Kokkonen: Symphonies 1 & 2 / Oramo, Finnish RSO
Joonas Kokkonen is considered "Finland's most significant composer after Sibelius" (American Record Guide). However, he still awaits discovery among many lovers of accessible contemporary music. Sakari Oramo and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, unrivaled champions of Finnish late 20th-century music, have taken up this task with a complete Kokkonen symphonies cycle: The benchmark first volume (ODE 1098-2) was unanimously hailed by the press as a "must-have disc". On this new release, they perform the first two symphonies, coupled with Opus sonorum for orchestra. Written in the years following Sibelius's death in 1957, these masterpieces reveal Kokkonen's affinity with the music of J.S. Bach and his full exploration of expressive tonal colors.
"...Both are tautly argued works, compressing four movements into 20-minute spans that Sakari Oramo plots with precision. After completing the anguished Second Symphony in 1961, Kokkonen developed a more expressive, almost neoromantic style. The seeds of that can be heard in Opus Sonorum from 1964, which is symphonic in outline if not in its nine-minute scale, and uses the musical letters of Jean Sibelius's name as one of its motifs." - Andrew Clements, The Guardian, London, 2009
"For Finnish conductor, Sakari Oramo, a man with a yen for reviving neglected composers, Joonas Kokkonen is an important figure. He's the 'missing link' between the great Jean Sibelius and a new generation of Finnish composers such as Magnus Lindberg." -- Ivan Hewett, The Daily Telegraph, February 11, 2009
Product Description:
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Release Date: January 06, 2005
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UPC: 761195112922
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Catalog Number: ODE 1129-2
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Label: Ondine
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Number of Discs: 1
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Period: 20th Century
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Composer: Joonas Kokkonen
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Conductor: Sakari Oramo
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Orchestra/Ensemble: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
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Performer: Oramo, Finnish Radio So
Works:
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Symphony No. 1
Composer: Joonas Kokkonen
Ensemble: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Sakari Oramo
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Symphony No. 2
Composer: Joonas Kokkonen
Ensemble: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Sakari Oramo
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Opus sonorum
Composer: Joonas Kokkonen
Ensemble: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Sakari Oramo