11 MAY FRIDAY SERIES 14

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1 11 MAY FRIDAY SERIES 14 Helsinki Music Centre at 7 pm Osmo Vänskä, conductor Stephen Hough, soprano Singers of the Music Centre Choir, choir master Tapani Länsiöo Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 35 in D KV 385 Haffner 21 min I Allegro con spirito II Andante III Menuetto Trio IV Finale (Presto) Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for piano and orchestra, Op min Introduction and 24 variations INTERVAL 20 min Béla Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin, a pantomime in one act 30 min Libretto: Lengyel Menyhért Finnish translation: Sirpa Hietanen Copyright 2000 by Universal Edition A.G., Wien / Universal Edition (London) Ltd., London/UE34110, 2012 by Universal Edition A.G., Wien Interval at about 7.55 pm. The concert proper ends at about 9.00 pm. The late-night chamber-music concert will follow in the Concert Hall after an interval of about 10 minutes. Those attending are asked to take (unnumbered) seats in the stalls. 1

2 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A KV min I Allegro II Larghetto III Menuetto Trio 1-2 IV Allegretto con variazioni (Adagio Allegro) Osmo Vänskä, clarinet Laura Vikman, violin Hannu Vasara, violin Riitta-Liisa Ristiluoma, viola Mikko Ivars, cello Broadcast live on YLE Radio 1 and the Internet at yle.fi/rso. 2

3 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART ( ): SYMPHONY NO. 35 The year 1782 was one of change for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was 26 years old and trying to settle down in his busy new life as a freelance artist in Vienna. His hasty marriage to Constanze Weber in August placed a strain on relations with his father and, amid the hectic round, he found fault with everything his father ordered. When Leopold told him to compose some festive music for the ennoblement ceremony of Siegmund Haffner of Salzburg, he agreed only because Siegmund was an old friend. He would, however, get it out of the way as quickly as possible without compromising over quality. The Symphony No. 35, nowadays also known as the Haffner, became one of the most popular works by this composer enjoying a considerable new wave of attention in the 20th century. The melody of the first movement covers a wide range and proceeds alternately at a serene, tranquil and a feverish, breathtaking pace. The music of the second movement then seems to get its breath back in beautiful melodic and harmonic progressions. The third movement features a Minuet and Trio in accordance with prevailing tradition and may be thought of as reflecting the official, solemn nature of the occasion. The Minuet does, however, present a slight surprise in the somewhat free use of chromatics. The fourth movement is a real tour de force, and the rhythmic drive in particular knows no bounds. For Mozart s instruction was simply to play it as fast as possible. Aatu Pyy This programme note was produced in partnership with the degree programme in musicology at the University of Turku. The writer is a student of musicology. SERGEI RACHMANI- NOFF ( ): RHAPSODY ON A THEME OF PAGANINI By the time Serge Rachmaninoff came to work on this large-scale work for piano and orchestra in summer 1934, he had reached the closing stage of a composing career that, though long, had produced relatively little. From the time he emigrated from his homeland, caught up in the Revolution, he composed only little nothing at all in fact for the first eight years. This was partly due to the trauma caused by his departure from Russia, and partly to his brilliant career as a pianist, which left him little time for anything else. The set of variations on a theme of Paganini was, however, born surprisingly quickly, in only a month. Rachmaninoff called it a Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, but the name he originally proposed, Symphonic Variations on a Theme of Paganini, would actually have been more appropriate. The work is a natural continuation of his four piano concertos and is every bit their equal in the techni- 3

4 cal demands it makes. Its concerto-like character derives as much from its instrumental virtuosity as from its clear division into three tempo zones, like those of a traditional concerto. Rachmaninoff introduces his theme only after a brief introduction and the first variation. The opening movement in the overall scheme consists of mostly quick variations And Rachmaninoff would not have been Rachmaninoff had he not slipped his own personal motto into the work, the medieval Dies irae motif first heard in the leisurely seventh variation. Variations constitute the slow movement, breaking away from the otherwise dominant key of A minor. True, there is some more mobile material even here around the middle, as in the slow movements of his second and third piano concertos. The emotional core of the work is variation 18, which is broader than the others and features a glowing romantic melody based on the theme in inversion before the final dash of the last variations. Kimmo Korhonen (abridged) BÉLA BARTÓK ( ): THE MIRACULOUS MANDARIN Béla Bartók composed his ballet pantomime The Miraculous Mandarin in He had come across the tale by Lengyel Menyhért in a literary journal the year before and liked the idea of writing a grotesque pantomime unlike the conventional ballet spectacle made up of separate dance numbers. The story has none of the traditional moral teachings: all the characters are driven by sheer greed or animal sexual instincts. The villains are out-and-out villains, not pitiable creatures who have been led astray, and the woman is forced into being an object of pure lust and a symbol of sexuality. The merciless, whirlwind life of the city whizzes past in the opening strings and the hammering wind chords. Overlooking a busy street is a brothel, and seated in the window is a woman forced to take up her position there by three bad guys. It is her job to act as a decoy to seduce clarinet solo men in to be robbed. The first to come along is a seedy libertine, accompanied by dissolute trombone glissandos and violas reflecting shabby amorous intentions. The villains soon throw the penniless lover back out into the street in a manner evoked by the winds. The clarinet s siren-like call goes out again in more seductive tones and this time traps a timid youth (oboe). A bassoon laments the new client s amateurish approach; the villains frisk him, the brass give another snarl and the penniless youth is sent out on his ear. The clarinet writhes about even more seductively and latches onto a weird passer-by, a Chinese mandarin alias muted trombones and wild, shrieking winds. The woman begins a slow waltz. The orchestra tinkles and jingles, reinfor- 4

5 ced by a piano, celesta, triangle, cymbals and harp. After passively watching the performance for a while, the mandarin is galvanised into action in a heated, limping fugato, but he is unable to catch her. The villains leap out of their hiding place, hastened along by curt timpani beats, relieve the mandarin of his belongings and make to kill him. First they try to suffocate him with cushions. Then they stab him all over with knives, and finally they string him up. But all to no avail: the mandarin s gaze never leaves the woman. The offstage choir begins to sing in ghostly minor thirds and a grating string tune twirls like the rope on which the miraculous mandarin s life hangs. One of the villains cuts the mandarin down from the gallows and the woman takes him in her arms. Only then do his wounds begin to bleed, and the passion oozes from his body in lifeless orchestral sighs. Antti Häyrynen (abridged) OSMO VÄNSKÄ Praised for his intense, dynamic performances, Osmo Vänskä was appointed Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra in Conductor and orchestra have together since won great acclaim and, among other things, give an annual concert series at Carnegie Hall, New York. Maestro Vänskä s term with the Minnesota Orchestra runs until Before Minnesota, Osmo Vänskä was Artistic Director of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra from He has also been Chief Conductor of the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He regularly conducts top orchestras the world over, in New York and Philadelphia as in Munich, Boston, Leipzig, Chicago, the UK and Amsterdam. His record releases with the Minnesota Orchestra include the complete Beethoven symphonies, the Tchaikovsky piano concertos with Stephen Hough and the Beethoven piano concertos with Yevgeny Sudbin. Mr Vänskä has been granted an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow and the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for his outstanding contribution to classical music. He was named Musical America s Conductor of the Year STEPHEN HOUGH Stephen Hough is widely regarded as one of the most distinctive pianists of his generation. In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2001, and in 2010 the prize of the Royal Philharmonic Society. He has appeared with most of the major European and American orchestras and plays recitals regularly in halls and concert series around the world. He is a guest at festivals such as Salzburg, Mostly Mozart, Aspen, Ravinia, Edinburgh and the BBC Proms, and recent engagements have included performances with the New 5

6 York, London and Berlin Philharmonics. This season he is the Wigmore Hall s artist in residence, performing a wealth of solo works and piano quintets. Stephen Hough s more than 50 CDs have garnered international prizes, including Grammy nominations and eight prestigious Gramophone Magazine Awards. One of his most recent releases is a disc of Chopin waltzes and a disc for Hyperion of Grieg/ Liszt piano concertos. Also a composer, Hough has had works commissioned by, among others, members of the Berlin Philharmonic. His Missa Mirabilis, commissioned by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, was premiered in April Stephen Hough is a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. THE MUSIC CENTRE CHOIR In autumn 2011 the Helsinki Music Centre and its main users, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sibelius Academy, decided to form a Music Centre Choir. A symphony choir would, they felt, be a natural complement to the Centre s orchestras and tuition at the Sibelius Academy. In January 2012, a choir of over 80 singers selected out of the 400 or more who auditioned gathered for rehearsals. This choir can, as required, split up into a male choir, a female choir, a chamber choir, or just an ensemble of competent choral singers. The orchestral repertoire is planned by conductors Hannu Lintu, Jukka- Pekka Saraste and John Storgårds together with the leader of the choir, composer Tapani Länsiö. The Music Centre Choir will be making its debut at a concert this autumn, together with the FRSO conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste. This will be for a performance of Ein Deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms. The MCC will continued with concerts of its own in the autumn, culminating in December with a performance of Beethoven s Ninth Symphony with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam. 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. Its Chief Conductor since 2003 has been Sakari Oramo. The new Chief Conductor as of autumn 2013 will be Hannu Lintu, following a season (2012/2013) as the orchestra s Principal Guest Conductor. Jukka-Pekka Saraste, now the orchestra s Honorary Conductor, was Chief Conductor and still collaborates closely with the orchestra. The Radio Orchestra of ten players founded in 1927 grew to symphony orchestra strength in the 1960s. Its previous Chief Conductors have been Toivo 6

7 Haapanen, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Paavo Berglund, Okko Kamu, Leif Segerstam and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. 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. With Sakari Oramo the orchestra has recorded music by Bartók, Hakola, Saariaho, Respighi, Kaipainen, Kokkonen and others, and the debut disc of the opera Aslak Hetta by Armas Launis. The FRSO disc (Ondine) of Symphonies 3 & 5 by Nordgren won the Académie Charles Cros Award in 2000, and that of Magnus Lindberg s Clarinet Concerto the BBC Music Magazine Award in That of the Sibelius and Lindberg Violin Concertos (Sony BMG) with Lisa Batiashvili as the soloist received the MIDEM Classical Award in 2008, in which year the New York Times chose the other Lindberg disc as its Record of the Year. The FRSO regularly tours to all parts of the world and has so far given over 300 concerts abroad. During the 2011/2012 season its foreign engagements include an appearance at the prestigious Beethoven Festival in Bonn and a concert at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. All the FRSO concerts both in Finland and abroad are broadcast, usually live, on YLE Radio 1. They can also be heard the world over via the Internet (yle.fi/ rso). 7