SPECIALLY PRICED 4 DISC SET


This is as fine a Sibelius cycle as any available, and the performances of Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7, as well as the Violin Concerto, are uniformly top recommendations. All of the individual discs have been previously reviewed, and my only reservations (incidentally not shared by my colleague Victor Carr Jr, who covered the original release) concern Symphonies Nos. 2 and 6, particularly the latter, which strikes me as just a touch lacking in energy and directness. That doesn't mean the playing isn't very beautiful: indeed, it may be excessively so, and that takes some of the Sibelian edge off of the performance. Still, for the most part these are wonderful interpretations, and if you want a complete Sibelius cycle from top Finnish performers, then this set represents an obvious first choice, alongside Vänskä's very different and equally fine Lahti series on BIS. You simply can't go wrong either way.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

If you enjoy big, hairy, colorful, exuberant, generously overscored, quasi-tonal modern symphonies, than you'll love this ebullient example from Jouni Kaipainen. Written in three big movements, the piece contains an abundance of memorable (if not exactly "catchy") ideas, propelled by a wave of unstoppable rhythmic energy. Even the central slow movement tends to excitable outbursts, and the finale is a blaze of energy and excitement. The Bassoon Concerto successfully walks the fine line between tradition and modernity. There is real give and take between the soloist and the orchestra--the work is very skillfully balanced so that the orchestra never sounds inhibited, the bassoon never gets overwhelmed, and everyone seems to have a good time. A few more obviously tuneful moments might not have hurt, but let's face it, this is the 21st century and melody isn't what it used to be, whether in classical or popular music. This is a fine work by any standard. Excellent sonics match the enthusiasm of the performances. Great fun!

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.


Without question Peteris Vasks is one of the major composers active today. His Third Symphony does everything that a fine new work in the form should. It covers a wide range of moods, from sounds of nature and tranquil beauty, to rude energy and passionate anguish. It's effectively structured over its single-movement, 40-minute span, with plenty of contrast built in and many memorable thematic and gestural ideas along the way. It has a recognizably "Nordic" feel, especially in the luminous string writing and feeling of loneliness (or vastness, as you please) behind some of the harmony. Best of all, it's approachable on first hearing, but it never panders or preaches, remaining a classic example of elevated taste and sophisticated symphonic thought. What more could anyone possibly want?

The Cello Concerto is similarly well conceived, a satisfying "arch form" in which two outer "Cantus" movements enfold two toccatas, which in turn bracket a central "Monologhi". The writing for the soloist is very effective and exploits the full expressive potential of the instrument. The work was composed for Latvian cellist David Geringas, who recorded it with the Riga Philharmonic for Conifer. That performance was very good, perhaps a bit edgier in the two toccatas, but soloist Marko Ylönen has a more refulgent tone, and the Tampere Philharmonic plays with greater polish and warmth under John Storgards.

This orchestra actually commissioned the Third Symphony, and this, its premiere recording, also is splendid in every way, including the excellent SACD multichannel sonics. If you care at all about contemporary music then you will add this disc to your collection without delay. Vasks' music deserves the widest possible recognition by the international community, and it's very gratifying that Ondine is there to see that he gets it.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

A fine and epic Kullervo commanding its own place in a crowded field.

Segerstam’s Kullervo has an epic quality and one of extremes. We are not short of really fine Kullervo recordings: Spano on Telarc for one and Vänskä for another. This disc does not make the choice any easier. This is a big-boned expansive reading which takes time to make its points; extremely enjoyable it is too. It stands at the other extreme from Rasilainen but is three minutes short of the Colin Davis on BMG. There are times – and quite a few times - when this reads like a piloted deconstruction (not destruction, mark you) in slowed motion. It fascinates as it unfolds. While the numbered Sibelius symphonies can be quite vulnerable to damage from self-indulgence, Kullervo proves not just robust but resilient in its innate vitality. There are times when you think as you listen to this disc: this is just self-indulgent. Well, if it is, it certainly works.

There is so much to note; so much that makes you stop in your tracks before you are on to the next impression. In the first movement at 10.03 note the flute figure that unfolds for us to revel in. One can easily imagine Segerstam beaming with pleasure at that moment. The playing somehow exudes rather than springs out. At 5.58 in the same movement and as if to defy criticism the music has a vitally emphatic attack. In the second movement at 7:13 the stuttering brass figures are steadier, more indomitable, than usual. After two movements where Segerstam’s pacing errs on the slower side the third movement positively zips along. The choral singing is delivered with a stinging and thudding power. This can be heard for example at 6:59 where Kullervo – and Segerstam - must be at full gallop with horse mane and beard flying. For the first time I thought about how predictive this writing is of Nightride and Sunrise. There are butter-richer baritones than Tommi Hakala but he really makes his words tell. There is no rush, no acid and no fast-spitting delivery. Isokoski has less of an alto style than many of the females who have taken on this role. She reminded me of Berglund’s 1970s Luonnotar, Taru Valjakka; did Valjakka ever sing in Kullervo? In the tragic finale Segerstam and his orchestra lend the high violins a real sweetness in their mourning sobs (0:49). And the wraith of the galloping theme from the first movement can be heard at 2:30. Then at 6.10 another indelibly memorable coup when we hear that grumbling insistent pulse made to sound like half rumble-half moan.

I have not heard the original Segerstam Kullervo on Chandos CHAN9393. It’s worth noting though and not least because there Segerstam uses the same soprano, Soile Isokoski. On that occasion back in 1990 she was paired with Raimo Laukka (bar) as Kullervo. As with the rest of that series the forces are from Danish National Radio. A pity that Brilliant chose to omit it from their recent reissue. It would by some accounts have made the set stronger.

An epic Kullervo which commands its own place in a crowded and competitive field of fine recordings and performances.

-- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

Piano Recital: Gothoni, Ralf - MUSSORGSKY, M.P. / JANACEK, L

Leif Segerstam recorded a strangely mannered, soft-edged Sibelius cycle for Chandos a few years ago with the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, but his superb Sibelius recordings with the Helsinki Philharmonic (most notably a remarkable Four Legends) held out the promise that he could do better--and there's no question that he certainly has. These are magnificent performances, very different from Osmo Vänskä's stripped down, lean and mean approach. Rather, Segerstam takes a more traditional, Romantic view, but in knocking several minutes off his previous timings in the first symphony, and also a bit in the Seventh, he invests the music with the raw energy that it needs to make its most powerful impression.

Great recordings of the First Symphony remain strangely uncommon. Vänskä is terribly fast and his small string section doesn't really do justice to the work's richly scored lyrical moments (particularly in the slow movement and finale). Up to this point, the standout versions were Bernstein's (Sony), Ormandy's (Sony), Karajan's (EMI), and surprisingly Ashkenazy's (Decca). Segerstam certainly belongs in this elite company. He launches the first-movement Allegro with verve: bold brass and pounding timpani combine for a very impressive first-subject climax. Segerstam perfectly executes the transition to the second subject--and notice how effectively (at the end of the recapitulation) he judges the accelerando leading to the coda in slower tempo. So often this sounds mannered and pretentious, but Segerstam keeps enough momentum going so that the coda doesn't sound like an afterthought.

The principal theme of the slow movement opens with some tiny hesitations in its phrasing, giving it a demure character that it quickly sheds as the movement progresses. It's a lovely effect. Tight rhythms and excellent ensemble coordination typify the tricky scherzo, while the finale bids fair to be the most successful performance on disc. The allegro sections have all the necessary savagery, while the lyrical second subject has something of Ormandy's voluptuousness (plenty of harp) at no sacrifice in intensity. It's all of a piece in a movement that often comes across as patchy, and the final bars are remarkable: the brass rise up through the string textures like some terrifying musical monolith. In short, this is an unforgettable performance.

Segerstam's view of the Seventh is no less effective or cogent. The opening adagio features luminous string playing, and the arrival of the principal theme on the trombone has that special, easy nobility of utterance that Sibelius made uniquely his own. Segerstam takes his time over the long transition to the scurrying Prestissimo but invests the music with so much characteristic detail and color (without killing the momentum) that he never actually sounds slow. And once the music takes off, watch out! The entire pastoral interlude breezes by with the necessary athletic momentum, and as with the First Symphony the transitions are something special. Segerstam's keen ear and clarity of articulation invests the return to the tempo of the opening and its trombone theme, so often just a nebulous buzz of string tone, with a real sense of something important about to happen. The closing pages don't linger unnecessarily, while the final "Amen" offers solemnity without exaggeration. Both symphonies enjoy superbly clear, rich recorded sound. This is a major Sibelius event. Ondine has waited long before venturing into these oft-recorded waters, and the wait has been worth it.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.


This is a stunning disc. Rautavaara continues to operate at the peak of his form, despite suffering a serious heart attack in mid-composition of Book of Visions that kept him hospitalized for six months. It's a remarkable work in four movements (or "tales") lasting some 40 minutes. Each tale has a tantalizing title (Night, Fire, Love, and Fate) vague enough to leave the specifics to the listener's imagination, but full of musical possibilities that Rautavaara seizes with relish. You might call this new work a "Four Lemminkäinen Legends" for the new millennium, since as always that indefinable Finnish sensibility is quite audibly present but is always expressed in the composer's own personal idiom. The music is gorgeous: evocative, mysterious, luminously scored, and extremely well-crafted--and it practically goes without saying that dedicatee Mikko Franck does a spectacular job conducting this premiere. This is a major statement, make no mistake.

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

First, a confession: I have always found Magnus Lindberg a hard nut to crack. His music is full of incident, he has a fastidious ear for sonority, and as composers go he is a virtuoso; but there is an aggressive edge to his work?as there is also with Birtwistle?which can sometimes make for a harsh, grating result. Lindberg?s music is dense and uncompromising: never dull? it?s far too clever for that?but rarely light-hearted or delicate either. His Clarinet Concerto of 2002 is a good example of the pros and cons of his work. Written for the amazing musician Kari Krikku, with whom he has often collaborated, it covers as wide a range of instrumental techniques as you (or Lindberg) could possibly imagine. The Concerto begins with a limpid Debussy-like figure from the soloist, who is soon joined by glistening strings and rhapsodic orchestral woodwinds; no doubt about it, the opening is gorgeous. Before too long, however, the ear tires (well, mine does) of the soloist?s rapid scales, piercing stratospheric tones, extreme register jumps, and split-reed growls. It is the contemporary equivalent of those 19th­-century piano concertos with their dense passages of virtuosity for its own sake; only the greatest composers managed to make music out of them. From moment to moment, this concerto is absorbing, but the argument constantly seems to be interrupted by banal pyrotechnics. Lindberg wrote the concerto expressly to showcase the talents of Krikku, but in my opinion he could have stepped back a little to see the bigger picture. The orchestral writing is highly polished?in no way do I wish to suggest there is anything second-hand about this music?and the performances from everyone here, not least the clarinetist, are phenomenal. The notes tell us the work falls into five sections, and that it has a ?dramaturgical? layout. I can?t hear any of that: to me, the form seems random, wandering from one episode or texture to another. A chorale from the soloist in alt accompanied by the orchestral brass turns up twice, the second time to close the work: that?s all the formal structure I could discern. Other listeners may respond on a more visceral level?and clarinet-players will be stunned. (They should also get hold of Krikku and Saramo?s Ondine recording of clarinet concertos by Crussell.)


Gran Duo , for 13 winds and 11 brass, was premiered by Sir Simon Rattle in Birmingham in 2002. The point of departure here is Stravinsky?s Symphonies of Wind Instruments . Maybe it?s because Lindberg is not showcasing a particular soloist?there are 24 soloists, in fact?but I find this work to be more interesting. The blocks of sound first posited by Stravinsky in his 1920 masterwork are elaborated with dense, virtuoso figuration. The cake/icing relationship as it might be termed of brass to wind is forever shifting, manipulated by the composer?s deft sleight of hand. (Excuse my mixed metaphor!) One of the most memorable moments is a solemn brass chorale following a gentle passage for flutes in their highest register. The harmony is polytonal; Lindberg rarely sounds to be in any particular key. The piece ends with somber brass chords centering on the trombones. If you enjoy the Stravinsky, you?ll certainly respond to this.


Chorale is a short work designed to be played with Berg?s Violin Concerto: it quotes the same Bach chorale, Es ist genung , and concludes on a resonant major chord from widely spaced strings. It feels like a study for some larger opus.


In spite of my reservations concerning the Clarinet Concerto, this is an engrossing disc overall. I find Lindberg similar to the Estonian Erkki-Sven Tüür (they are only one year apart in age). Both composers produce music that is busy, dense, and texturally fascinating; both are at the peak of their creativity. To my mind, Tüür?s work satisfies on a deeper level, but that is to take nothing away from Ondine?s achievement. Sound is, as usual, first-class.


FANFARE: Phillip Scott

Anders Hillborg (b. 1954) is one of those "texture guys" who throws everything but the kitchen sink into a piece in somewhat Schnittkean fashion, and seems to have great fun doing it. There's a certain anonymity to this style of composition--it's almost what musicologists would call a "common practice", but there's also no denying the fact that Hillborg practices his craft very well and that these smashingly performed and vibrantly recorded pieces present him in the best possible light.

The Clarinet Concerto is a very ambitious work that sustains its 28-minute length with ease. It does just about everything you can do with a woodwind instrument, and probably a few things that you shouldn't attempt at home, covering a huge range of expression and even allowing a surprising touch of humor (note the quotation from Tosca near the beginning and the bits of pseudo-pop music throughout). Hillborg's "al fresco" style of orchestration works particularly well in both this and the violin concerto, where he finds any number of fascinating and voluptuous instrumental textures to act as musical "frames" within which his soloist cavorts about with abandon. Freely dissonant but with strong tonal leanings, both concertos are just plain fun, especially when played as well as they are here by Martin Fröst (clarinet) and Anna Lindal (violin).

Liquid Marble is rather less interesting: evidently the composer had lava and magma in mind when writing it, but what he actually achieved comes off sounding like so much chromatic sludge. It rises to a nicely violent climax, but there doesn't seem to be much substance to what obviously is intended to be both brilliant and terrifying at the same time. Still, it's only 10 minutes long, and others may enjoy it more than I did. There's no denying the excellence of the performance under Esa-Pekka Salonen, nor does this single caveat in any way diminish the appeal of this very well recorded disc as a fine way to make the acquaintance of a talented and very enjoyable composer.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Sonus Ex Machina - Pluton

Les goûts-réünis

This marvelous disc contains what unquestionably is the finest available performance of Cantus Arcticus, Rautavaara's most popular piece and one of the very best marriages of an orchestra and taped sounds. For this recording, the birdsong tape seems to have been cleaned up, giving the timbres additional clarity and purity, and the balance between orchestra and electronics is perfectly judged. The result is simply gorgeous. I was also struck very strongly by the harmonic resemblance between the finale and the opening movement of Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain. Listen for yourself and see if you don't agree!

Garden of Spaces is a sort of sonic sculpture, fully notated but permitting various sections of the orchestra to time their entrances differently at each performance. Rautavaara has created thematic material, unlike so many such pieces, that seemingly makes sense given these parameters, and so the music comes across as coherent, shapely, and quite haunting.

But the outstanding work here is the new Clarinet Concerto for Richard Stoltzman. Rautavaara seems to have a special feeling for the instrument. In the score of his opera Aleksis Kivi, the composer restricts the woodwind contingent to two clarinets, used to magical effect, and this concerto certainly ranks among the most successful in the modern repertoire. While full of virtuosity and some incredibly difficult-sounding writing in the clarinet's highest register, the most memorable moments occur where Rautavaara exploits the instrument's unparalleled ability to sing in tones of liquid lyricism. The central slow movement in particular must rank as one of the most purely beautiful in Rautavaara's (or anyone else's) entire output.

It goes almost without saying that as the dedicatee Stoltzman plays with total commitment, and as usual in this series the contributions of Leif Segerstam and the Helsinki Philharmonic are ideal. Excellent sonics, warm and well-balanced (in the concerto) round out another magnificent contribution to the Rautavaara discography.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

CORELLI, VIVALDI, ETC: MUSIC F