21 NOVEMBER FRIDAY SERIES 5

Transcription

1 21 NOVEMBER FRIDAY SERIES 5 Helsinki Music Centre at 19 Hannu Lintu, conductor Olli Mustonen, piano Claude Debussy: La mer 23 min I De l aube a midi sur la mer (From dawn to noon on the sea) II Jeux de vagues (Play of the waves) III Dialogue du vent et de la mer (Dialogue of the wind and the sea) Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No min I Andante Allegro II Tema con variazioni III Allegro ma non troppo INTERVAL 20 min Edgar Varèse: Amériques 23 min Interval at about The concert ends at about 21. Broadcast live on Yle Teema, Yle Radio 1 and the internet (yle.fi/rso). 1

2 CLAUDE DEBUSSY ( ): LA MER Debussy was born the son of a poor family on the outskirts of Paris, and he always felt at home in this city of street cafés and open-air concerts. Yet he is known to have worshipped the sea, despite admiring it more when viewed from the promenade than actually out on the waves. The sea fascinated him, to the point of paralysing his creative faculties, he said. He therefore decided to compose La mer entirely in his room in Eastbourne on the English Channel, even though the sea was not far away. It took him a couple of years to finish it in summer 1905, and it was premiered in Paris in October of that year. Above all, La mer is a breath-taking example of brilliant orchestration. It paints a picture that is beautiful, impressive and unusually credible. It comes close to programme music without being programme music as such. It does not really tell a story, or at least not in the sense that, say, Strauss s Till Eulenspiegel does. Instead, it is anchored on still shots of the glittering waves that will never recur in exactly the same way yet that appear to be permanent or change only very slowly. The affinity with the paintings of Claude Monet is obvious. The sea is, in a way, most forcibly present at meta-level : Debussy s music is always the same yet always different as only the sea can be. But the descriptive impact of the imagery is unusually powerful: the morning at sea, the play of the waves and the tricks of the wind are captured with invention, refinement and enthusiasm. The sea of the final movement is dazzlingly revealed in all its might, without the help of the wind. 2 SERGEI PROKOFIEV ( ): PIANO CONCERTO NO. 3 Of all the piano concertos composed by Sergei Prokofiev, the third comes closest to the genre s Classical-Romantic ideal. True, the second may be regarded as Romantic in its expressive force, but the overall impression is very modern. In the third, Prokofiev relies on the Classical dialectic tradition while also reflecting his love for the static, hedonistic passages favoured by the Romantics. He draws his materials from a variety of sources: wistful melodies with a Slav fragrance, a pre-classical drive, clear Classical tonality, ostinatos that produce taut dissonances and to crown it all, heavenly, uber-romantic melody. The colourfulness is further magnified in the execution; the way the pieces of the pattern are fitted together is unbelievably imaginative. The first movement begins with a simple tune on a solo clarinet. It hardly gets going before the strings burst in and the piano presents the first theme, light and playful. Although the beginning is almost diatonic ( white-keys music ), it leaps mischievously from one tonal environment to another. Like much of Prokofiev s music, it is as the analysts would say segmentally tonal. Incorporated in the theme is a harsh-sounding ostinato grinding away in the bass in dactylic metre, to serve as a reminder of the native landscape. The second theme is preceded by weighty chords. In contrast to the diatonic first theme, this is chromatic and sometimes pungently dissonant. It is then given vir-

3 tuoso treatment. The opening clarinet tune returns, first in a splendid orchestral variation and then oddly distorted by the piano. A fantastic virtuoso aspect is introduced in the second development. The recapitulation begins with a precise repetition of the opening piano theme, but by this time the music has caught the virtuoso bug and blazes a trail in a way that demands great stamina. The second movement consists of a theme and five variations. The graceful theme is evocative of a folk song, but it is too unpredictable for that. The devices that usually create an impression of simplicity, such as sequences, recurring motifs and even halts, are here harnessed together in a funny way. The variations radiate in different directions, travelling further and further from the centre and admirably demonstrating Prokofiev s command of variation technique. Only the first variation and the return of the theme at the end of the movement observe the basic tempo. A real storm rages in the second variation, which then hops along to syncopated rhythms, engages in some eccentric otherworldly meditation and tries its luck at a slow dressage-like march on a horse that behaves like a bucking bronco. As the theme returns, echoes of the march linger on in the now clear staccato figures. The finale begins with some defiant, warlike gestures: Prokofiev described the main section as a battle between soloist and orchestra in the traditional manner. The B section of the ABA form is a delight for anyone with a sweet tooth. It has the flavour of Prokofiev s older rival, Rachmaninoff, and the aroma gets even stronger as the melody is laced with increasingly voluptuous timbres. It is, of course, still true Prokofiev a mere glimpse of his lyrical-melodic streak. There is also a grotesque streak that hoofs its way in: the piano s first reply to the orchestra s statement of the melody has its home in the domain of ghosts and little imps and does not seem to have anything in common with the only recently-discovered idyll. The return of the A section sets a furious build-up in motion, during which the audience will hear (and see!) a brand new keyboard invention: a daring whitekeys arpeggio that many pianists even today still replace with a glissando. The end leaves the audience in no doubt as to whether or not Prokofiev the soloist expected a standing ovation. EDGAR VARÈSE ( ): AMÉRIQUES Edgar Varèse was born in Paris in On the last day of 1915, having fled to the USA to escape the First World War, he arrived in New York and never returned. He became an American citizen in His first composition in America was Amériques, a musical fresco scored for an almost crazily giant orchestra. Its first version dates from 1921, after a few years of intensive effort. Among other things, the orchestra required 8 flutes, 6 oboes, 7 clarinets, 6 bassoons, 8 French horns, 6 trumpets, 5 trombones, 3 tubas and 13 percussionists: 150 players in all. The premiere by the 3

4 Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski in 1926 inspired (or forced) Varèse to revise it. This he did the following year and the new version was given its first performance in Paris a couple of years later. Just as New York is a melting pot of nations (or was at least during the waves of immigrants fleeing the war in Europe), Amériques is a melting pot of sounds. The mighty blocks of woodwind chords inevitably call to mind Manhattan s silhouette and the skyscrapers springing up at the time. Occupying a leading role in the percussion section are sirens and other sounds characteristic of the asphalt jungle. These are some of the reasons why Amériques is generally understood as telling about its geographical background and, for example, as imitating a technocratic soundscape. But Varèse himself claimed it says more about the impression made by the New World on a technology-loving newcomer, and that Americas should thus be understood as a symbol of all that is new and has faith in the future. Many generations of writers have been provoked into likening Amériques to Stravinsky s Rite of Spring. It is true that massive blocks of sound and emancipated rhythms do play a leading role in both, but the age-old Russian steppes and the modern, optimistic metropolis are such different sources of inspiration that this is inevitably reflected in the music. The solo alto flute at the beginning of Amériques may be associated with the high bassoon of the Rite, but if this is not coincidental, then surely it is more in the nature of a tribute? Varèse was, like Stravinsky, an individualist through and through who never stoop to imitating others though others would try to imitate him all the more. Jouni Kaipainen (abridged) HANNU LINTU Hannu Lintu took over as Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in August 2013 Formerly Artistic Director of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, he has also been Principal Guest Conductor of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin. He works regularly with the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra and was Artistic Director of its Summer Sounds festival in In addition to conducting the leading Finnish orchestras, Maestro Lintu has made guest appearances with the Radio Orchestras in Berlin, Paris, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Amsterdam and Madrid, with a number of orchestras in North and South America (such as the Toronto, Houston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl), in Asia (Seoul, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong) and Australia (the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras and others). During the 2012/2013 season he made his debut with such orchestras as the London Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony, and this sea- 4

5 son he takes up re-invitations to conduct the Stockholm and Gothenburg Symphonies, the Deutsches Symphonie- Orchester Berlin (DSO), the Toronto Symphony and other orchestras. Hannu Lintu studied the piano and cello first at the Turku Conservatory in his native Finland and later the Sibelius Academy, where he also attended the conducting class taught by Jorma Panula, Atso Almila, Eri Klas and Ilja Musin. He has further been tutored by, among others, Myung Whun Chung at the Music Academy Siena. In 1994 he was the winner of the Nordic Conducting Competition. Discs by Hannu Lintu have been released on the Ondine, Alba, Naxos, Ricordi, Claves, Hyperion and Danacord labels. Many of the discs featuring him as the conductor have won awards both at home and abroad, and his premiere recording of the opera The Mine by Einojuhani Rautavaara was nominated for a Grammy. OLLI MUSTONEN Pianist, conductor and composer, Olli Mustonen is an all-round musician such as is seldom encountered. He began his musical tuition at the age of five, and since completing his studies in piano with Ralf Gothóni, Eero Heinonen and others and in composition with Einojuhani Rautavaara has travelled the world to appear at the major concert halls, both for solo recitals and performances with top orchestras. Recent engagements have included performances as a pianist with the London Symphony Orchestra and the orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, the New York Philharmonic and the Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt. In addition to working with Finnish orchestras he has, in the past few seasons, conducted the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra della Toscana in Florence, the Genoa Municipal Opera Theatre Orchestra, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Cologne, the Northern Sinfonia, the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, the Estonian National Orchestra and the Weimar Staatskapelle. With the Helsinki Festival Orchestra founded by him he has toured to Central Europe, Japan and China. The focus in Mustonen s own compositions has recently been on works for orchestra. His second symphony, Johannes Angelos, commissioned by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra was premiered in May Mustonen has an extensive discography, including several prize-winning cycles such as the Preludes by Alkan and Shostakovich that won both Edison and Gramophone Awards. Other recent releases include the complete Beethoven piano concertos with the Tapiola Sinfonietta, Respighi s Concerto in modo misolidio with the FRSO and Sakari Oramo, and solo discs of works by Bach, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Olli Mustonen has been the recipient of the Finland Prize of the Finnish Ministry of Culture and the Pro Finlandia Medal. 5

6 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 is Hannu Lintu. The FRSO has two Honorary Conductors: Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Sakari Oramo. The Radio Orchestra of ten players founded in 1927 grew to symphony orchestra strength in the 1960s. Hannu Lintu was preceded as Chief Conductor by Toivo Haapanen, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Paavo Berglund, Okko Kamu, Leif Segerstam, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and most recently Sakari Oramo. 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 2014/2015 season it will premiere four Finnish works commissioned by Yle. The programme will also include colourful orchestral poems by Richard Strauss, symphonies by Shostakovich and Haydn s great The Creation. The orchestra s distinguished guests will include conductors Leonard Slatkin, Kent Nagano, Herbert Blomstedt and Esa- Pekka Salonen, soprano Karita Mattila, violist Tabea Zimmermann and pianist Olli Mustonen. The FRSO has recorded works by Ligeti, Eötvös, Nielsen, 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 and the Académie Charles Cros Award. The disc of the Sibelius and Lindberg violin concertos was Gramophone magazine s Editor s Choice in February The FRSO regularly tours to all parts of the world. One of the many highlights of the 2013/2014 season was a criticallyacclaimed concert conducted by Hannu Lintu at the Vienna Musikverein during a tour of Central Europe. During the 2014/2015 season the orchestra, under the baton of Hannu Lintu, will appear in Stockholm and tour Finland. It will also visit the EBU Festival in Bucharest with Joshua Weilerstein as its conductor. The home channel of the FRSO is Yle Radio 1, which broadcasts all its concerts, usually live, both in Finland and abroad. Its concerts can also be heard and watched with excellent live stream quality on the FRSO website (yle.fi/rso), and the majority of them are televised live on the Yle Teema channel. 6