast as a fully developed Passacaglia capped, so to say, by a short Allegro molto before the final aria for mezzo-soprano on a poem by the composer’s father, Atis Ķeniņš (1874–1961), who was also a statesman and one of the founders of the Republic of Latvia in 1919. The poem must have had a particularly personal resonance for the composer. “The mezzo-soprano solo links the composer more tightly with his family roots, expresses itself in more trusting and optimistic feelings; however, the unease in the harmonies and rhythm likely cannot hide the composer’s fears about out era. The concluding epilogue is like an Agnus Dei. The finale should express hope and faith, which stands over life’s troubles, soothing our darkest predictions, and suppressing our fears” (the composer’s words quoted in Silabriedis’ notes). The text, as translated in the booklet, may seem somewhat dated but has now acquired some new relevance in our troubled times and the symphony now carries a most welcome and needed appeal for peace. Nonetheless, Ķeniņš’ Seventh Symphony is quite an impressive piece of music in its own right and its “message” (if such there is) may be heard by any man of goodwill.

This final installment in Ondine’s Ķeniņš cycle has been carefully prepared and is as immaculately performed as the preceding ones. These are committed performances throughout, in excellent sound, up to Ondine’s best standards and Orests Silabriedis’ notes are excellent.

Ķeniņš’ symphonic cycle is on a par with other largely forgotten similar cycles that would probably have remained ignored or little known, were it not for brave and enterprising recording companies who have invested in similar projects. Examples that immediately come to mind are BIS’ recordings of Tubin’s symphonies and the hopefully ongoing Wordsworth cycle by Toccata. One cannot but hope that ventures such as these will encourage others to follow suit.

Ķeniņš’ music is too good to be ignored and these performances do it full justice; I am sure that they will play a part in securing his music its deserved status.

-- MusicWeb International

This new album by Lapland Chamber Orchestra conducted by John Storgårds is dedicated to works by one of the most exciting Finnish composers of her generation, Outi Tarkiainen (b. 1985). This album, first of its kind with Tarkiainen’s orchestral works, includes two works with mezzo-soprano Virpi Räisänen and saxophonist Jukka Perko as soloists. Tarkiainen has quickly risen to Finland’s contemporary music scene and her works have already been performed by the BBC Philharmonic (an orchestral work by her was premiered at the BBC Proms in 2019) and by several North American and Nordic symphony orchestras, including the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Tarkiainen has written several works that are strongly connected to the Northern landscape of Lapland and the culture of its Sámi habitants. The song cycle The Earth, Spring’s Daughter is based on texts by Sámi writers and also her saxophone concerto Saivo, is based on Sámi mythology.

REVIEW:

One of Finland’s major composers, Tarkiainen's sizeable Earth, Spring’s Daughter (2014) holds out a view of the way mankind took over planet earth, the story told in a Prologue and Epilogue - which uses the same material — separated by seven songs. Its style could be described as a ‘modern version of tonality’ that will fall agreeably on the ears of those versed in today’s musical world. The mezzo soloist, Virpi Raisanen, meets the music’s many demands and the spoken narrative well.

Composed in 2016, the concerto Saivo has a character much akin to the earlier score. Finnish saxophonist Jukka Perko, a musician best known in the jazz world, and for whom the work was written, coaxes out of his soprano sax horn a wide range of sounds, from smooth to the abrasive.

The Lapland orchestra, and their artistic director, John Storgards, are forceful advocates, while the recorded sound is superb.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

Ondine is pleased to announce a long-term recording collaboration with German violinist Christian Tetzlaff, internationally recognized as one of the leading soloists of his generation. The selection of these sonatas for piano and violin by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart demonstrate distinctly the composer's ingeniousness and show a wide range and strong ambiguity of emotions.

REVIEW:

This robust, energetic recording of the three Schumann sonatas follows the duo’s recording of Mozart sonatas, a recording that was honored both by Gramophone and by the BBC Music Magazine . In my collection, it joins the 2006 Schumann recording by Jennifer Koh and the recording of the first two sonatas by Gidon Kremer with Martha Argerich. It’s regrettable, but understandable, that Kremer and Argerich didn’t record the Third Sonata alongside the more favored first two. The Third Sonata was hidden from view for most of a century. It was Clara Schumann who not only expressed her disapproval of the Third Sonata, but suppressed it; it was published only in 1956.

What is odd about that is that she adored the first two sonatas. Schumann composed the first in five days in 1851. In her diary, Clara wrote that she couldn’t wait to play it: “I could not rest, I had to try Robert’s new sonata at once. We played it and felt especially moved by the very elegiac first movement and the lovely second movement.” She proclaimed the second “wonderfully original, with a depth and magnificence that I have hardly ever heard before.” Clara found the Second Sonata overwhelming. The Third Sonata was different: Schumann famously decided that he, Brahms, and Albert Dietrich should all write movements to present to the violinist Joseph Joachim. Only later did Schumann finish the piece. It’s still considered problematic. From its harsh opening on, it’s a temperamental work that sounds, according to this duo, easier to play than it is.

Tetzlaff and Vogt sound fully committed to Schumann’s lyricism, and occasional eccentricity. They play passionately, and with attention to the composer’s sometimes fleeting moods. They make as much out of the often whimsical sounding twists and turns of the music as does anyone. Tetzlaff has a full, rich, impassioned tone, and Vogt is equally forthright. Not everyone is a fan of the later Schumann compositions; I am ambivalent. But certainly they deserve the respectful, skilled, and musical performances we hear on this disc.

-- Fanfare: Michael Ullman

Hvorostovsky’s voice is perfectly weighted and his artistry honed by long experience sufficient to give these songs his finest interpretation.

Now in his fiftieth year, Dmitri Hvorostovsky has been singing internationally for almost a quarter of a century. It would be reasonable to expect some small signs of wear in his vibrant baritone. There is perhaps now a trace of roughness where before all was smooth, uninterrupted tone and the top can become decidedly a little rocky when he leans into the note but all in all his baritone remains in remarkably fine shape. The bottom notes are dark and resonant, the middle only a little grainy when he sings mezza voce (as at the end of no.5) and the top G’s continue to ring out thrillingly with only a hint of a flap. Any signs of stress are, in any case, hardly inappropriate in music as desperately passionate as this.

Perhaps it is too much to listen to the whole programme at one sitting, given that the preponderance of the music is so melancholy and soul-sifting in that famous Russian idiom. I don’t say that there is a lack of variety in the programme, especially when both singer and pianist interpret with such commitment and passion. Rachmaninov’s melodic gifts are in such evidence but over an hour of such intensity can be wearing. My favourite items so far are the mounting ecstasy of the second song, “Do you remember, the evening?”, the haunting “She is as beautiful as the moon”, opening with strummed arpeggios reminiscent of Schubert’s “Dioskuren” and continuing with melismata in a distinctly Polovtsian minor mode, and “In the silence of the mysterious night” climaxing with a magnificent G-flat and a long-breathed piano D to conclude. I also love the dignified restraint of no.6, so Russian with its rolling underlay and punctuating chords, building to a great cry of pain.

This is Hvorostovsky’s first recording on the Finnish Ondine label, with whom he has signed a long-term contract. Although he has recorded some of these songs before, his voice is now perfectly weighted and his artistry honed by long experience sufficient to give them his finest interpretation. It helps to have a native speaker intone texts by some of Russia’s greatest 19th century Romantic poets.

The recording is perfect; there is a lovely balance between the singing tone of the piano and the singer’s sonorous baritone. Estonian pianist Ivari Ilja is Hvorostovsky’s regular accompanist and plays wonderfully, with agogic freedom, shaded nuance and great variety of colour.

-- Ralph Moore, MusicWeb International

This CD features Finnish star soprano Soile Isokoski and her longstanding duo partner Marita Viitasalo, piano, with a selection of Lieder by Richard Strauss. Soile Isokoski is hailed as one of the finest singers in the world whose recordings have been praised as top-choice and garnered the highest distinctions at the BBC Music Magazine Awards, Gramophone Awards and MIDEM Classical Awards.

REVIEW:

It's the marvelous singing of Lilli Paasikivi, with her intelligence, penetrating insight, and richly rounded tone that fully captures the spirit of these works and makes them little gems that no Lieder enthusiast can afford to overlook. Ondine's warmly resonant, naturally balanced recording makes this important disc even more welcome. It's a "must-have".

It's not long into this disc before it becomes evident that Alma Mahler was a very different composer from her famous husband Gustav. Alma studied with Zemlinsky, whose influence (along with that of Hugo Wolf) shows most readily in her work--yet this is Alma's music through and through. Even before Mahler forbade her from composing once they were married, Alma displayed a distinctive voice, one steeped in 19th-century Romanticism (her father often sang Schumann lieder) as well as the musical currents of the new century. The first set of Five Songs comes from this early period, and right from the opening "Die stille Stadt" Alma's skill at word setting captivates, as does her ability to recreate in music each poem's unique emotional state. Of the five, "Bei dir ist es traut", with its recurring falling major second, is the only one that sounds remotely close to her husband's style.

After Gustav's death Alma again took up composition, and the following Four Songs reveal a new richness and poignancy in her writing as well as an expanded harmonic palette. "Licht in der Nacht"'s haunting atmosphere lingers after the song has ended, while "Anstrum"'s tonal waywardness displays Alma's awareness of modern musical developments. Alma's last set of Five Songs, published in 1924, is based on spiritual texts, emphasizing both their reverential (Hymne) and mystical (Hymne an die Nacht) themes.

The program concludes with two unpublished songs, "Leise Weht ein erstes Bluhn" and "Kennst du meine Nachte", both composed in a cultivated Romantic style that would indicate their belonging to Alma's earlier period. The impact of the music is no doubt enhanced by Jorma Panula's idiomatic and imaginative orchestrations, beautifully rendered by the Tampere Philharmonic.

--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

With this new release the award-winning Latvian Radio Choir together with its director Sigvards Klava are returning to contemporary music after a series of recordings of 19th Century sacred choral works. Ramon Humet’s (b. 1968) new choral work, "Llum" (Light), is a deep, spiritual journey to the gift of life, peace and love. Humet’s "Llum" was premiered by the Latvian Radio Choir under Sigvards Klava in Barcelona in March 2020, just at the outbreak of the global pandemic. This 7-movement work is based on spiritual texts and poems by Vicenç Santamaria, a monk from the monastery of Monserrat in Catalunya and close friend of the composer. This timeless work is radiating serene joy and ends with an ‘Alleluia’. In this first recording, the Latvian Radio Choir under Sigvards Klava are offering an impressive account of this new 21st Century choral work.

• With this release Ondine presents two dramatic works by Dmitri Shostakovich, The Execution of Stepan Razin and the Zoya Suite, coupled with his Suite on Finnish Themes.
• The Execution of Stepan Razin, premiered in Moscow in 1964, got a mixed reception. The execution scene and the final, tragic vision is simply spine-chilling: Stepan Razin’s bloody head rolls to the ground and bursts out laughing at the Tsar. Capturing rich intonations and melodies of the text, the bass soloist and the chorus engage in a multi-layered dialogue of this very theatrical work.

Featuring Midori, the NDR Symphony Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach, this release commemorates the anniversary of Hindemith's death 50 years ago. Midori is an extraordinary artist, a devoted and gifted educator and a community engagement activist. Her enthusiasm for playing music of different times is seen on her CDs and concert repertoire. This recording is her first for Ondine.

REVIEW:

"In 1915, just two years before the Russian Revolution, Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote the breathtaking All-Night Vigil, a high-water mark for Russian Orthodox choral music. But the work had a short shelf life as the Bolsheviks cracked down on religion. These days, recordings of the work abound, but this new version by the Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Klava is among the best. There's no orchestra, just voices, yet Rachmaninoff applies terrific coloristic and orchestral effects. In one section, sopranos ring out like tolling church bells. And here, listen for the rich, symphonic layering he gets with groups of voices shining like rays of light through stained glass." – Tom Huizenga, NPR Music

Classical Music

The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu presents Mahler’s Symphony Nr. 1 with the original 2nd movement Blumine restored which Mahler excised after a few performances of the symphony. To this day, there is much discussion of Mahler’s decision to drop this lovely movement with many theories attached to the discussion. Nonetheless this recording performs a valuable cultural service with its inclusion, especially in the hands of the very capable FRSO.

REVIEW:

This CD is something of a birthday present of Ondine to itself—one that’s well deserved, I think. I hadn’t come across Marius Constant’s orchestration of Gaspard de la nuit, undertaken in 1990, before this recording. André Thomas’s booklet notes explain that Constant (1925–2004) was “tormented by a youthful obsession” when he sat down to the task. “I further increased the challenge to myself by deliberately choosing a Ravel-like instrumentation (the orchestra of La valse, in fact). However, I used the orchestra in new combinations, attempting to broaden its range of sonorities (thus breaking in passing certain persistent taboos in orchestration).” Constant succeeded brilliantly, Christoph Eschenbach obviously taking a physical delight—as I did and you can—in the virtuoso washes of sound that fly through the orchestra. The three movements of Gaspard are prefaced by the Aloysius Betrand poems that inspired Ravel’s piano originals, read in sexy-schoolmistress French by Carole Bouquet. Of the four other Ravel orchestral works, it’s the Alborado del gracioso that really cooks: Eschenbach draws a swaggeringly exciting account from his Paris players, who are duly more decorous in Le tombeau de Couperin, the rarely heard Menuet antique, and the ubiquitous Pavane. Small wonder that the audience erupts at the end of the Alborado—but this is the first signal of their presence; you wouldn’t know until now that these are live recordings. Ondine presents a “bonus track”—Tzimon Barto playing “Ondine,” the first movement of Gaspard, in its original piano incarnation.

For Constant’s extraordinarily imaginative orchestral realization of Gaspard alone, this disc is worth the outlay (it’s in demonstration sound, too). But there’s a feel-good factor, too: everyone involved—the orchestra, the artists, the publishers, and Ondine, have forsworn a portion of their earnings from the disc in favor of the Musée Maurice Ravel, in his house in Monfort l’Amaury, west of Paris, “to aid in the restoration and maintenance of the museum.”

-- Martin Anderson, Fanfare

Classical Music