24.1. WEDNESDAY SERIES 10

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1 24.1. WEDNESDAY SERIES 10 Helsinki Music Centre at 19:00 Sir Roger Norrington, conductor Tiina-Maija Koskela, soprano Niina Keitel, mezzo-soprano Markus Nykänen, tenor Kristian Lindroos, baritone Helsinki Music Centre Choir, coach Jani Sivén Magnus Lindberg: Two Episodes 15 min Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No min I Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso II Molto vivace III Adagio molto e cantabile IV Presto O Freunde, nicht diese Töne Allegro assai Alla Marcia (Allegro vivace assai) Andante maestoso Adagio non troppo, ma divoto Allegro energico, sempre ben marcato Allegro ma non tanto No interval. The concert will end at about 20:35. Broadcast live on Yle Radio 1 and streamed at yle.fi/areena. 1

2 MAGNUS LINDBERG : TWO EPISODES Two Episodes by Magnus Lindberg (b. 1958) was greatly influenced by the fact that it was to be premiered at the BBC Proms in London on July 24, 2016, coupled with Beethoven s giant masterpiece, his Symphony No. 9. Lindberg therefore scored his piece for a similar orchestra, omitting the tuba, harp, piano and big percussion section that often feature in his works. He also decided to make his work end on the same interval of a fifth, A E, with which Beethoven s Ninth begins. It could thus run straight into the Beethoven without a break. Two Episodes is nevertheless intended as an independent work that can be performed on its own. As its name suggests, Two Episodes is in two sections. These could in principle be performed without a break, but the fermata pause creates a quiet rest between the two. The first Episode is the more expectant and unhurried of the two, the second more active and dynamic. The piece begins with a signal-like trumpet motif that will later return and act as a fixed point in the rich orchestral texture and even as a sort of main gesture. The most obvious link with Beethoven is the recurring reference to the dotted falling motif at the beginning of the Ninth. Despite the recognisable nods to Beethoven, they nevertheless merge to become with Lindberg s music, drawing on radiant orchestral timbres evocative of, say, Ravel and Debussy. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 9 IN D MINOR, OP. 125 The Ninth Symphony marked the culmination of the works in this genre by Ludwig van Beethoven ( ). He did jot down some ideas for a tenth symphony, but only a few isolated sketches remain, and it is difficult to imagine what his next step might have been. The Ninth is also something of a synthesis of Beethoven s entire output, for he had been sowing its seeds throughout his career. Even as a young man, in , he had entertained the idea of setting to music a poem he later used for the choral section of his symphony the Ode to Joy (1785) by Schiller fired by Enlightenment idealism. It also features in his sketchbooks for and , though at that time he still thought of making it an independent work. Never before had a work gradually emerged out of silence as it does at the beginning of the Ninth Symphony. A bare, static interval of a fifth on A and E first defines the contours of the vast void. Across it Beethoven soon traces a few groping, rhythmic motifs, but the harmony remains the same until the great D-minor outburst, and only then does the theme proper acquire a more definite shape. The opening already indicates that this is to be a work of mammoth dimensions. It is not just long; it breathes in a totally 2

3 new way. But despite its monumental proportions, the first movement is actually shorter than that of the Eroica, and simpler in construction. Breaking with the contemporary convention, Beethoven makes the Scherzo his second movement, and the slow one his third. The Scherzo is much bigger and more complex than in his earlier symphonies. The slow movement draws on two broad themes, both with variations. In placing the slow movement third, Beethoven creates a moment of calm before the huge finale. The last movement is a synthesis of various forms. Some may see it as symphonic form in miniature, consisting of an introduction and an opening movement (exposition of the Joy theme, for example), a Scherzo (a military march and double fugue), a slow movement ( Seid umschlungen ) and a finale. The last movement could also be seen as a sort of Rondo marked off by the recurring Joy theme or as a set of variations; if regarded as a development section, the double fugue would in turn point to sonata form. The Scherzo section of the finale really goes into action after the introduction of the Joy theme. The symphony s world-embracing spirit is manifest in the juxtaposition of mundane and sublime, as the tenor s military march, which here sounds quite down-toearth, erupts in a double fugue. A version of the Joy theme adapted to fit its Scherzo surroundings then leads to a completely different world, the heavenly visions of the Seid umschlungen evoked by the male voices. The end is like a mighty, ecstatic summing up as Seid umschlungen and Joy unite in the mighty fugue. Programme notes by Kimmo Korhonen translated (abridged) by Susan Sinisalo SIR ROGER NORRINGTON For nearly 50 years, Sir Roger Norrington has been the resolute champion of authentic performance. He has also had an impressive allround history with, among others, his own London Classical Players back in the 1980s and in recent years with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Camerata Salzburg. As a young man, Norrington played the violin and sang, turning to conducting while a student at the University of Cambridge. He then studied conducting under Sir Adrian Boult at the Royal College of Music, and it was at around this time that he formed the Heinrich Schütz Choir, one of his many ensembles dedicated to the performance of early music. Ten years later, he founded the London Classical Players now renowned worldwide for its impressive recordings of Beethoven s Ninth Symphony. These would later be followed by discs of music by Mozart, Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner and others that conclusively confirmed him as a key figure on the early-music scene. In 1996, Sir Roger Norrington was appointed Music Director of the newly-founded Kent Opera. He was, at the 3

4 time, already expressing his innovative ideas on orchestra size, style and tempo, especially in early repertoire. He conducted hundreds of performances at Kent before going on to Covent Garden, English National Opera and the Vienna State Opera. Sir Roger Norrington has been conducting ordinary orchestras more and more in recent years, in repertoire that also takes in music by Bruckner, Mahler and 20th-century composers. He has served as Principal Conductor of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre de Paris and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie. He is also a regular guest with such orchestras as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics. TIINA-MAIJA KOSKELA Tiina-Maija Koskela has built up an international career in opera and concert repertoire, spurred on by victories in competitions, the brightest being the first prize for women in the Lappeenranta Singing Competition in 2008 and in the international Lauritz Melchior Competition in Denmark in Tiina-Maija Koskela made her debut at the Finnish National Opera in autumn 2008, at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in summer 2009 and at Tampere Opera in spring In March 2015, she sang Eva in the Finnish National Opera production of Die Meistersinger, and in June 2015 made a highly-acclaimed debut as Elsa in Wagner s Lohengrin at Pforzheim in Germany. In May 2017, it was the turn of Gutrune in a concert performance of Götterdämmerung in Odense, and in April of this year she will sing Senta in The Flying Dutchman at the Nederlandse Reisopera. She was assigned the part of Maija in The Ostrobothnians at Tampere Opera in 2017 and has sung a number of leading roles in works by contemporary Finnish composers (such as Ilkka Kuusisto, Uljas Pulkkis and Aulis Sallinen). She can also be heard frequently on the concert platform, in both orchestral and Lied repertoire. NIINA KEITEL One of the most successful mezzos of her generation, Niina Keitel is a widely sought-after singer of operatic, concert and Lied repertoire. After graduating from the Sibelius in Helsinki, she took up her first international appointment at Darmstadt in Germany, where her numerous roles included Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Magdalene (The Mastersingers) and Zyphyrus (Apollo and Hyacinthus). From Darmstadt she went to Mannheim, and among the characters she sang there were Mercédès (Carmen), Lola (Cavalleria Rusticana) and Olga (Eugene Onegin). Between 2011 and 2014 she appeared at the Finnish National Opera as, for example, Judith in Bluebeard s Castle, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Marina in Boris Godunov and the title role in Carmen. Guest engagements have taken Niina Keitel to many opera houses: Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Lucerne and others. Her var- 4

5 ied concert repertoire includes music by Bach, Beethoven, Wagner, Sibelius and Berg, and she has premiered many works, most recently Paavo Heininen s Black Lullaby. Niina Keitel has been the soloist with many orchestras in Finland, Sweden, France and Germany. She is Artistic Director of the Lemi Music Festival in Finland. MARKUS NYKÄNEN Markus Nykänen has been making a career in Basel and Germany in the past few years, winning critical acclaim for his performances of many of the great tenor roles. He made his Finnish National Opera debut in 2016 as Daniel, the leading male role in Indigo, and in late 2017-early 2018 sang Alfredo there in La traviata. Markus Nykänen made his operatic debut in 2011, as Azaël in the scène lyrique L enfant prodigue (The Prodigal Son) by Debussy. In summer 2012, he sang in the premiere of the opera Nûr by Marco Taralli at the Valle d Itria festival at Martina Franca. From 2012 to 2014, Markus Nykänen took part in the OperAvenir young artists programme at Basel Theatre, being assigned several tenor roles. He has guested at Basel Theatre since 2015, as Cassio in Otello, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet and Malcolm in Macbeth. His Hamburg Opera debut followed in autumn 2015, as Iopas in The Trojans, and he has since sung Cassio, Remendado in Carmen and the Hunchback in Die Frau ohne Schatten. KRISTIAN LINDROOS Kristian Lindroos became known to the public at large on winning the first prize for men in the 2016 Lappeenranta Singing Competition. He has studied at the Sibelius Academy, since 2012 as a student of Sherman Lowe in Venice, and further at the Accademia del bel canto Rodolfo Celletti in Martina Franca in summer Kristian comes from a family of singers, for his father is Petri Lindroos (bass) and his grandfather Peter Lindroos (tenor). Winner of the special prize in the Toti dal Monte competition in Treviso in June 2015, Kristian Lindroos has appeared in many operatic roles in Italy. In July 2015, he sang Mercurio in Monteverdi s L incoronazione de Poppea at the Valle d Itria Festival, in autumn of the same year Giovane Henrik in Marco Tutino s opera Le Braci (The Embers) in Florence, and in October Belcore in L elisir d amore at the Teatro Nuovo, Milan. In concert repertoire, Kristian Lindroos has premiered a song cycle for baritone and chamber orchestra by Lars Karlsson in 2013, been the soloist with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014 and the bass soloist in the Lahti Symphony Orchestra s performance of Handel s Messiah in He has also given numerous Lieder recitals in various parts of Finland. 5

6 THE HELSINKI MUSIC CENTRE CHOIR The Helsinki Music Centre Choir is a band of some 90 experienced singers all passionate about their art that can if required regroup as a male or female choir. Founded in autumn 2011 on the initiative of Hannu Lintu, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and John Storgårds, it works in close partnership with the main Helsinki Music Centre occupants: the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sibelius Academy. Its Artistic Director from 2011 to 2016 was Tapani Länsiö, who was succeeded by Nils Schweckendiek. The chorus master is Jani Sivén. THE FINNISH RADIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). Its mission is to produce and promote Finnish musical culture and its Chief Conductor as of autumn 2013 has been Hannu Lintu. His predecessors as Chief Conductor were Toivo Haapanen, Nils- Eric Fougstedt, Paavo Berglund, Okko Kamu, Leif Segerstam, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Sakari Oramo. The FRSO celebrates its 90th anniversary in the 2017/2018 season, for the Radio Orchestra of ten players made its first appearance on September 1, 1927, at the Aleksanterinkatu 46 studio in Helsinki. It began giving public concerts a few years later and grew to symphony orchestra strength in the 1960s, during Paavo Berglund s term as Chief Conductor. In addition to the great Classical- Romantic masterpieces, the latest contemporary music is a major item in the repertoire of the FRSO, which each year premieres a number of Yle commissions. Another of the orchestra s tasks is to record all Finnish orchestral music for the Yle archive. During the 2017/2018 season, the FRSO will premiere six Finnish works commissioned by Yle. The programme will also include concert performances of three operas, the FRSO s first festival of its own and major 20th-century violin concertos. The FRSO has recorded works by Mahler, Ligeti, Sibelius, Hakola, Lindberg, Saariaho, Sallinen, Kaipainen, Kokkonen and others, and the debut disc of the opera Aslak Hetta by Armas Launis. Its discs have reaped some prestigious distinctions, such as the BBC Music Magazine Award, the Académie Charles Cros Award and a MIDEM Classical Award. Its disc of Sibelius s Lemminkäinen and Pohjola s Daughter was Gramophone magazine s Critic s Choice in December 2015 and brought the FRSO and Hannu Lintu a Finnish Emma award in the Classical Album category. Music by Sibelius, Prokofiev, Lindberg, Bartók and others will be recorded during the 2017/2018 season. The FRSO regularly tours to all parts of the world. During the 2017/2018 season its schedule will include a European tour under Hannu Lintu. The home channel of the FRSO is Yle Radio 1, which broad- 6

7 casts all the FRSO concerts, usually live, both in Finland and abroad. Its concerts can also be heard and watched with excellent live stream quality in the web (yle.fi/areena). 7