Estonian composer Arvo Part’s timeless music has touched listeners for decades. He is one of the most performed living composers. This new release features eight choral pieces which were written between 1988 and 2012. These works feature some of Part’s finest vocal writing, especially in the three-movement Triodion and the seven-movement Sieben Magnificat-Antiphonen. Part is famous for his tintinnabuli style, which he took on after distancing himself from his earlier writing which utilized neo-classicism, serialism, and polystylism. Of his style, Part once wrote, “I could compare my music to white light which contains all colors. Only a prism can divide the colors and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener.” The Latvian Radio Choir’s prior releases for Ondone have garnered them critical acclaim. Their recording of Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil received the Record of the Month, Editor’s Choice, and was a nominee for the Gramophone Awards in 2013.

Debussy, C.: Preludes, Book 1 / Ravel, M.: Sonatine / Jeux D

PROKOFIEV: PIANO SONATA 5 & 6

Choral Concert: Finnish Radio Chamber Choir - Early Finnish

SOCIETY OF FINNISH COMPOSERS 5

"Rautavaara's First Symphony has often been revised, from a four-movement original, down to two movements, and back up to the present three, which, as the composer notes, provides a more balanced sequence than previously. It was written when Prokofiev and Shostakovich were major influences, but with the passing of time the lyricism of the first movement now seems fully characteristic of Rautavaara. Adagio Celeste is yet another example (there are many in Rautavaara) of how music based on a 12-note theme can still be very beautiful and approachable. In this regard he recalls Swiss composer Frank Martin. It's a lovely work scored for small orchestra (the "string orchestra" designation on the tray card is incorrect). Once again the performances of this work and the symphony are all that anyone could ask, and the sonics, whether in stereo or multichannel formats, are fully up to the quality of the interpretations. A knockout, not to be missed!"

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
Review of original release, Ondine 1064

"The Seventh Symphony’s opening Tranquillo evokes a calm though powerful atmosphere, with many Sibelian points of reference – most especially in terms of the flute writing at 5'45'' and, a little later, in recognizable echoes of the Largo fourth movement from Sibelius’s Fourth Symphony. The disruptive second movement leads to a Come un sogno third that suggests, at least initially, Cantus arcticus without the birds, whereas the closing Pesante-cantabile is more in line with the symphonic world of Alan Hovhaness, especially in its opening moments. The Angel idea originates in a series that already includes a number of other works (Angels and Visitations and Angel of Dusk, for instance), the reference being (as the composer himself explains) to “an archetype, one of mankind’s oldest traditions and perennial companions”. This Jungian axis is reflected in monolithic chords, ethereal harmonic computations (invariably broad and high-reaching) and an unselfconscious mode of musical development. Readers schooled in the more contemplative works of Gorecki, Part and Tavener will likely respond to this spatially generous essay, though Rautavaara’s language is more a celebration of nature and her works than of any specific religious ritual."

-- Gramophone, 6/1996
Review of original release, Ondine 869


"I had the pleasure of witnessing the New York premiere of the Eighth Symphony, a work that despite much that is lovely, struck me as a bit short-winded in the slow movement and texturally undifferentiated in the finale. Hearing this new recording convinces me that this impression stemmed largely from Wolfgang Sawallisch's monochromatic interpretation. In Leif Segerstam's hands the piece now has the necessary range of contrast: he shapes the soaring lyrical lines of the first movement into large, coherent paragraphs (listen to how effortlessly the climax about eight minutes into the first movement blossoms forth), then blasts through the scherzo with virtuosic abandon, lets the gorgeous yet brief slow movement really breathe, and finds more coloristic variety in the grandly imposing finale than the live performance ever suggested. Subtitled "The Journey", the work does indeed move purposefully from the mysterious murmuring of its opening to its triumphant conclusion, and makes a worthy successor to the already famous "Angel of Light" Seventh Symphony.

Ondine's Rautavaara series has revealed to music lovers one marvelous work after another, and with each new release Rautavaara's stature as one of the greatest composers working today only increases. It's hard to think of another figure whose every new piece so rewards the attentive listener while at the same time uncompromisingly proclaims the author's unique musical voice. If you haven't had the chance to get to know the music of this exceptional creative spirit, the present release, magnificently performed and recorded, offers an ideal place to start."

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
Review of original release, Ondine 978

Includes aria(s) by various composers. Ensemble: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductors: Kari Tikka, Hanna Bister, Okko Kamu. Soloists: Pekka Nuotio, Jorma Hynninen.

REVIEW:

American Record Guide (11-12/97, p.259) - "...[This collection] shows us a dramatic tenor with a strong high register; his high C, for example in `La donna e mobile' and `Di quella pira' would be the envy of any of today's tenors....His voice in the Italian arias...is quite pleasing, strong, and secure, though it lacked lyrical feeling and flexibility in `E lucevan le stelle'..."

Piano Recital: Raekallio, Matti - LISZT, F. / FRIEDMAN, I. /

Segerstam, L.: Symphony No. 18 in One Thought / Epitaph No.

Ponce, M: Sonatina Meridional / Tema Variado Y Final / Guita

Conductor Robert Trevino’s new album release on Ondine – after a successful debut with a complete Beethoven symphony cycle – features six orchestral pieces by Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), one of the most famous Basque composers, played by the Basque National Orchestra. Born in a small town in France very close to the Spanish border, Ravel spent most of his life in Paris. However, he was extremely proud of his Basque background having absorbed himself to the culture already as a child, and many elements of Basque music can be found in his compositions. In this historic release, we can finally hear Ravel’s orchestral music being interpreted by Basque musicians in the form of the Basque National Orchestra. These performances on some of the most fantastic orchestral scores of the 20th Century also shed light to the Basque influences in Ravel’s music.

REVIEW:

This is one terrific album! Put aside your expectations of how Ravel’s music should sound based on prior experience of it as played by world-class orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic (Boulez), Concertgebouw (Haitink), Boston Symphony (Ozawa), London Symphony (Abbado), or Montreal Symphony (Dutoit). Only the French National under Martinon offers a unique and distinctive (i.e. “French”) sound, but even that ensemble boasts a polished refinement that is far and away different from the wonderfully rustic timbres of the Basque National Orchestra.

Under the direction of conductor Robert Trevino, this band from San Sebastián in the Basque Country (which straddles the border between France and Spain) conjures an exotic affect most apparent in Ravel’s Spanish-influenced works, particularly in Rapsodie espagnole: the dream-state of the opening Prélude à la nuit rightly seduces here, while the closing Feria delightfully invokes a castanet-playing flamenco dancer. In Trevino’s hands Alborada del gracioso evokes the orchestra-sized guitar Ravel envisioned.

But it’s not only the overtly Spanish-styled works that succeed in this collection; Trevino and his forces also ideally capture the plangent tones of Pavane pour une infante défunte, as well as the luxurious delirium of La valse. Even Boléro holds the attention here, as the Basque musicians play with a freshness that belies the work’s warhorse status. Trevino’s powerful reading of Ravel’s early and rarely programmed Une barque sur l’océan is a welcome bonus.

Ondine’s vivid, wide-ranging recording draws you directly into the performances, making this release a must-have for seasoned Ravelians and newcomers alike.

– ClassicsToday.com (10/10; Victor Carr Jr.)

Schubert, F.: Piano Sonata No. 21 / 16 German Dances

Cellist Wilhelmina Smith’s second album release on Ondine continues exploring contemporary Nordic repertoire for solo cello. In her new album Smith has focus on Danish contemporary composers, Per Nørgård (b. 1932) and Poul Ruders (b. 1949). Both Nørgård and Ruders are known for their large-scale orchestral works. Nørgård, in particular, is known for his eight symphonies and has been hailed by many as one of the greatest living symphonists. It is therefore intriguing to look closer to his two very early lyrical solo cello sonatas, early masterpieces written just before completing his 1st Symphony. In 1980, the composer revised his second sonata by adding an extensive second movement, almost an entirely new sonata, to the existing work. Nørgård’s 3rd sonata “What – Is the Word!” from 1999 is a short “Sonata breve” that takes its title from a quote by Irish playwriter Samuel Beckett. Another major Danish composer of our times, Poul Ruders (b. 1949), has also written 5 symphonies alongside several concertos and three operas. Ruders wrote his 10-movement Bravourstudien in 1976, just at the brink of a major stylistic change. This work is a set of variations on a Medieval folk tune “L’homme armé”. In this work, however, the original theme is heard at the very end of the work.

"The Nielsen is idiomatically played—poetic, cultured and slightly reserved, just as the composer visualized it. The accompaniment, too, is far more carefully shaped than we sometimes hear... [I]n terms of clarity, precision and poise the performances, like the recordings, are hard to fault." -- Gramophone [11/1993]

REVIEW:

On the face of it, it makes good sense to group these three relatively early works by Schnittke together on one disc, and the documentary interest of the issue is enhanced by the fact that both sonatas are dedicated to Mark Lubotsky. The downside is that Schnittke is rarely at his best in these pieces, and the recording allows the piano too great a degree of rather harsh prominence.

The First Sonata (1963), which documents Schnittke's emergence from the cocoon of conformity to a style that owes much to Shostakovich, and its wide range of reference, from serialism to Latin American rhythms, is now less striking than the skill with which Schnittke shapes the third movement's gradually intensifying melodic line. In the Second Sonata (1968), again, it is the growth of continuity out of fragmentation that impresses, giving the single-movement structure a substance it would otherwise lack. Even so, the sonata is more a manifesto of defiance than a fully realized proposal for a new musical order. It is to the credit of both performers that they don't try to oversell the music's aura of iconoclasm, though a recording more favorable to the violin would have done these well-considered accounts greater justice.

Schnittke concocted his Suite in the old style (1972) from various film scores. It would be unduly censorious to complain of the composer's self-indulgence in music as charming as this, and in any case a more sinister note enters the final ''Pantomime''. Here, at least, the authentically alarming later Schnittke briefly stands revealed.

-- Arnold Whittall, Gramophone [4/1994]