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Ondine

Merikanto: Works for Orchestra / Ollila, Tampere Philharmonic

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Details

Composer
MERIKANTO, AARRE
Artist
Tuomas, Ollila
Format
CD
Label
Ondine
Released
Sep 16, 2008
Catalog #
ODE905
UPC
761195090527

About

REVIEW:

Aarre Merikanto’s career divided broadly into three phases, those of apprentice, radical and conservative, and there are works from each present on this valuable new issue. Critical hindsight accords (quite rightly) that the brief radical phase, roughly corresponding to the 1920s, was the most valuable, though at the time Merikanto’s modernistic approach – and that of his like-minded contemporaries, Ernest Pingoud and Vaino Raito – was derided. Only one piece here represents this period, the highly accomplished tone-poem, Pan (1924), a wonderful, evocative, yet robust score, possessed of a very Nordic brand of impressionism. The playing of the Tampere orchestra is perhaps not quite as refined as the Finnish Radio Orchestra under Segerstam, but Ollila catches more of the dangerousness of the goat-footed deity.

Lemminkainen (1916), by contrast to Pan, seems immature, and rather parochial. A Sibelian shadow lies heavily across its quarter-hour duration, yet without a trace of the older composer’s own Lemminkainen tone-poems. There is little of the latter’s emotional and psychological depth – or musical range – but instead a prevailing rollicking good humour broken occasionally by quieter, more serious moments. The remaining works all date from the early stages of Merikanto’s post-modern period, when he reverted to a simpler, more accessible idiom. The Four Compositions (1932), which barely exceed Pan in length, nevertheless make a very effective and satisfying set, and whereas the Andante religioso (1933) seems like a piece out of context, the Scherzo (1937) is entirely convincing on its own. Taken together, these five works make a much more positive impression than did the rather uneven Pingoud works (Ondine, 2/98), especially in performances as sympathetic and well-recorded as these. Quietly recommended.

-- Gramophone [8/1998]

Tracklist 8 tracks

  1. 1 Lemminkainen, Op. 10 16:54
    Track
    1
    Title
    Lemminkainen, Op. 10
    Duration
    16:54
    Composer
    Aarre Merikanto
    Ensemble
    Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen
  2. 2 Pan, Op. 28 11:07
    Track
    2
    Title
    Pan, Op. 28
    Duration
    11:07
    Composer
    Aarre Merikanto
    Ensemble
    Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen
  3. 3 No. 1. Lento cantabile 03:32
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 1. Lento cantabile
    Duration
    03:32
    Composer
    Aarre Merikanto
    Performer
    Janne Marttila
    Ensemble
    Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen
  4. 4 No. 2. Allegro scherzando 02:27
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 2. Allegro scherzando
    Duration
    02:27
    Composer
    Aarre Merikanto
    Ensemble
    Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen
  5. 5 No. 3. Arietta 01:41
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 3. Arietta
    Duration
    01:41
    Composer
    Aarre Merikanto
    Ensemble
    Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen
  6. 6 No. 4. Moderato pietoso 04:25
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 4. Moderato pietoso
    Duration
    04:25
    Composer
    Aarre Merikanto
    Ensemble
    Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen
  7. 7 Andante religioso 04:05
    Track
    7
    Title
    Andante religioso
    Duration
    04:05
    Composer
    Aarre Merikanto
    Ensemble
    Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen
  8. 8 Scherzo 09:30
    Track
    8
    Title
    Scherzo
    Duration
    09:30
    Composer
    Aarre Merikanto
    Ensemble
    Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen