FRANCK: PIANO QUINTET, SOLO DE

Fascinating and the singing and playing throughout is riveting.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky has with roughly ten-year-intervals recorded Mussorgsky’s unfinished song-cycle Songs and Dances of Death. In January 1993 he set it down with the Kirov Orchestra under Gergiev in the Shostakovich orchestration, in August 2004 he sang the same version with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic under Temirkanov in Albert Hall at a Proms concert. This was coupled with Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances while the earlier version had a number of Russian opera arias. On the present disc he has returned to Mussorgsky’s original with piano accompaniment.

Hvorostovsky has retained his magnificent dark-tinted baritone in wonderful shape and it is a pleasure to listen to him more than twenty years after his sensational victory at the Cardiff “Singer of the World”-competition in 1989. It is possible that the tone has darkened slightly but there are no signs of wear so far. It could also be argued that his interpretations are even deeper than before but again this is marginal - he was a deep-probing singer also in his relative youth. The Lullaby is masterly, the Serenade has all those important nuances that make you listen with extra closeness, the Trepak is invested with violent frenzy and The Field Marshal crowns the cycle impressively, not least thanks to his superb articulation. His regular accompanist is a worthy partner - the ‘accompaniment’ is just as important as the singing and Ivari Ilja finds so many colours that one doesn’t miss the orchestra.

This song-cycle is very often the centre-piece of any recital where it is performed, but on this disc the surroundings are almost equals. Tchaikovsky’s Six Songs Op. 73 belong among his last compositions, only followed by his Pathétique symphony and his third piano concerto. They are mature works, not too frequently heard, I’m afraid, but they are masterpieces and though they are not strictly speaking a song-cycle there is a unity about them that is very telling. The texts by Daniel Rathaus (or Ratgauz) had all been written the year before Tchaikovsky set them. They are nature poems in, mostly, dark colours and melancholy moods. Whether there is a premonition of death here is another matter. Rathaus lived until 1937 and was only 24 when he wrote them, but the overriding atmosphere in the music has similarities to the Pathétique which, according to some opinions, Tchaikovsky wrote anticipating his own imminent death. The songs are not all gloomy on the surface - the fourth song, The sun has set, breathes optimism in the final lines: I am madly happy, oh, my beautiful friend / Unendingly happy in this night with you! but the music says something else. The same goes for the passionate In the midst of gloomy days, where the poet exclaims: And again my desire to live glows with passion / To breathe as one with you, to love you! The final song Again, as before is an anguished farewell: My friend, please, pray to God for me, / Since I am already praying for you. It is soft and inward and Hvorostovsky sings it with immense beauty.

Sergei Taneyev is probably the least known of the three composers represented on this disc but his music is not infrequently heard today. He studied composition with Tchaikovsky and left a quite substantial oeuvre including four symphonies, lots of chamber music - there are eleven string quartets for a start. He regarded his opera Oresteia as his masterpiece - it is being performed at Bard Summerscape this year thanks to the enlightened Leon Botstein amd the Bard grandees (Ed.). There are more than sixty songs. The six songs recorded here are charming with a Minuet that is rather Haydnesque, a Not the wind from on high with a lovely melody in ¾ time, a thrilling Winter path with a virtuoso accompaniment, the strange Stalactites with a very special accompaniment where one hears the water drops falling. A remarkable composition! As an encore we hear the powerful and dramatic Anxiously beats the heart.

After Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky these songs may seem lightweight but they are certainly fascinating and the singing and playing throughout is riveting. A disc not only for lovers of Russian music.

-- Göran Forsling, MusicWeb International

Finnish baritone Gabriel Suovanen is featured on his début recording with popular Finnish Lied repertoire from the 19th and 20h century.

This new album’s title piece, Passion according to St Luke, is a 30-minute work in eight movements which was completed by composer Eriks Esenvalds in 2014. Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds (b. 1977) is one of the top composers of vocal music, and one of the foremost Latvian composers of this generation. This album features works composed by Esenvalds from 2006 until now. Prior recordings by the Latvian Radio Choir have been extremely well-received. Their recording of Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil was chosen as Editor’s Choice, Record of the Month, and received a nomination in the Gramophone awards.

ENGLUND, HEININEN: VIOLIN SONA

1. Le Bicot (Argentinian polka) 2:51
2. Notturno 1:56
3. Napolilainen serenadi (Neapolitan Serenade) 3:30
4. La Paloma 3:12
5. Polkka (Polka - Les Vendredis) 5:05
6. Chanson triste 3:17
7. Ken kaihon tuntee (None but the longing heart) 3:25
8. Syncopation 1:44
9. Allegretto vivo e scherzando 3:57
10. Affenliebe (Down in Jungle Town) 3:52
11. Tambourin Chinois 4:08
12. Poème 2:30
13. Pouppée Valsante 2:54
14. Cavatine 4:22
15. Des Negers Traum 7:52
16. Melodie-Elegie 2:30
17. Serenata 3:43
18. Valssi menneiltä ajoilta (Waltz from days gone by) 3:10

[ 65:24 ]

Kerava Quartet
Teppo Koivisto, piano
Jorma Härkönen, double bass

FINNISH ORCHESTRAL FAVOURITES

Finnish composer Bernhard Crusell (1775-1838) was clarinetist in Stockholm's opera orchestra, a position he held for more than 40 years, during which time his chosen instrument experienced much development and refinement-- beginning with simple a two-keyed instrument and evolving to the 11-key model in use at the time of his death. (The Albert and Böhm clarinets would come much later). It's probable that Crusell was one of the first clarinetists to play with the reed resting on the lower lip, resulting in the full, warm sound we associate with instrument today. Crusell studied composition with Berton and Goessec, and his travels brought him into contact with Mendelssohn, Weber, and Meyerbeer. His compositional output included chamber music, opera, and concert works, including these 3 Concertos for clarinet and orchestra.

With solo writing that was advanced for its time, Crusell's concertos show a good deal more imagination and virtuosity than Mozart's. Lyrical singing lines characterize the E-flat concerto, and you can almost imagine a coloratura soprano taking the clarinet's place. The B-flat concerto is in the French style patterned after Kreutzer, and features a lively march in the first movement and an Alla polacca finale, popular among the Parisians. The Concerto in F minor, the most mature of the group, is distinguished by its highly evolved thematic development and deeply felt emotional expression, especially in the beautiful Andante pastorale.

Kari Kriikku is a stunningly assured clarinetist, and plays these remarkable pieces with irresistible flair, joyful abandon, and flawless musicianship. Conductor Sakari Oramo gives special attention to the brilliantly written orchestral parts, expertly and enthusiastically performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony. Ondine's recording provides an ideal and realistic balance between soloist and orchestra, but adds a touch of hall resonance that slightly colors the sound. Nonetheless, this recording is a must for lovers of the clarinet and concertos.

-- Victor Carr Jr., ClassicsToday.com

Performance: *****
Sound: *****

Soile Isokoski is not only the Nordic vocal flavour of the year, but the latest in an ever-lengthening roll-call of voices, such as those of von Otter, Mattila and Karnéus, to champion Nordic, and specifically Finnish, Golden Age song. This engaging recital explores settings of great Finnish poets such as Eino Leino and VA Koskenniemi by composers such as Merikanto and Kilpinen, and the lesser-known Ilmari and Väinö Hannikainen, and Heino Kaski. Merikanto has pride of place: although Isokoski offers eloquent performances of 11 of his 150 songs, it’s the broader wingspan of Mattila’s soprano which does real justice to this most ecstatic and grandiloquent of National Romantics. But Isokoski’s silvery, sentient soprano comes into its own in the songs of Merikanto’s successor, Yrjö Kilpinen. She relishes the idiosyncratic and graphically expressive melodies of songs like ‘From the Shore’ every bit as much as the simplicity of a mournful lyric from the ‘Kanteletar’ folk anthology. And her accompanist Marita Viitasalo thrills to Kilpinen’s ever-varied piano-writing. The steady pulse of nature is recreated in the songs of the Hannikainen brothers. Isokoski’s soprano takes wing over broad expanses of water in Kaski’s miniatures, and offers a glimpse into the patriotically archaic in two stage ballads from the author of the Finnish National Anthem, Fredrik Pacius.

-- BBC Music Magazine

National anthems of the EU Member States in the original languages.

Tracks:
1. Maamme (Finland)
2. A Portugueza (Portugal)
3. La Marseillaise (France)
4. Du gamla, du fria (Sweden)
5. La Brabanconne (Belgium)
6. Marcha Granadera (Spain)
7. Der er et yndigt land (Denmark)
8. Hymnos is tin eleftherian (Greece)
9. Fratelli d'Italia (Italy)
10. Amhran na bhFiann (Ireland)
11. Wilhelmus (Netherlands)
12. Ons Heemecht (Luxembourg)
13. God save the Queen (United Kingdom)
14. Osterreichische Bundeshymne (attrib. to Mozart) (Austria)
15. Das Lied der Deutschen (Germany)
16. Freude schoner Gotterfunken (Europa-Hymne)

Enescu, G.: Violin Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3

An album of Joseph Haydn’s (1732–1809) eight delightful early keyboard sonatas by Tuija Hakkila performed on two fortepianos. The current consensus is that there are about 60 surviving authentic Piano Sonatas by Haydn, while contemporary sources point to as many as 80. The earliest of these probably date from Haydn’s youth in the 1750s; the last one was completed in summer 1795. Some of the lost Sonatas are works that Haydn simply gave away as a young man, and they have never been heard of since. In mid-18th-century Vienna music was mainly distributed in the form of manuscript copies made by copyists. Haydn did not publish his first collection of six Sonatas until 1774. Of the Sonatas selected for this project, Haydn wrote all of these over a period of about 15 years before his 40th birthday.

Hakkila has selected an Italian-style instrument for two Sonatas (E major and G minor), a copy of a Gottfried Silbermann fortepiano. J. S. Bach probably owned a Silbermann fortepiano. The hammer mechanism in the instrument resembles that of the early instruments of Italian instrument builders Bartolomeo Cristofori and Giovanni Ferrini. In six Sonatas (G major, A major, A flat major, D major, E minor and C minor) Hakkila uses her own original 1790s instrument, a five-octave Viennese fortepiano similar to the ones built by Anton Walter. The maker of this instrument is unknown, but it is known that it was sold to Finland in the early 19th century by the Bureau de Musique in Leipzig, a company owned by composer Franz Anton Hoffmeister, who was an acquaintance of Haydn’s.

REVIEW:

Hakkila is a gifted player, alert to the nuance and quicksilver changes of Haydn’s mercurial style. Nothing is forced but no eccentricity is left behind, either. Her playing is technically accomplished and interpretatively alert, and one hears the steady progress of Haydn’s inventiveness and spirit of adventure throughout the set.

– Gramophone

Includes work(s) by Howard Hanson, Ture Rangström, Aram Khachaturian, Sergei Prokofiev, various composers. Ensemble: Helsinki Philharmonic. Conductor: Leif Segerstam.

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)

Includes work(s) by Anton Diabelli. Soloists: Juoko Mansnerus, Petteri Salomaa, Mikael Helasvuo, Jukka Savijoki.