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J. Kuusisto: Symphony; Pictured Within
BIS

J. Kuusisto: Symphony; Pictured Within

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Details

Composer
Jaakko Kuusisto, Anonymous, Kalevi Aho, Sally Beamish, Harrison Birtwistle, Richard Blackford, Gavin
Artist
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Format
CD
Label
BIS
Released
Dec 15, 2023
Catalog #
BIS-2747
UPC
7318590027479

About

This disc is a double tribute. The first work, Pictured Within, is a collective effort conceived as a major project to mark the 60th birthday of conductor Martyn Brabbins, whose reputation in new music and British music is beyond reproach.

Following the pattern of Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Pictured Within is a series of 14 variations on a theme, each of which takes up the character of the equivalent variation in Elgar’s work, the difference being that here 14 different composers have each contributed a variation in tribute to Brabbins.

Also on the SACD is Jaakko Kuusisto’s Symphony, a fitting tribute to the composer, conductor, and violinist who passed away in 2022. Illness left Jaakko no time to complete his work, so it fell to his brother Pekka – who conducts here – and Jari Eskola to finish it. The result is a powerful piece, full of familiar themes and melodies derived from Jaakko’s existing compositions, to which are added autobiographical extra-musical elements. The moving conclusion is a collage of fragmented phrases inspired by the signals emitted by lighthouses and ships, as if Kuusisto’s spirit had been sent out to sea.

Tracklist 17 tracks

  1. 1 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Theme 01:30
    Track
    1
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Theme
    Duration
    01:30
    Composer
    Anonymous
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  2. 2 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 1: tact 60 02:40
    Track
    2
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 1: tact 60
    Duration
    02:40
    Composer
    Dai Fujikura
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  3. 3 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 2 00:58
    Track
    3
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 2
    Duration
    00:58
    Composer
    David Sawer
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  4. 4 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 3 01:41
    Track
    4
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 3
    Duration
    01:41
    Composer
    Sally Beamish
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  5. 5 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 4 00:44
    Track
    5
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 4
    Duration
    00:44
    Composer
    Colin Matthews
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  6. 6 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 5 02:02
    Track
    6
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 5
    Duration
    02:02
    Composer
    Iris ter Schiphorst
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  7. 7 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 6 02:36
    Track
    7
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 6
    Duration
    02:36
    Composer
    Brett Dean
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  8. 8 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 7 02:01
    Track
    8
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 7
    Duration
    02:01
    Composer
    Wim Henderickx
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  9. 9 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 8 02:40
    Track
    9
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 8
    Duration
    02:40
    Composer
    Richard Blackford
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  10. 10 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 9 04:53
    Track
    10
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 9
    Duration
    04:53
    Composer
    Harrison Birtwistle
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  11. 11 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 10: Sixty Salutations 02:50
    Track
    11
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 10: Sixty Salutations
    Duration
    02:50
    Composer
    Judith Weir
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  12. 12 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 11 01:07
    Track
    12
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 11
    Duration
    01:07
    Composer
    Gavin Bryars
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  13. 13 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 12 03:08
    Track
    13
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 12
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    Kalevi Aho
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  14. 14 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 13 03:47
    Track
    14
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 13
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    Anthony Payne
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  15. 15 Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 14: The Art of Beginning 05:18
    Track
    15
    Title
    Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.: Variation 14: The Art of Beginning
    Duration
    05:18
    Composer
    John Pickard
    Ensemble
    BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Martyn Brabbins
  16. 16 I. half note = 55 08:52
    Track
    16
    Title
    I. half note = 55
    Duration
    08:52
    Composer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
    Ensemble
    Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Pekka Kuusisto
  17. 17 II. Lento 17:31
    Track
    17
    Title
    II. Lento
    Duration
    17:31
    Composer
    Jaakko Kuusisto
    Ensemble
    Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
    Conductor
    Pekka Kuusisto