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IC4/2015HIGHLIGHTS

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

Daniel Börtz & Medea

Sibelius piano miniatures

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DICHIGHLIGHTS 4/2015

NEWSLE T TER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN

Sound samples , video clips and other material are available at

www.gehrmans.se/highlights

Cover photo: Anneke Lönnroth/Eri Dance Theatre & Key Ensemble in Mikko Heiniö’s Ilta (Matti Kivekäs)

Editors: Henna Salmela and Kristina FryklöfTranslations: Susan Sinisalo and Robert CarrollDesign: Tenhelp Oy/Tenho JärvinenISSN 2000-2742 (Print), ISSN 2000-2750 (Online)Printed in Sweden by TMG Sthlm, Bromma 2015

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Awarded composersKarin Rehnqvist was awarded the composer prize in memory of Bo Wallner for her great artistry. “With her unmistakably personal tone language, often with folk music as a strong sono-rous fundament, she creates music of immediate interest that is both engaged and engaging.” Ma-rie Samuelsson received the magazine Nutida Musik’s annual recording prize “Nutida Sound” for her CD Th e Sun Goddess “where her orches-tral sound shines with the power of the sun and swirls in seductive movements.” Mats Larsson Gothe was awarded the Swedish Music Pub-lishers Award for his “inventive instrumentation that creates both drama and variation” in his op-era Blanche and Marie.

Lindberg conducts PetterssonChristian Lindberg performs Allan Petters-son’s symphonies around the world. In Novem-ber he conducted the unfi nished First Symphony with Nürnberger Symphoniker and thereafter Symphony No. 14 with the Norrköping SO. Sym-phony No. 4 will have its Asian premiere with the Taipei SO in December and it will be per-formed in March of next year by both the Royal Flemish and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestras. Th is October BIS released the CD with the monumental 13th Symphony, which has garnered rave reviews (See: Reviews).

Christian Lindberg

Samuelsson´s Trilogy of LoveMarie Samuelsson has composed a Tril-ogy of Love consisting of three orchestral works inspired by texts of Göran Son-nevi, Sappho, and George Katsiafi cas. Conducted by Marc Soustrot, the Malmö SO and clarinet so-loist Johnny Teyssier will premiere A New Child of Infi nity – To My Two Sons on 28 November. Scheduled for March of next year is the premiere of Aphrodite – Fragments by Sappho, with mez-zo-soprano Katija Dragojevic and the Swedish Radio SO under Daniel Blendulf, while October will see the premiere of Th e Eros Eff ect and Soli-darity with the Nordic Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Sarah Ioannides.

Sputnik becomes BeatnikAfter the success with the short trumpet concertino Sputnik composed for Håkan Hardenberger and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Tobias Broström has now made an orchestral version, Beatnik, on commis-sion from the Wermland Opera Orchestra. Th is fi ve-minute opening piece or orchestral encore, or as Hardenberger puts it, “a small fi rework rocket for festivities”, will have its premiere at the Wermland Opera’s Epiphany concert.

Lintinen concerto for Klingenthal fi nalsTh e Accordion Concerto by Kirmo Lintinen has been chosen as the compulsory work for the celebrated Klingenthal Accordion Competition to be held in Germany on 2–8 May 2016. Th e Concerto was commissioned by the Kokkola Winter Accordion Festival and premiered in February 2015 by Niko Kumpuvaara and the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Anna-Maria Helsing.

Works by Palmgren and Pylkkänen Fennica Gehrman has signed a publishing agree-ment with the Sibelius Academy Foundation for six pieces for orchestra by Selim Palmgren (1878–1951) and 73 mainly orchestral works by Tauno Pylkkänen (1918–1980). Ten operas, including Mare and her Son, and Th e Wolf Bride, are also among the works by Pylkkänen.

Garden of DevotionRolf Martinsson and Lisa Larsson are contin-uing their successful collaboration in 2016 with another 15 performances of Garden of Devo-tion, a song cycle about love, set to texts by Ra-bindranath Tagore. In Sweden there will be per-formances with the Norrköping SO, the Swedish and Uppsala Chamber Orchestras, and the Västerås Sinfonietta. Th e German premiere will be in February with Staatskapelle Weimar, and in September the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester will follow. Th e Lapland Chamber Orchestra will give the Finnish premiere in September and the Dutch premiere with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra is scheduled for November.

Premieres of Heiniö and Aho concertosTh e Organ Concerto by Mikko Heiniö com-missioned by the Katedraali soi festival is to be premiered on 11 February 2016. Th e soloist will be Jan Lehtola, with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam. Th e festival celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2016.

Among the new works by Kalevi Aho is a Con-certo for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra to be per-formed at concerts by the Pori Sinfonietta and the Lappeenranta City Orchestra in March; the solo-ist is Esa Pietilä. Th e Turku Philharmonic Or-chestra is to premiere the Timpani Concerto it has commissioned from Kalevi Aho in April 2016; the soloist then will be Ari-Pekka Mäenpää.

Kalevi Aho

Mikko Heiniö

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P R E M I E R E S

ALBERT SCHNELZERMagical Allusions for oboe and orchestraMalmö SO/Marc Soustrot, sol. Cristina Monticoli, 7.11. Malmö, SwedenBut Your Angel’s on Holiday – Clarinet ConcertoNorrköping SO/Anna-Maria Helsing, sol. Staff an Mårtensson12.11. Norrköping, Sweden

JONAS VALFRIDSSON, Bikernieke Forest Sinfonietta Riga/Normunds Sne, 14.11. Riga, Latvia

OLLI KORTEKANGASGrace – Sonatina for Horn and OrganPetri Komulainen, horn, Jan Lehtola, organ, 15.11. Helsinki, Finland

KIMMO HAKOLAIn Memoriam 2015 for reciter and organChristina Indrenius-Zalewski, recitation, Kimmo Hakola, organ 17. 11. Siuntio, Finland (Lux Musicae Festival)Metsämiehen laulu, arr. for baritone and wind bandHelsinki Police Band/Sami Ruusuvuori, sol. Jorma Hynninen6.12. Espoo, Finland

DANIEL BÖRTZI mörkret av röster (In the Darkness of Voices) for choir and tubular bellsEric Ericson Chamber Choir/Fredrik Malmberg, 18.11. Stockholm, Sweden Medea – Opera in 2 ActsRoyal Swedish Opera/Patrik Ringborg, sol. Emma Vetter, Karl-Magnus Fredriksson, Marianne Eklöf etc., 23.1. Stockholm, Sweden

SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖMHalleluja for mixed choir and orchestraJoyful Mission Choir, Vienna Volksoper Orchestra/Yunsung Chang22.11. Vienna, AustriaNun komm der Heiden Heiland for mixed choir, organ, cello and double bassWDR Rundfunkchor/Stefan Parkman, 28.11. Cologne, GermanySeven Pieces for Violin and OrchestraO/Modernt Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Wind Ensemble, sol. Hugo Ticcati, 20.2. Stockholm, SwedenThe Giver of Stars NOTUS Choir/Dominick diOrio, 26.2. Chicago, USA

JYRKI LINJAMA, Kastemusiikkia Sari Rantanen, soprano, Päivi Hakomäki, organ, 29.11. Espoo, Finland

Läsnäolosi, Hannu Jurmu, tenor, Liisa Malkamäki, organ13.12. Espoo, Finland

MARIE SAMUELSSONEtt nytt barn av oändlighet (A New Child of Infi nity) for clarinet and orchestraMalmö SO/Marc Soustrot, sol. Johnny Teyssier, 28.11. Malmö, SwedenAphrodite – Fragments by SapphoSwedish Radio SO/Daniel Blendulf, sol. Katija Dragojevic,mezzo-soprano, 11.3. Stockholm, Sweden

TOBIAS BROSTRÖM, BeatnikWermland Opera Orchestra/Johannes Gustavsson, 5.1. Karlstad, Sweden

OLLI KORTEKANGAS, Migrations Minnesota Orchestra, YL Male Voice Choir/Osmo Vänskä, sol. Lilli Paasikivi, 4.2. Minneapolis, USA

MIKKO HEINIÖ, Concerto for Organ and OrchestraTurku PO/Leif Segerstam, sol. Jan Lehtola11.2. Turku, Finland (Katedraali Soi)

JOHAN ULLÉN, The Deadly Sins, version for piano and string orchestra, Musica Vitae/Magnus Fryklund, sol. Téres Löf 26.2. Växjö, Sweden

KALEVI AHOConcerto for Tenor Saxophone and OrchestraPori Sinfonietta/Jan Söderblom, Lappeenranta City Orchestra, sol. Esa Pietilä, 10.3. Pori - 17.3. Lappeenranta, Finland Concerto for Timpani and OrchestraTurku PO/Erkki Lasonpalo, sol. Ari-Pekka Mäenpää, 22.4. Turku, Finland

Photo: Marcus Rönne

New composer – Jacob Mühlrad Gehrmans has begun collaboration with the young composer Jacob Mühlrad (b. 1991), who already has managed to establish himself and reach out with his music to renowned institutions and musicians, such as the Royal Swedish Opera, the Swedish Radio Choir and pianist Staff an Scheja. Th e collaboration with Gehrmans will at the outset include his choral works. Mühlrad’s feeling for the human voice as an instrument is special. He uses the text to create a sound pal-ette to paint with. “I have listened to his music for choir and it is really top notch”, says compos-er Sven-David Sandström. Th e works Th oughts & Th oughts, Anim Semiraus and Nigun have now been published. Shevah, a work commissioned by Västerås Cathedral Parish, will be premiered in the spring of 2016, and another commission for the Swedish Radio Choir is planned for 2018.

Sibelius editions for orchestra

Olli Kortekangas’s Migrations for male choir, soloist and orchestra is to be given its fi rst per-formance on 4 February 2016, in Minneapolis. A commission from the Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä, it will be recorded by BIS in April, coupled with Sibelius’s Finlandia and Kullervo. Th e soloist with the YL Male Voice Choir will be Lilli Paasikivi. Migrations is the second sizeable commission Kortekangas has received from the United States; the fi rst, Sev-en Songs for Planet Earth, was premiered by the Washington Choral Society in 2011. Th is can next be heard in the USA on 23 April, in a per-formance by the Masterworks Chorale of Augs-burg College conducted by Peter Hendrickson.

Olli Kortekangas

New solo discsPatrik Kleemola has been recording Finnish guitar works for Pilfi nk Records. Th ey include Mikko Heiniö’s Th rough Green Glass and Kai Nieminen’s Quadri morandi. Th e disc was followed by a series of concerts in Finland, and next year Kleemola will be taking the works to Milan and London.

Pilfi nk has also released an organ disc on which Marko Ku-pari plays Finnish organ works by Einojuhani Rautavaara, Kai Nieminen and others. Fuga has released the complete organ works by Jean Sibelius performed by Kalevi Kiviniemi and a solo disc entitled Prelude by Ilpo Laspas of pieces by Aimo Känkänen, a leading name in Finnish organ music.

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November 2015 – March 2016

Th e orchestral transcription by Ernest Pingoud of the Op. 75 Trees piano cycle by Jean Sibelius can now be hired from Fennica Gehrman. Th is gem dating from 1942 had been catalogued but the material was not previously available. It is a fi ve-movement work and lasts about ten min-utes. New, edited material of the Humoresques, Op. 87 for violin and orchestra is shortly also to

be published. Drawing mainly on Sibelius’s own manuscript, it corrects the errors in the material used since 1923 and for the fi rst time provides a true picture of the Humoresques. Fennica Gehr-man published the original version of Sibelius’s Cassazione, Op. 6 for symphony orchestra earlier this year.

Kortekangas to the fore in the USA

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In work after work, Daniel Börtz tackles the great human questions. It is as if he wants to tell us something. See the

person. See her weaknesses. He confronts the darkest sides of hu-manity, the unfathomable evil, the deceit, the violence, but also depicts reconciliation and light. Th e music can be extremely violent and bru-tal, a primeval force, but also lighter, simple and delicate. Th e voices are at the epicentre of the drama. And the words, weighed on a scale in Börtz’s composing laboratory.

Greek drama has often been the starting point, from the break-through opera Backanterna, 1991, to the oratorio Hans namn var Orestes (His Name Was Orestes), 2004, and the opera Medea, based on Euripides’ drama, that will have its fi rst performance at the Royal Swedish Opera in January 2016. Even while working on Backanter-na, Daniel Börtz was talking to director Ingmar Bergman about Medea. Th e then-existing transla-tion by Hjalmar Gullberg ”was too beautiful and felt out of date”. He found the modern poetic language he was looking for a few years later, in a new interpretation by Agneta Pleijel and Jan Stolpe. “A splendid text with great aesthetic beauty,” ex-plains Börtz. Th is is the version, ab-breviated by the composer himself, which became the opera’s libretto.

An enthralling storyWhat then is so fascinating in the story of Medea? Th e myth tells of Medea from Colchis, who helps Jason steal the Golden Fleece. She fl ees with him to Corinth, gives birth to two sons, but is abandoned when Jason chooses another wom-an, King Creon’s daughter. As a ref-ugee in Corinth with no husband, Medea is banished. In revenge for the betrayal, she has the king and his daughter killed by a terrible poison. She then kills the two children her-self and fl ees from the city.

“I cannot understand her deed”, says Daniel Börtz. “I can try to illus-trate it. I am enthralled by the story. What Medea is subjected to and the madness she then unleashes, also happens to people in our world.”

Börtz notes how skilfully Euri-pides builds up events, how well he depicts jealousy, madness, reck-less yearning, expressions that are suitable for music and opera. Th e drama delves deep into the human psyche, particularly Medea’s, a large and demanding part for a dramatic soprano who is on stage the whole time. Emma Vetter plays the role, a singer who often sings Wagner and knows what is required in a leading part. Börtz highlights a key scene in the second act where Medea is go-ing to take leave of the children that she loves. She is thrown between diff erent moods and fi nds it diffi -

cult to make a decision. Th e scene is followed by the Messenger’s story of how the king’s daughter and King Creon have been killed. Th e role is performed by a speech actor, Jonas Malmsjö.

“Th ere is incredible power in the text. It is not possible to remove a syllable,” says Börtz. Th e scene is “ac-companied” by an orchestral sound that intensifi es the power in the spo-ken monologue.

Composing MedeaCompositional work on the opera lasted two years, 2012-2014, with regular half-yearly meetings with dramatist, translator and dramaturg. Börtz displays a handwritten script written in pencil where he has out-lined the opera’s fi rst synopsis. It was this he showed opera manager Birg-itta Svendén, who gave him the com-mission. Th e next stage is a copy of the text where Börtz adds the musical ideas and creates the lines that carry it forward. Like the symphonist he is (his oeuvre includes 12 symphonies) he then writes the score chronologi-cally by hand in a single stream. Th e instrumentation is nearly always done directly. “Th e musical idea and the instruments belong together,” he says, “and therefore instrumentation cannot be done retrospectively.”

One of the changes made during the process and the discussions was the design of the Wet Nurse role. From the very beginning, Daniel Börtz knew that he wanted to write special parts for the Royal Opera’s female choir and to highlight the soloists in the choir. Th e small Wet Nurse’s role grew further during the composition work. It is the char-acter that can adopt a hard line in the scenes with Medea, but is also the big mother fi gure that comforts Jason. It was also good for the mu-

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sical and dramatic balance to create another important female role. In other respects, the choice of regis-ter has been straightforward for the composer, who believes that they have chosen themselves.

A strong human pathosMedea is Daniel Börtz’s sixth major opera. He very much likes the prac-tical work of transposing scores and sheet music into a living work of art on the stage.

“Th ere is nothing as creative as the musical preparation for an operatic work”, he says. “All art forms are there and are kneaded together.”

At the time of writing, the opera has not yet been performed. We do not know how orchestra and voices will sound together. We have not yet seen director Stefan Larsson’s inter-pretation on the stage. But we already know that the drama is there in the music. I myself have had the privilege of following the work from the begin-ning. Börtz appears to be a bright and natural opera composer. Th e choice of dramatic subject, the detailed work with the text, the knowledge of theat-rical expression and transparency in working with the singers, musicians, playwright, conductor and director have all been problem free. Behind the success is a structured, formally mature composer, carried forth by strong human pathos. A will to tell of the world today. Börtz has done this in several operas in the past, Medea is no exception. Medea is desperate, without asylum in a foreign country, and commits a horrifi c crime. We do not need to understand, but we can get help to process her fate and the similar fate of others through the eyes of Börtz.

Katarina AronssonDramaturg at the Royal Swedish Opera

Daniel Börtz is one of the leading Swedish opera composers of our time. 25 years after his big breakthrough with Backanterna (Th e Bacchae) in 1991, his Medea will have its premiere at the Royal Swedish Opera. Once again, it is a Greek drama with a bloody outcome.

Medea through the eyes of Daniel Börtz

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* See the Critical Remarks.

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“I know they have a certain future. I know this even though they are vir-tually forgotten at the moment,” said Sibelius himself of his works for the

piano. His complaint that he had to compose some piano pieces to earn a living, and the irrita-tion he reports in his diary at having to interrupt his work on his great symphonies because he is short of cash speak of the drive that characterises the artist. Or to put it another way: when faced with an external need to compose, he is a profes-sional with a vast capacity for concentration and inspiration; a capacity for drawing on endless invention – and in an instant, in much the same way as a performing artist. Like the composers of the Baroque, Sibelius had all the skills at his command, including keen self-criticism and at-tention to detail. Some have compared the little pieces to shavings hewn by a master carpenter from a block of wood (meaning the great sym-phonic works), but this does not allow for the care and polishing which Sibelius lavished on them; nor does it do justice to the original ideas embodied in them.

Enchanted by piano playingTh e custom of making music in the home, still common in Sibelius’s day and one for which the smaller pieces were well suited, has been waning for a century now, and his miniatures have often been dismissed as mere “stop gaps” or “trifl es”. By this logic, poems or short stories could be re-garded as trifl ing compared with novels.

Sibelius’s own instrument was the violin, but there are many indications that the piano meant a lot to him. As a young man he was enchanted again and again by the playing of his friend Fer-ruccio Busoni. And one sum-mer, when he was spending a few weeks by the sea, a local boatman said of his piano playing: “It’s crazier even than his swimming. Because he only swims during the day, but he never stops play-ing night and day.”

Th e Sibelius works for solo piano comprise 21 opuses, most of them each with a number of pieces. Together they total 120 opus-numbered items and dozens more without a number. Sibelius composed for the piano from his school and college days

right through to his last opuses, and made piano transcriptions of many of his works for or-chestra.

Th e colourful world of the piano miniatures speaks of a cultured composer, of a broad knowledge of music and a curios-ity about the things in life. Th ere are stories about his sensitive feel for mood and his ability to “enter into the part” even as a young man. He would go about “fantasizing” with his violin, playing what he ex-perienced and saw in nature and in the life around him.

Th e piano miniatures by Jean Si-belius are expressions of a momentary vision; captured in a miniature format are experiences nothing short of monumental. Some have but a single core musical idea that no longer needs to be developed, to be turned into or made out of something; the idea and its incarnation in sound are one and the same.

Diff erent styles and sources of inspirationTh e piano works were inspired in diff erent ways. Th ose of the early period show the infl uence of the national epic, the Kalevala, of Runeberg and other poets and to some extent the romantic Slav tradition, though this has sometimes been exaggerated. Sibelius composed virtually no “sa-lon” pieces, and he was always more Nordic, sol-itary, stern and mythical than, say, Tchaikovsky.

Nor did he feel any affi nity with the version of melody rooted in early German Ro-manticism and epitomised in Finland by such composers as Oskar Merikanto. Th e piano forms of his middle and late periods look to various eras and countries. Sibelius had a gift for adapting to diff erent styles: he could compose in French pastoral vein, in court style, sometimes aphoristical-ly, sometimes poetically, with echoes of folk music or whiff s of the Vienna of last century; of medieval instruments, bal-let, runic poetry, commedia dell’arte, nature scenes, hu-

morous cameos and dramas. Among them are introvert refl ections, outgoing pieces, glimpses of the world of children and his own childhood – always changing but always inherently Sibelian and defying generic classifi cation.

In his essay on the piano works of Sibelius, Glenn Gould clearly identifi ed the maestro’s merits: Sibelius never wrote against the grain of the keyboard; he never made the piano compete with an orchestra; he favoured lean, contrapun-tal thinking and created a piano idiom of his own with no recourse to Neoclassicism. Gould placed the best piano works on a par with the Violin Concerto and Luonnotar and saw in them a dignity and severity that shunned brilliance.

Th e piano music of Sibelius is resonant and colourful, heard with the ear of a sensitive com-poser – but unlike the keyboard style of others. It is not rooted in the tradition of Chopin or Schumann; it does not tie in with the Impres-sionism of Debussy or Ravel or with the Expres-sionism of his contemporaries; despite drawing from time to time on folk music, it cannot be compared to Bartók or Janáček. Th e expressive force and timbres of the Sibelian sound need seeking out. Sometimes the listener may catch an orchestral, “philharmonic” murmur and a panoply of harmonics that should not be al-lowed to cloud the contrapuntal clarity.

Eero Heinonen

The Sibelius piano miniaturesTh e piano miniatures by Jean Sibelius are expressions of a momentary vision; captured in a miniature format are experiences nothing short of monumental.

Fennica Gehrman has published the 24 most popular Sibelius piano miniatures in this new edition (See: New publications).

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ANDERS ELIASSONFantasia per sei strumenti (2010) Dur: 10’ fl -cl-pf-vln-vla-vlc In Anders E liasson’s F antasia w e ar e plunged dir ectly in to the music tha t takes off light and air y, like a bird fl ee-

ing from approaching danger; appr ehension is lurking in the background. It is ener getic, t ense and for ward-driven. Then suddenly we end up in an exquisitely beautiful section of peace and calm, where the music c onveys a feeling of loss and mel-ancholy. Commissioned by Norrbotten NEO.

FREDRIK HÖGBERGDéjà vu (2004) Dur: 10’cl-tbn-perc-pf-dbDéjà vu was written for the Nor wegian BIT20 Ensemble . It is a rh ythmical, virtuosic and pla yful piec e with some visual fi nesse – the per cussionist plays

both the vibr aphone and the drum set , but gets less and less time t o mo ve bet ween the instrumen ts, which cr eates some stress… This sure is swinging music and, as so often with Hög-berg, one can imagine the twinkle in his eye.

JUHA T. KOSKINENFourrures (2007) Dur: 8’cl-vln-vlc-pfWhen writing this w ork, K oskinen was inspir ed b y the musicians of the Moscow C ontemporary Music Ensem-ble and a poem b y Osip Mandelstam.

The title F ourrures means “furs” and the c omposer writes: “In a cold hostile w orld we need a w arm, maternal hiding plac e, although Mandelstam did not hide; inst ead he had the c our-age to expose openly his deepest though ts. I’d like to see m y piece Fourrures as a syn thesis of man y elements with sev eral interacting levels.”

TOMMI KÄRKKÄINENFragilia (2003) Dur: 8’ guitar and string quartetIn F ragilia Kärkkäinen has cr eated a piece with a br and new , almost ani-mal po wer. D uring the c omposition process the ‘fragileness’ star ted to fade

and the piece began to get many virtuosic and percussion-like episodes. As a contrast it includes a sort of a quote from Jimmy Page’s R ain S ong. Kärkkäinen’s own interest in per cussions is manifest in such in ventive sound eff ects as diff erent taps on the sound box and stamping feet. The piece can also be played as a solo guitar v ersion that has been r ecorded by Janne Ma-linen.

KIMMO KUITUNENTriple Duos (2008) Dur: 24’fl -cl-perc-pf-vln-vlcIn this se xtet 15 diff erently char acter-ised duos in teract in 15 triple duo c on-stellations. The r ole and timing of the duos in the musical dr ama as a whole

was dr eamt up befor e an y signs w ere made on the empt y score. Packed with a v ariety of details , vigour and driving en-ergy, the piece is dedicated to the Estonian Ensemble Ü, which has also recorded it.

MAGNUS LINDBERG Zona (1983) Dur: 17’for cello and ensemble: afl -bcl-perc-hp-pf-vln-dbZona r epresents early Lindber g. The name c omes fr om Andr ei Tarkovsky’s fi lm Stalker, in which the main char ac-

ter leads his clients to a site known as The Zone (Italian “zona”). The music begins as a high shimmer from which the cello grad-ually emerges as soloist . The cello par t is e xtremely vir tuosic, covering a wide spectrum of timbres and testing the very limits of expression. Zona is in three movements performed without a break.

TIINA MYLLÄRINENSquarcio (2011) Dur: 8’fl -ob-cl-trp-trb-pf-vln1-vln2-vla-vlc-cbSquarcio has the e xplosive energy typ-ical of Myllärinen’s music and gr ows in overlapping cr escendos. It ma y be di-vided into two parts, the expansive fi rst

leading to a denser, more layered second. The music is marked off by strong, polyrhythmic eruptions and ever-denser crescen-dos that carry the piece to its close. There is, however, one more surprise in store just before the fi nal build-up.

MARIE SAMUELSSONFantasia in a Circle (2011) Dur: 9’ fl -vln-vlc-pfThe piano sound is in focus in Samuels-son’s suggestive Fantasia and gives the piece its special character. It is at times

modifi ed b y an e -bow, which cr eates a sor t of dr one, and in addition the pianist uses rubber mallets t o strike the strings . The other instruments circulate around the piano, melodies are created and timbr es glide in and out of one another , creating new mixtures of colour.

ALBERT SCHNELZERWolfgang is Dancing (2004) Dur: 8’ cl-vln-vlcThere is rhythm and dancing when Mo-zart meets Kle zmer in this piec e. S ch-nelzer got the idea when he sa t at the

piano and played some Mozart pieces and just for fun inserted klezmer scales into the music. He suddenly imagined an irritat-ed Mozart who has lost inspir ation and is sitting and drinking in a bar. In come some street musicians and star t to jam with him. His inspiration returns and Wolfgang begins to dance.

BENJAMIN STAERNBells and Waves (2010) Dur: 30’ for 11 instruments: fl -ob-cl-bcl-bsn-perc-pf-vin-vla-vlc-dbAn eventful chamber symphony in fi ve movements, wher e the fi rst seethes

with life and energy. The second is more tranquil, one can im-agine church bells in the distanc e and boats slowly gliding by in the fog. The third is rhythmically complex and playful, while the forth is refl ective, and you can hear the fateful ringing of a ship’s bell. In the last mo vement the music gushes for th in a torrent of r apid toccata-like fi gures until it fi nally fades a way and disappears into nothingness.

REPER TOIRE T IPS

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Heiniö’s Ilta abounds in sensualityThe music of Heiniö is skilfully constructed. It is de-manding without seeming diffi cult, while at the same time leaving room for the simple and beautiful.Hufvudstadsbladet 28.10.

Heiniö’s Ilta is impressive music, and it’s a brilliant work… It has many moving scenes. Sung a cappella, Kaukainen viita is a thrilling lullaby… The kinetic mu-sicality and the dance-like music make Ilta an all-round experience. Turun Sanomat 12.9.

Mikko Heiniö: Ilta (Evening), 11 dance songs for choir, clarinet and celloWorld premiere: Eri Dance Theatre, Key Ensemble/Teemu Honkanen, 10.9.2015 Turku, Finland

Absorbing Verdigris by WennäkoskiThe concert opened with a short, absorbing new work called Verdigris by Finnish composer Lotta Wennäkoski, a composer with play at the heart of her music: this is the woman who wrote a concerto for orchestra and juggler. Here the joke is fondly on Sibelius, with some striking gos-samer textures wrapped around fragments of his music.The Guardian 30.10.

Lotta Wennäkoski: VerdigrisWorld premiere: Scottish CO/Tuomas Hannikainen, 28.10.2015 St Andrews, UK

Heininen’s 6th symphonyEven though the basic concept of this 37-minute sympho-ny in four movements is atonal, it is bristling with tonal fi xed points – in, among other things, the Adagios with their beautifully jazz-tinged harmonies – and the whole symphony makes a lyrically pure and dramaturgically co-herent impression. Hufvudstadsbladet 2.11.

Paavo Heininen: Symphony No. 6World premiere: Helsinki PO/John Storgårds, 8.10.2015 Helsinki, Finland

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Nuorvala’s variety of moods and styles Pulses of pop and driving rhythms of minimalism… Concertino for basset clarinet and tape brings in the rhythms of rave in a terrifi c swirl of a piece that will set even the most obdurate of feet tapping wildly. Finnish Music Quarterly 3-4/2015Juhani Nuorvala: Boost , 7.13, Prélude non retouché, Solo per viola da gamba, Five Pieces for Flute and Clarinet, Concertino CD: Juho Laitinen, Jouko Laivuori, Heikki Nikula, Harri Mäki etc. (Alba ABCD 376 “Nuorvala 7.13”)

Acclaim for Whittall premiereThe music acquired the hue of a devout religious hymn full of light… Whittall’s infi nitely peaceful work has the miraculously captivating magic of the source of life, the sun. Helsingin Sanomat 2.11.

The soundscape conjured forth by Whittall is, to say the least, fascinating, and the way convention-al music-making is gradually approached and the sun at last shines forth is magical… Whittall has, in the past few years, created an aesthetic mode of expression that is not only extremely personal but also truly unique, and something tells me that this is just the prelude. Hufvudstadsbladet 2.11.

Matthew Whittall: The Return of LightWorld premiere: Helsinki Chamber Choir, Tapiola Sinfonietta/Nils Schweckendiek, 30.10.2015 Espoo, Finland

Extravagant, highly romantic and excitingThe fi rst two movements create, to Rilke’s words, the work’s tension between the gushing-forth of sonor-ities and a kind of hollowness. An eager but uncer-tain searching for love’s tonality… In the next-to-last movement Martinsson fi rst seeks out the mysterious tranquillity in Eichendorff ’s image of a sighing forest (And how it sighs in the violins!). Before he gathers up all imaginable sonorous and rhythmic energy in the fi nale, it is time for Lisa Larsson to fl ing out Goethe’s wistful closing line: “Oh, if only you were here!”. Dagens Nyheter 14.9.

Rolf Martinsson: Ich denke Dein…Swedish premiere: Gothenburg SO/Antonello Manacorda, sol. Lisa Larsson, soprano, 9.9.2015 Gothenburg, Sweden

Enjoyable opera by HakolaAkseli enchanted at Pori Opera and was a real experi-ence… Suovanen sang with intensity of moments in the life of an artist, such as the agony of creation, joy, love, great grief at the loss of a child, and the feelings aroused by contemporary reviews. Satakunnan viikko 28.10.

Kimmo Hakola: Akseli, monologue operaPori Sinfonietta/Jan Söderblom, sol Gabriel Suovanen, 20.10. Pori, Finland

Enjoyable and spectacularThe marimba soloists, Johan Bridger and Patrick Raab, displayed ex-traordinary technical brilliance – between them there was an almost tel-epathic communication that turned into rapturous music and theatrical performance, with a variety of percussion instruments. The enjoyment was multidimensional and the performance spectacular, in the best sense of the word. Västerbottenskuriren 4.9.

Tobias Broström: Theatron Swedish premiere: Norrlandsoperan SO/Johannes Gustavsson, sol. Malleus Incus, 3.9.2015 Umeå, Sweden

Ingenious BroströmThis is clever detective music over a repeated bass fi gure, at the same time that the composer succeeds in saying something important. The music winds itself around the pulse, the aorta of music, and the handling of the sonorities is beyond the ingenious. Sydsvenska Dagbladet 9.10.

Tobias Broström: Transit UndergroundMalmö SO/Håkan Hardenberger, 8.10.2015 Malmö, Sweden

nuorvala 7.13

Jansen plays Eliasson with ardourThe violin concerto “Einsame Fahrt” has elements of both Rus-sian romanticism and French impressionism. It is dreamy and sublime. Eliasson doesn’t fuss with the listeners, but he forces them to follow along. It is dynamic and organic, as if every sin-gle tone has a predetermined place. Expressen 22.10.This is music that is beautiful but never ingratiating, that vac-illates between long periods of calm at the one extreme and violent disturbances at the other, and concludes in an entirely brilliant manner, in the midst of the step, as it were. Jansen and Blendulf are perfectly synchronised and tackle the work with great ardour. Dagens Nyheter 23.10.

Anders Eliasson: Einsame FahrtRoyal Stockholm PO/Daniel Blendulf, sol. Janine Jansen, violin, 21.10.2015 Stockholm, Sweden

Super-saxThe soloist is seriously taxed, but Paulsson skimmed the bar with room to spare – even taking it up a notch. Joining together in the Concerto are everything from the crisp multiphonics of a soprano sax, cattle calls, micro-intervals and string organ points immersed in a mossy bed of sound. Pohjolan Sanomat 13.11.

Kalevi Aho: Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Chamber OrchestraWorld premiere: Lapland CO/John Storgårds, sol. Anders Paulsson, 11.11.2015 Rovaniemi, Finland

Tremendous intensity in Pettersson’s 13thHere Lindberg is aff orded scope for what he does best. The intensity is tremendous, but that doesn’t mean it gets louder and louder. The so-called “lyri-cal islands”, peaceful and tonally based sections, are given consummate sentiment… a strong power of attraction runs through all 66 minutes of the sympho-ny’s duration… The feat is no less than heroic. Svenska Dagbladet 26.10.

Allan Petterson: Symphony No. 13CD: Norrköping SO/Christian Lindberg (BIS-2190)Exquisite details

If Pohjannoro were a visual craftsman, he would un-doubtedly be a graphic artist… The listener who strains his ears and concentrates on the deepest, subtlest aspects of the music will fi nd hidden within it globs of gold. Hufvudstadsbladet 17.10.

Hannu Pohjannoro: time exposures, Images, hom-mages, kuin kaiverrettu maailman merkki, maailma on karttaWorld premiere: Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano, Petri Antikainen, bass-bari-tone, Osuma Ensemble, Tampere Raw, 15.10.2015 Helsinki, Finland

Brilliant JubilateBenjamin Staern’s brilliant and colourful prelude for orchestra is at present scor-ing successes in the world of classical music, and rightly so… It is about collective ex-clamations of joy, but also the opposite: the destructive and aggressive mob. The oppo-sites collide in the music, but they are united at the end of the work… We will certainly be hearing a great deal more from this composer. Rheinische Post 2.10.

Benjamin Staern: JubilateDuisburger Philharmoniker/Stefan Solyom, 30.9.2015 Duisburg, Germany

Photo: Adam Haglund

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Janine Jansen in the Stockholm Concert Hall

Gabriel Suovanen

CHAMBER & INSTRUMENTAL

N E W P U B L I C AT I O N S N E W C D s

KALEVI AHOWind Quintet No. 2 (2014)FG 55011-262-9 (score), 55011-263-6 (parts)

TOMMIE HAGLUNDEpilogue, Hymns to the Nightfor solo violin, GE 12823

PAAVO HEININENSmall Wolfstockfor saxophone quartetFG 55011-267-4

NILS LINDBERGDalabilder (Dalecarlian Pictures)for organ, GE 12863

LOUHOS JURIS LIUTAWASTSTJERNAPianon avain 3 / Piano Key 3Taito ja ilmaisu / Skills and expressionA revised edition of the popular piano tutor FG 55011-187-5

EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARAAngel of Dusk chamber version (db, 2pf, perc)FG 55011-264-3 (score), 55011-265-0 (solo part with piano)

JEAN SIBELIUSAndante festivoTranscription for saxophone quartet by Jari EskolaFG 55011-272-8 (score and parts)

Piano Miniatures / PianominiatyyrejäA collection of 24 best-loved miniatures by Sibelius, among them the Etude, Spruce and Romance in D-fl at. Based on the complete critical edition.FG 55001-259-9

STAFFAN STORMLied vom Meerfor pianoGE 12828

VOCAL & CHORAL ORCHESTRABENJAMIN STAERNGodai, The Five ElementsConcerto for Orchestra, GE 12294 (study score)

SurpriseConcertino for Trumpet and OrchestraGE 12615 (score), GE 12617 (study score)

ROLF MARTINSSONOpening Sounds, for orchestraGE 12201 (score), GE 12826 (study score)

For further information about our works or representatives worldwide check our web sites or contact us at:

Gehrmans Musikförlag ABBox 42026, SE-126 12 Stockholm, SwedenTel. +46 8 610 06 00 • Fax +46 8 610 06 27www.gehrmans.se • info@gehrmans.seNews: news.gehrmans.seHire: hire@gehrmans.seWeb shop: www.gehrmans.seSales: sales@gehrmans.se

Fennica Gehrman Oy AbPO Box 158, FI-00121 Helsinki, FinlandTel. +358 10 3871 220 • Fax +358 10 3871 221www.fennicagehrman.fi • info@fennicagehrman.fi Hire: hire@fennicagehrman.fi Web shop: www.fennicagehrman.fi Sales: kvtilaus@kirjavalitys.fi (dealers)

ANDERS ANNERHOLMStjärnmusik 2 (Star Music 2)Six songs on poems by Nelly Sachs (Swe)for voice and pianoGE 12812

OLLI KORTEKANGASIkikaiku (Eternal Echo)for children’s choirText from various sources including Kalevala (Fin/Eng/Spa)FG 55011-064-9

Kirkkaat purot, sameat virratfor mixed choirText: Kai Nieminen (Fin)FG 55009-826-8

The Return for chamber choir Text: Wendell Berry (Eng)Kortekangas commission dating from 2014 to thought-provoking texts by Wendell Berry. FG 55011-270-4

TIMOJUHANI KYLLÖNENMerisarja op. 63 for female choir Text: Tommy Tabermann, Kyllönen (Fin)FG 55011-070-0

JACOB MÜHLRADAnim Semirausfor mixed choir a cappellaText: old Jewish song (Hebrew)GE 12818

Thoughts & Thoughtsfor mixed choir a cappellaText: syllables, sounds, Hebrew words GE 12820

Nigunfor mixed double choir a cappellaText: fragments from Jewish services (Hebrew)GE 12819

MAURICE RAVEL/EUGENIA KANTHOU ARR.Cinq mélodies populaires grecques (Five Greek Folk Songs)arrangements for voice and guitarText: Trad (Gre/Fre), French translation: M. D. Calvcoressi GE 12803

SVENDAVID SANDSTRÖMFlickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte (The Tryst)for male choir, tenor solo and violinText: Johan Ludvig Runeberg (Swe)GE 12573

Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werdenfor six part mixed choir a cappellaText: The Bible, Selnecker, Luther (Ger)Commissioned by the Copenhagen Chamber Choir CamerataGE 12604

JEAN SIBELIUS/TIMO LEHTOVAARA ARR. Viisi joululaulua Op. 1 (Five Christmas Songs )for mixed choirText: Topelius, Joukahainen (Fin)1. Joulu saapuu portin luo, 2. Jo on joulu täällä, 3. Jo joutuu ilta, 4. En etsi valtaa loistoa, 5. On hanget korkeat nietokset FG 55011-264-8

JEAN SIBELIUSTuule, tuuli leppeämmin Op. 23/6bfor female choirText by A.V. Forsman (Fin)FG 55011-271-1

MATTIAS SKÖLDTre årstider (Three Seasons)for mixed choir a cappellaText: Haiku poems by Gunnar Nilsson and Matsu Bashô (Swe/Jap)GE 12814

CARL UNANDERSCHARINSaligprisningarna - Motet No. 6 (The Beatitudes)for mixed choir and organText: The Bible, Harry Martinson (Swe)GE 12813

ANDERS PAULSSONSubterranean Wailfor mixed choir a cappellaText: Jade Snow (Eng)GE 12695

This work is a part of the project www.coralguardians.org and the preservation of coral reefs, as is the earlier work Danjugan Sanctuary (WC 1601296).

MIKKO HEINIÖThrough Green Glass

KAI NIEMINENQuadri morandiPatrik Kleemola, guitarPilfi nk JJVCVD-150 (”Through Green Glass”)

ERLAND VON KOCHSymphony No. 3, Sinfonia Seria, Impulsi, Nordiskt capricioSwedish Radio SO/Per HammarströmBIS-2169

TOIVO KUULASouth Ostrobothnian Suites 1-2, Festive March, Prelude&FugueTurku PO/Leif SegerstamOndine ODE 1270-2

AIMO KÄNKÄNENCompositions for Organ Ilpo Laspas, organFuga 9394 (”Prelude”)

ROLF MARTINSSONSt. Luke PassionGustaf Sjökvist Chamber Choir and ensemble, sol. Jeanette Köhn, Patrik SandinIMP 1518

KAI NIEMINEN“From Winters Night”, Temple II, Preghiera (di Francesco di Assisi)

VÄINÖ RAITIOUmbra beata

EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARALaudatio trinitatis Marko Kupari, organPilfi nk JJVCD-151 (“Laudatio trinitatis”)

JUHANI NUORVALABoost

VELIMATTI PUUMALABasfortelDefunensembleSibarecords SRCD-1014 8 (“Defi ne Function”)

GÖSTA NYSTROEMConcerto RicercanteDeutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz/Roberto Paternostro, sol. Anna Christensson, pianoCapriccio C5240

ALLAN PETTERSSONSymphony No. 13Norrköping SO/Christian LindbergBIS-2190

JEAN SIBELIUSComplete Organ WorksKalevi Kiviniemi, organFuga-9393

Petite Suite, Tiera, Overture F MinorSolistiseitsikko ImperialPilfi nk JJVCD-152 (“Complete Works for Brass Septet”)

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