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– music gives colour to life

Jörgen dafgård

c r E AT i o n – VA r i AT i o n – S i M U L AT i o n

Paavo Heininen

n E W S L E T T E r F r o M G E H r M A n S M U S i K F Ö r L A G & F E n n i c A G E H r M A n

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Maurice Karkoff in memoriamComposer Maurice Karkoff passed away on 20 January, at the age of 85. His composing was rich and varied: he wrote lyrical songs, choral works, chamber music and symphonic works. Significant are the large number of small-scale works, always composed with a strong personal imprint and warm fervour. Having written 12 symphonies, he is also reckoned among the great Swedish symphonists.

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nEWSLET TEr FroM GEHrMAnS MUSiKFÖrLAG & FEnnicA GEHrMAn

Sound samples , video clips and other material are available at

www.gehrmans.se/highlights www.fennicagehrman.fi/highlightscover photo: Music Finland/Saara Vuorjoki (Paavo Heininen), Bilbo Lantto (Jörgen dafgård)Background photo: Animation from Fredrik Högberg´s ice concertoEditors: Henna Salmela and Kristina FryklöfTranslations: Susan Sinisalo and robert carrolldesign: Göran LindiSSn 2000-2742 (Print), iSSn 2000-2750 (online)Printed in Sweden by TMG Sthlm, Bromma 2013

Linjama to the fore this yearMusic by Jyrki Linjama will be very much to the fore this year. His Vanitas for choir and orchestra is sched-uled for performance at the Helsinki Music Centre on 24 April and will be followed on 29 June by his Finnish Stabat Mater at the Lohtaja Church Music Festival. Essi Luttinen and Ilmo Ranta will perform his song cycle Mechthild-Lieder in Kemiö Church in July; Linjama is Composer-in-Residence at the Ke-miö Music Festival this summer. His church opera Die Geburt des Täufers can be heard in a concertante performance both at the Organ Night and Aria festi-val in Espoo and in Kemiö in July.

Gramophone praises Aho as the greatest living symphonistIn the February issue of Gramophone David Fanning wrote that Kalevi Aho has a strong claim to the title of greatest living symphonist. “This is music that takes wings and flies....it is eager for adventures and discoveries of its own. It can be warmly emotional or blistering.”

Aho has written 15 symphonies so far , the most recent a commission from the BBC and Lahti Symphony Orchestra. He has also been active in writing other orches-tral works. His Gejia receives its world premiere in China on 17 March – a commission from the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing.

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Chestopal plays piano works by YaglingVictor Chestopal is giving a recital at the National Library of Finland on 20 March. The programme consists of piano works by cellist-composer Victoria Yagling, his mother, and will include the premiere of her last composition, the Sonatina for Piano No. 4 (2011). There will also be a small exhibition of Yagling´s manuscripts, letters and recordings that have been donated to the National Library.

Major Martinsson commissionTonhalle Orchester Zürich is the main party in a commission of a new song cycle by Rolf Martinsson for soprano Lisa Larsson, to be premiered in January 2015 under the direction of John Storgårds. The joint commissioners include The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra London, The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and all will feature the songs on their programmes during the 2015/2016 season.

Umeå to be European Cultural Capital 2014The city of Umeå is promoting newly written music for the Norr-landsoperan Symphony Orchestra in 2014, the year it will take over as the European Capital of Culture. Mirjam Tally has composed a large-scale work for choir and orchestra, From Darkness to Light, set to poems by the Samian poet Paulus Utsis, to be premiered on 28

February next year. The project “Beethoven and Beyond” includes the performances of Beethoven´s nine symphonies, at the same time as our time will be reflected through nine short recently written orchestral works by nine different composers, among them Fredrik Högberg, Sven-David Sandström, Tobias Broström and Mirjam Tally.

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P r E M I E r E SSpring 2013

Kimmo HaKolaAkseli, monologue operaavanti! & Finnish chamber opera/Ville matvejeff, sol. jorma hynninen28.2. Helsinki, Finland

Veli-matti PuumalaTear, for chamber orchestratapiola Sinfonietta/hannu lintu1.3. Espoo, Finland

KaleVi aHoThree Songs to the Texts by Mawlana Rumihelsinki chamber choir/nils Schweckendiek4.3. Helsinki, Finland (Klang concert series)

Gejia, Chinese Images for OrchestrancPa concert hall orchestra/kristjan järvi17.3. Beijing, China

SVeN-DaViD SaNDStRÖmRequiemSwedish radio So & Swedish radio choir/ gustaf Sjökvist, sol. elin rombo, katija dragojevic, olle Persson, matthew rose23.3. Stockholm, Sweden

taPio tuomelaConcerto for Saxophone and Orchestra ”Swap”joensuu city orchestra/Sasha mäkilä, sol. joonatan rautiola10.4. Joensuu, Finland

PaaVo HeiNiNeNKun ja jos - Vakavia lauluja (Two Songs for Soprano and Orchestra)Saimaa Sinfonietta/tibor Bogányi, sol. jenni lättilä19.4. Lappeenranta, Finland

FReDRiK HÖGBeRGKonzert für zwei Posaunen (version for chamber orchestra)Västerås Sinfonietta/cond. and sol. christian lindberg and nils landgren20.4. Västerås, Sweden

JÖRGeN DaFGÅRDClarinet Concerto No. 1Swedish radio So/christian eggen, sol. andreas Sundén4.5. Stockholm, Sweden

RolF maRtiNSSoNTour de Forcegothenburg So/nikolaj Znaider15.5. Gothenburg, Sweden

BeNJamiN StaeRNGodai – Concerto for Orchestramalmö So/marc Soustrot23.5. Malmö, Sweden

New acquisitionsGehrmans Musikförlag AB has acquired the se-rious music sections in the catalogues Elkan & Schildknecht and Hans Busch from Universal Music Publishing AB. This includes works by composers such as Bo Linde, Wilhelm Peter-son-Berger, Ture Rangström, Leif Segerstam and Lillebror Söderlundh. The music is now available for purchase and hire.

Sandström’s premiere in BerlinSven-David Sandström’s monumental St. Matthew Passion will receive its world premiere in Berliner Philharmonie on 16 February 2014 with the Philharmonischer Chor Berlin and Staatskapelle Halle under Stefan Parkman. Further performances will take place in Uppsala and Stockholm in April (Gustaf Sjökvist Chamber Choir/Gävle SO), and the Notre Dame School of Music will give the US premiere in June 2014.

New Composers – Tally and ValfridssonGehrmans is happy to announce the new collabo-ration with composers Mirjam Tally (b. 1976) and Jonas Valfridsson (b. 1980). Tally, who hails from Estonia, has lived and worked in Sweden since 2006. Sounds and timbres are central in her music, which abounds with playful contrasts. Her breakthrough came during the ISCM World Music Days in 2008 with the orchestral work Turbulence , which was later performed at the Venice Biennial and also awarded the Little Christ Johnson Prize. During her period as Composer-in-Residence with the Swedish Radio P2 (2009/2010) she composed the orchestral work Density.

Jonas Valfridsson has been highly acclaimed for his music for orchestra, which is esteemed for its elaborate treatment of sonorities and in-novative orchestration. He received the 2007 Toru Takemitsu Composition Award for In Killing Fields Sweet Butterfly Ascend, which was premiered by The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. He also won the 2010 Uppsala Composition Competition with The Only Thing that You Keep Changing is Your Name .

Schnelzer and Tally to ISCM WMD 2014Albert Schnelzer’s cello concerto Crazy Diamond and Mirjam Tally’s Animalistic Hymn for mixed choir a cappella have been chosen to represent Sweden and Estonia, respectively, at the ISCM World Music Days in Wroclaw, Poland in 2014.

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reinvere writes an Ibsen operaThe Norwegian National Opera has commis-sioned a new opera from Jüri Reinvere. The new interpretation of Peer Gynt, one of Nor-way’s national epics, is scheduled to be pre-miered in autumn 2014, and Reinvere will write his own libretto based on Ibsen’s play. His opera Purge scored success in Helsinki in spring 2012. The new opera will be performed in Norwegian, while the original work will be written in German. Read more at http://www.peergynt-opera.net

Concert of music by Lars KarlssonFinnish composer Lars Karlsson was 60 on 24 January. Music by him can be heard at a concert at the Sibelius Academy on 8 November, when Gabriel Suovanen will give the first full perfor-mance of his Seven Songs to Texts by Pär Lagerkvist. There will also be other works by him on the programme, along with the Wegelius String Orchestra conducted by Anna-Maria Helsing.

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Heininen sees new possibilities everywhere and compares composing to casting a net into the sea. His output includes surprising combinations of instruments and entire families of pieces. In recent years his adventures with ‘simulations’ of composer identities have begun to trickle into his own output.

PA AV o H E i n i n E n :

that the piano part is adapted to each solo instru-ment so that it is possible to guess the solo instru-ment as soon as the piano part begins. The works were written in parallel, mutually exclusively.

Heininen has been a pioneer among Finnish composers in adopting new technology. In 1984, while the libretto of his opera Veitsi (The Knife, 1985–88) was in preparation, one of the first mu-sical notation programs came on the market. In a bold leap, Heininen decided to write his opera using that software. Before this, he had already written a program in the BASIC programming language to create his own brand of space-time notation for a piece based on stochastic principles. He developed the logic behind this (after an early version on an Apple II) first at IRCAM and then with Mikael Laurson. This was the origin of Patchwork, the embryonic form of the OpenMusic program, which today is popular worldwide.

Heininen speaks of ‘pots’ on his computer where ideas are germinating. He looks in every now and again ‘in passing’ to see if anything is growing. One day, one of these pots began to show such prom-ise that the Sixth Symphony, being written for the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (2012–14), be-gan to emerge. He is also currently working on a one-hour Organ Concerto for Jan Lehtola and two orchestral solo songs – and these are further ger-minating new ideas.

The most recent Heininen-recordings include Jan Lehtola’s double-album Complete Organ Works 1966–2006, and a forthcoming CD with the flute concerto Autrefois on Alba Records.

J a r k k o H a r T I k a I N E NThis is an abridged version of an article published in Finnish Music Quarterly 1/2013 entitled “The Constant Variation of Creation” (translation Jaakko Mäntyjärvi).

c r E AT i o n – V A r i AT i o n – S i M U L AT i o n

trickle into his own output. In Paralleeliaktio op. 97bis (2008), the piano styles of Aarre Merikanto and Selim Palmgren (1878–1951) are filtered through Heininen’s own style. The flute concerto Autrefois (2008/2010) began life through a medi-tation on the fact that there are no Finnish Ro-mantic concertos for woodwind instruments, but despite its tonal material, this brainchild grew into such a modern structure in terms of dynamics and process that it emerged as an exciting stylis-tic paradox. Who composed this piece? The very question is a typical Heininen issue.

In his creative work, as in his career as a com-position teacher, Heininen sees new possibilities everywhere. He compares composing to casting a net into the sea. This will never produce a fin-ished work, though; the catch has to be selected and organised. “The so-called organic approach is nothing more than this. If you ask cells how they live, the answer would be the same!” Heininen’s verbal images and parables provide a lot of food for thought. For him, they are a tool for attaining maximum accuracy in discussing music.

ideas are germinating When Heininen’s colleague created genuine con-temporary music out of fragments of Finnish tan-gos, Heininen saw an idea for going in the opposite direction: the result was a 36-minute collection entitled Mazurki op. 79 (2000–01), where the musical details are real, incisive Heininen, while in their overall shape the pieces are undoubtedly ma-zurkas. “The challenge here is to use the rhythmic modes of old dances without getting too close to them in the details.” Heininen continued with ‘sum-mer waltzes’ in Pianotansseja op. 97 (Piano Dances, 2009/11), eventually writing a tango himself.

Sometimes an entire family of pieces may emerge ‘at once’, as was the case with the sonatas for wind instrument and piano, Vaskisonaatit op. 117 (Brass Sonatas, 2010): the basic idea in these is

Paavo Heininen (b. 1938), the most significant living Finnish modernist composer, cannot be de-scribed as a retiree in any sense of the word. But these days he likes to describe himself as a ‘meta-modernist’ as distinct from the historical modern-ist period: the search for all things new is not over. He is producing new works at a brisk pace and per-sists in discovering new possibilities in areas where no one has gone before. He comes up with new, surprising genres and categories, combinations of instruments and entire concert programmes of an unprecedented nature.

Heininen’s recent output includes not only symphonies , concertos and sonatas but also completely surprising items such as 90 minutes of music for the four bells in the church of the composer’s home town of Järvenpää; a full-length concert based on sine waves entitled Sinikosketus (The Blue Exposure, 1995/2001); the organ-piano duo Quincunx duplex op. 88bis (2002–03) written together with composer colleague Jouko Linjama using the exquisite corpse technique; a hymn-tune mass for congregational use entitled Sunnuntain laulukirja op. 110 (Sunday Song Book, 2009); and a quartet for the unlikely ensemble of harp, guitar, mandolin and harpsichord entitled Lakkamaalauk-sia (Lacquer Paintings, 2012). He also has plans to use virtual instruments that exist only on a com-puter, e.g. a microtonal vibraphone to be paired up with virtuoso pianist Paavali Jumppanen.

‘Simulations’ of composer identities Paavo Heininen has also played around with the identities of other composers: inspired by various reconstruction projects, he ‘re-imagined’ the lost Third Violin Concerto of his composition teacher Aarre Merikanto (1893–1958) (Tuuminki / A Notion, 1993). He has augmented the history of Finnish music by writing the hitherto non-existent string quartet output of Leevi Madetoja (1887–1947) (Quartet No. 1 in F major, 1999; Quartet ‘The French’, 1999). “Nobody composed these works, but I have written them,” Heininen says in response to puzzled inquiries.

In recent years, Heininen’s adventures with ‘simulations’ of composer identities have begun to

Photo: muSic Finland/Saara Vuorjoki

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instrumentalists than when it was premiered by the Nordic Chamber Ensemble last autumn. It starts out playfully, but gradually the course of events be-comes more adventurous, full of tension and drama. In the end it arrives at a euphoric conclusion.

Sinfonia No. 1 from 2004 contributes gravitas and density to the May programme at Berwaldhal-len. It is a structurally well-wrought, serious work with in some places a rather harsh expression, at the same time that the varying tempi and the orchestral texture provide a variety that arouses our curiosity as to the continued progression of the music.

What does being selected as Composer of Spring mean to you just now and what can your audiences expect in the near future?– This feels very encouraging of course!

At present I am working on the orchestra-tion of my Sinfonia No. 2. It develops ideas that emerged in connection with the composition of the concert opening piece Through Fire and Wa-ter for large orchestra, commissioned by the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, which had a much acclaimed premiere in 2011. A composition for the saxophone quartet Rollin’ Phones is also in the pipeline, it is due to be ready in September!

And finally, the unavoidable question: what do you want to achieve with your music?– Of course I want to rouse people. I want to get the listeners to realise how important imagination is in our lives. We have a richer inner life than we are actually conscious of. It is a matter of eliciting these sides to come forth. Giving people impulses to think in new ways, that is the point. It is my experience that music vitalises us. When I listen to music my feelings take on colour. Without music our existence is only black and white.

C a r L H å k a N L a r S é NMore information on jorgendafgard.com

In 1995 Jörgen Dafgård was admitted to the com-position program at the Malmö Academy of Mu-sic. He received his diploma in 1999. Already his first large-scale orchestral piece, Veils , caught people’s attention: premiered by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck, it won first prize in Berwaldhallen’s com-position competition in the year 2000. In 2003 Veils reached a vast audience, when it was singled out as one of the top ten among a thousand en-tries in the international Masterprize competition. It cleared the way for Dafgård’s career, and he is nowadays a well-established composer receiving commissions on a regular basis.

How do the commissions influence your catalogue of works?– The commissions that I have received have been works that I wanted to write anyway. On the other hand, the commissions have of course made it pos-sible for certain pieces to actually get composed. I have been lucky enough to be able to work to-gether with competent musicians and ensembles, and to do this full time without taking odd jobs. At the same time, I have had sufficient time for every commission to achieve satisfactory results.

How did music enter your life?– It was there from the very beginning. My mother sang and my father was a church musician. Besides the piano and violin that I played, singing was a natural gateway to music. I dabbled in art as well, but when I decided on music I was still intent on becoming a singer.

But you moved to Stockholm and then on to Malmö to study composition. Among your teachers, who has taught you the most?– My first teacher of composition was Anders Nilsson, at Birkagården in Stockholm. He had high artistic demands. Then came Johan Hammerth and unleashed my creativity.

Jörgen dafgård –

“Sometimes the morning mist lies like an airy blanket over meadows and woodland glades. Then a slight breeze comes, transforming the mist into “veils”. They say that the fairies are dancing…” (from Veils programme note) Imagination is important to Jörgen Dafgård, who wants to rouse people with his music, and spur them to think in new ways. He is also this year’s “Composer of Spring” with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra at Berwaldhallen in Stockholm.

music gives colour to lifeFor a while I studied musicology and aesthetics.

My Master´s Thesis “Principles for an Intuitive Listening” had its point of departure in Debussy´s “La Mer”. Analysing music was instructive and it enticed me into composing all the more.

In Malmö I made contact with musicians and it was possible to try out ideas. It could be anything from percussion projects to projects for orchestra. With Hans Gefors I studied the different aspects of opera, with Kent Olofsson it was electroacoustic music. And Rolf Martinsson gave me a great deal of support.

The big event for Jörgen Dafgård in 2013 is that he has been appointed “Composer of Spring” at the Berwaldhallen in Stockholm. Already on 15 and 16 February Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducted the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in the ener-getic string orchestral piece Volo. The same orches-tra will perform Veils on 12 and 13 April under the direction of Manfred Honeck; and the climax will follow on 4 May: a portrait concert with Christian Eggen as conductor. – I am presently in the process of finishing a three-movement Clarinet Concerto that will receive its premiere then. My clarinet quintet Whims and Wizardry , which was premiered in July of last year, came to function as a preliminary study. In the concerto I could proceed with a tone language that is both cantabile and rhythmically vigorous. The instrumentation is also moderately airy with much interplay between the various groups of the orchestra.

We listen to an early sample and encounter a motorically erratic piece. It seems to offer for-ward drive as well as playfulness, and it is hardly going to give the soloist, Andreas Sundén, a single moment’s peace in the fast sections.

Esprit is another lively work included in the por-trait concert, 25 minutes of rapid music through-out. It will now be played with a larger group of

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Erik BErgmAnconcerto for cello and orchestra (1998) dur: 15’ 0001(i=c.fag)/0000/str, bullroarer

this intensive Bergman concerto is a product of his late period. its breath-taking progress is interrupted by a magical interlude for bullroarer – possibly an instrument he picked up on his travel in 1998 around the world. the contrabassoon is also assigned a big role and adds contrast to the cello’s magnetic, expressive force.

ToBiAs BrosTröm cello concerto no. 1 (2011) dur: 21’ 2222/2200/10/str composed for conducting solo cellist, the

concerto opens suggestively and slowly with repetitive chords in the orchestra, forming the harmonic basis that is expanded grad-ually. the solo cello’s pentatonic motif develops from out of the orchestra’s carpet of sound, a motif that recurs throughout the entire work. Brisk sections with more temperament and rhyth-mic accents alternate with parts that are linked to the harmonies and motif of the beginning. the end is a slow diminuendo that fades away far off in the distance.

sofiA guBAiduLinAaus dem Stundenbuch (the Book of hours) (1991) dur: 58’ 4243/4242/14/2hp, zither, egtr, e-bgtr, cel.

amp-hpd.pf/str, baritone, narrator, male chorusthis cello concerto is scored for an unusual combination; it also has a narrator, a baritone soloist and a male chorus. the text is borrowed from rainer maria rilke and well reflects gubaidulina’s musical credo: ich kreise um gott, um den ural-ten turm, und ich kreise jahrtausendelang; und ich weiß noch nicht: bin ich ein Falke, ein Sturm oder ein großer gesang. (i circle around god, around the most ancient tower, and i circle for a thousand years; and yet i still don‘t know: am i a falcon, a storm, or a much larger song?)

TommiE HAgLund Flaminis aura (2000) dur: 37’ 3222/4231/13/pf/strtommie haglund has a sound world all his

own. in the cello concerto the fervent cantabile solo part rests against almost unearthly sonorities. the music expresses both pain and hope, but here is also an implicit dimension, a cosmic perspective. in the final section of the concerto the cello is left alone against a sound background of solar winds and elec-tromagnetic fields (registered by the american space bureau naSa), and “the harmony of the spheres” arises.

JoonAs kokkonEn concerto for cello and orchestra (1969) dur: 25’2232/4220/timp.2perc/hp/str

kokkonen’s concerto has been a firm favourite with cellists for decades now. it has brilliance, natural solo writing and a touch of both the playful and the heart-rending. the orchestration is light and airy, so that it never drowns the soloist. a work in five movements dedicated to Finnish architect alvar aalto, it is woven around a wistful adagio movement and is a fine dem-onstration of kokkonen’s musical architecture.

roLf mArTinsson cello concerto no. 1 (2005) dur: 26’ 2222/4330/12/hp/pf/cel/stringsa concerto that fires the imagination. mar-

tinsson brings out all the cello’s possibilities of expression, from lyrical cantabile to violent frenzy. the romantic features alter-nate with highly dramatic sections. add to that a refined orches-tral texture and a concluding rapid and rhythmically driving race between cello and orchestra.

HErmAn rEcHBErgErkahraba (yellow amber) (1996) dur: 19’1111/0000/00/str, darabukakahraba (the arabic word for electricity)

was commissioned by the cairo Symphony orchestra. its main features are superimposed oriental rhythms, maqâm-scale ma-terial and the soloistic dialogue of a western and an oriental in-strument. however, it only uses scales that are playable without micro-intervals or non-tempered tuning. 

svEn-dAvid sAndsTröm concerto for cello and orchestra (1988) dur: 28’2222/2220/11/str

Sandström has called his cello concerto “an autobiographical di-ary”. the form is somewhat rhapsodic and consists of thirteen short sections, “emotional pages of my life”, in which we find both sentimentality and playfulness. he lets the romanticism burst into full blossom, but combines this with modernistic out-bursts. the concerto concludes with a long drawn-out, varied allusion to the hymn `nearer, my god, to thee´.

ALBErT scHnELzEr cello concerto – crazy diamond (2011) dur: 23’ 2222/4321/12/pf/cel/str (version for orchestra)

2222/2200/11/pf/cel/str (version for chamber orchestra)Schnelzer reawakens the feelings of melancholy and loss that Pink Floyd’s music evoked when he listened to them as a teenager. the music is full of wondrous sonorities and lyri-cal, lengthy melodic lines, as well as Schnelzer’s unmistakable rhythmic, dance-like motives. it is dramatic and expressive. the concerto concludes with an achingly beautiful song for the cello that lingers on after the music has fallen silent.

vicToriA YAgLingconcerto for cello and orchestra no. 1 (1975) dur: 22’3223/4231/11/hp/str

concerto for cello and orchestra no. 2 (1984) dur: 23’3222/4231/11/hp/stryagling’s cello concertos are works of virtuosic brilliance and vio-lent outbursts but also of a melancholy emotional charge that strikes straight to the heart. the slow movements of both well reflect the lyrical side of her music. the beauty is often tinged with a certain mournfulness and a striving towards unfamiliar paths reaching out into new realms. yagling has written three concertos in all; the third is entitled the Symphonic concerto for cello and orchestra.

Cello concertos – classics & more unusual ones

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Sublimely beautiful A. S. in Memoriam…it’s a tribute to the hyper-romanticism of Schönberg but it works very well in its own right, with some ultra-lush harmonies…it’s harmonically extremely rich but instrumentally fairly transparent, and some of the chording, especially towards the end, is sublimely beautiful.Seen and Heard International 27.1Rolf Martinsson: A. S. in MemoriamScottish cho/andrew manze, 25.1.2013 glasgow Scotland, uk

Two new excellent concertiThe soloist has almost a narrative role and the me-lodic writing [in Martinsson’s double Bass concerto] is a great vehicle for Styffe’s exceptionally lyrical and expressive tone…the scoring throughout is excep-tional and gently supports the soloist…

it [Högberg’s Hitting the First Base] is intensely rhythmic, angular and propelling… The bass writing is highly effective and idiosyncratic. it is virtuosic yet exactly right for the instrument. Styffe plays it with bril-liance and mastery, and the piece fits him like a glove.Bass World January 2013Rolf Martinsson: Double Bass Concerto, Fredrik Högberg: Hitting the First Basecd: oslo Pho/jukka-Pekka Saraste, tromsö cho/kolbjörn holte, sol. dan Styffe, (Simax PSc1302 “Perspectives”), (Simax PSc 1325 “Secret memories”)

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Pettersson’s precious 6th

Lindberg captures Pettersson’s painful mixture of trag-edy and majesty so well…The all-conquering lyrical element that winged the Seventh to fame is there in the Sixth…A repeated groaning ostinato cell […] pro-pels the music mournfully and sometimes jaggedly forward under the melody. it’s a simple device yet very effective…The final balm-like four minutes are a calming benison to troubled souls…Precious music. Rob Barnett/Music Web International January 2013 Allan Pettersson: Symphony No. 6cd: norrköping So/christian lindberg (BiS-Sacd-1980)

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Sixten’s radiating Christmas OratorioEven though Ylva Eggehorn’s texts to the chorales do not shy away from the darkness, a beauteous light radiates from Fredrik Sixten’s christmas oratorio… full of ideas, but coherent nonetheless, and strongly influenced by Swedish folk music.Svenska Dagbladet 27.11Fredrik Sixten: A Swedish Christmas Oratoriocd: Sofia Vocal ensemble, capella nordica/Bengt ollén, sol. helena ek, soprano (Footprint records Frcd 069)

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Experimental masterpiece Taon is an experimental masterpiece in which Puumala places the orchestra round the hall and seeks out un con ven tional sounds in the double bass…The audience got really carried away by the ritual and the tremendous cadenza.Helsingin Sanomat 16.2.Veli-Matti Puumala: Taon (Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra)tapiola Sinfonietta/magnus lindberg, sol. Panu Pärssinen, 14.2.2013 espoo, Finland

Kai Nieminen YouTube hit live The Lieder recital began with the three-movement Landscapes cycle by Kai nieminen. The previous time it was performed by Wärnfeldt in Vienna, the experts were ecstatic about nieminen’s way of writing music without grasping at any ism. The songs linger on the moment and stillness.Pohjolan Sanomat 13.1.Kai Nieminen: Landscapes, for soprano and piano elisabeth wärnfeldt, soprano, annaleena Porttikivi, piano, 11.1.2013 keminmaa, Finland

An Organ Symphony that defies gravityThe red line running through Aho’s gravity-defying organ Symphony Alles Vergängliche binds together tradition and innovation… The result is more than just excellent.Rondo Classic 11/2012Kalevi Aho: Organ Music cd: jan lehtola, organ (BiS-cd-1946)

Inner sensitivity from HeininenJoie de vivre and energy bubble beneath the com-plex surface, and as often with Heininen, [the music has] an inner sensitivity to the text, its rhythm and meaning. The result is something of fabulous beauty, full of peace, and meaningful.Hufvudstadsbladet 13.1.Paavo Heininen: Kaukametsä, Musta kehtolaulu (Black Lullaby)world premiere: Finnish rSo & tapiola chamber choir/anna-maria helsing, sol. kaisa ranta, niina keitel, mati turi, rolf Broman, 11.1.2013 helsinki, Finland

Colourful, sumptuous Violin ConcertoHakola’s concerto is a substantial work written in sumptuous, late romantic language that Sibelius would recognise, but with a fearsome technical virtuosity he possibly wouldn’t. The Guardian 3.2.

. . . Storgårds proved no less heroic, finding all the virtuosity necessary for its formidable techni-cal demands. rather than setting soloist and orchestra in the traditional opposition, Hakola has them running in parallel but in strikingly dif-ferent modes: while the orchestra sets up a tidal ebb-and-flow like some gigantic accordion, the soloist delivers jagged pyrotechnics.The Independent 4.3.

A fun work that entertains and at times even amuses with a certain surrealistic craziness… When Hakola does ‘beautiful’, it really can be beautiful. The slow movement had magical tim-bres and sensitive dialogue between the soloist and the winds.Helsingin Sanomat 20.1. & 8.2.Kimmo Hakola: Violin Concerto world premiere: wrd So köln/jukka-Pekka Saraste, sol. john Storgårds, 18.1.2013 cologne, germany (further performances in manchester/BBc Pho and helsinki/helsinki Pho)

Eloquent songs on CDHakola’s arrangements for orchestra give Kuula’s South-ostrobothnian Folk Songs a fine golden edge. His own Kivi Songs are many times more tender, unashamedly romantic and nothing short of eloquent.Helsingin Sanomat 28.11.Kimmo Hakola: South-Ostrobothnian Folk Songs (arr.), Kivi Songs cd: ostrobothnian cho/juha kangas, sol. jorma hynninen, baritone (alba aBcd 348 “on the Fields of tapiola”)

Enigmatic LucernarisBroström took his soloist on a journey that started with an arching flugelhorn solo, became far more strident and urgent, passed through an oasis of otherworldly calm, and ended enigmatically with Hardenberger floating elegiac echoes from the back of the hall. The Times 3.2.

The electronics blend pre-recorded effects with sampling, and when these sounds accompany the players at full blast one feels enclosed in a space which is at once virtual and intensely physical. The music is by turns jazzy, sharply percussive, and sonorously nordic-romantic…it all worked a treat.The Independent 4.2.Tobias Broström: Lucernarisuk premiere: BBc Pho/john Storgårds, sol. håkan hardenberger, 1.2.2013 manchester, uk

Unique combination of puppet theatre and operaThe symbiosis and encounter of Finnish and French culture was quite unique! Antti Puuhaara is built on an exciting concept: a combination of puppet theatre and opera. An amusing creation, interesting and the only one of its kind. All Francophiles should get to know it.Hufvudstadsbladet 4.12.Tapio Tuomela: Antti Puuhaaramusicatreize, cond. roland hayrabedian, 2.12.2012 helsinki, Finland

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Spectacular Högberg There was brilliant piano playing by niclas Sivelöv and the symphony orchestra performed with gusto during a spectacular concert evening… Here there were eruptive cascades, rhythmical long, intensive lines and alternating rippling interplay that would certainly impress the most discriminating of listeners. A formidable success…Västerbottens Kuriren 23.11

An experience for all senses… suggestive scenery in perfect harmony with Högberg’s rhythmically intricate sound world. Folkbladet 23.11Fredrik Högberg: Ice Concertoworld premiere: norrlandsoperan So/rumon gamba, sol. niklas Sivelöv, 22.11.2012 umeå, Sweden

John storgårds and kimmo Hakola in manchester

Tobias Broström

niklas sivelöv

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c H o r A LmårTEn JAnssonHerren är min herde/ Der Herr ist mein Hirtefor female choirtext: Psalm 23 (Swe/ger)ge 12173

oLLE LindBErgFolkvisa (Folk Song)for mixed choir a cappellatext: hjalmar gullberg (Swe)ge 12073 

svEn-dAvid sAndsTrömMusik för kyrkoåret (Music for the Ecclesiastical Year)for various choral ensembles and instruments. nearly 70 works for the Sundays and holidays of the church year. all works also available separately.ge 12173

JoHAn-mAgnus sJöBErgSju Haikudikter (Seven Haiku Poems)for female choir text: tomas tranströmer (Swe)ge 12195

kAi niEminEnLandscapesfor voice and piano text: emily dickinson (eng)Fg 55011-130-1

kALEvi AHoFlute Cadenzas for W. A. Mozart’s worksFlute concerto no. 1 in g major (kV 313), Fg 55009-671-4Flute concerto no. 2 in d major (kV 314), Fg 55009-672-1andante in c major (kV 315), Fg 55009-670-7 rondo in d major (k. anh. 184), Fg 55009-673-8

svEn-dAvid sAndsTrömThree Pieces for Violin and Celloge 12186

Håll ut näktergal!for soprano and four percussioniststext: four haiku poems by tomas tranströmer (Swe)ge 12193 (score)

From Mölna Elegyfor soprano and piano triotext: gunnar ekelöf/transl. m. rukeyser & l. Sjöberg (eng)ge 12240 (score), ge 12241 (parts)

N E W C D s & DVDs kALEvi AHo Works for the Oboe (concerto for oboe and orchestra, Solo iX, Sonata for oboe and Piano) lahti So/martyn Brabbins, sol. Piet Van Bockstal, yutaka oya, piano BiS-Scd 1876

PaaVo HeiNiNeN Works for Organ 1966-2006 jan lehtola, organ, risto Pulkamo, baritone, annikka konttori-gustafsson, piano Pilfink records jjVcd-114

uuNo KlamiLandscape (Works for piano and piano & violin) esa ylönen, piano, Sirkku mantere, violinalba aBcd 352

leeVi maDetoJaSymphony No. 2, Kullervo, Elegyhelsinki Pho/john Storgårdsondine ode 1212-2

eiNoJuHaNi RautaVaaRaChoral Worksvarious performers ondine ode 1186-2Q/4 cd

BeNJamiN StaeRNTranströmer Songscarina Vinke, alto, hanna Shybayeva, piano8 717953 095701 (Silent echoes)

THE LifE of EduArd TuBin i - iiestonian Public Broadcasting err

© liivi muuseum

roBErT sundSom stjärnan uppå himmelen (The Star in Heaven)arrangement for solo voice and mixed choir a cappellatext in Swedish ge 12225 EmiL sundBErgStjärnorna ( The Stars) text: karin Boye (Swe)ge 12224 

c H A M B E r / i n S T r U M E n T A L / V o c A L

kAi niEminEnThrough Shadows I Can Hear Ancient Voices… Concerto for Clarinet and OrchestraFg 55011-133-2 (score)

Vicoli in ombra for orchestraFg 55011-132-5 (score)

frEdrik PAcius The Complete Works of Musical Drama, Vol. 2: Prinsessan af CypernFg 55011-128-8 (score)

WiLHELm sTEnHAmmArFylgiafor medium voice and orchestraorch: adolf wiklundtext: gustaf Fröding (Swe)ge 12223 (score)

gunnAr dE frumEriESonatina No. 1for pianocg 4481

dAg WirÉnSonatinafor pianocg 4484

S c o r E SToBiAs BrosTrömCello Concertoge 11946 (score)ge 11947 (solo part)

JörgEn dAfgårdEspritfor chamber ensemblege 12142 (score)

roLf mArTinssonAiry Flightfor solo instrument and strings, ge 12070 (score)for solo instrument and brass quintet,ge 12168 (score)Solo part in Bb or c, ge 12169