21 NOVEMBER FRIDAY SERIES 5 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 No. 3 30 min

I Andante – Allegro II Tema con variazioni III Allegro ma non troppo

INTERVAL 20 min

Edgar Varèse: Amériques 23 min

Interval at about 20.05. The concert ends at about 21. Broadcast live on Yle Teema, Yle Radio 1 and the internet (yle.fi/rso).

1 CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862–1918): LA MER (1891–1953): PIANO Debussy was born the son of a poor CONCERTO NO. 3 family on the outskirts of Paris, and he Of all the piano composed by always felt at home in this city of street Sergei Prokofiev, the third comes clos- cafés and open-air concerts. Yet he is est to the genre’s Classical-Romantic known to have worshipped the sea, de- ideal. True, the second may be regard- spite admiring it more when viewed ed as Romantic in its expressive force, from the promenade than actually out but the overall impression is very mod- on the waves. The sea fascinated him, ern. In the third, Prokofiev relies on the to the point of paralysing his creative Classical dialectic tradition while also re- faculties, he said. He therefore decided flecting his love for the static, hedonis- to compose La mer entirely in his room tic passages favoured by the Romantics. in Eastbourne on the English Channel, He draws his materials from a variety of even though the sea was not far away. It sources: wistful with a Slav took him a couple of years to finish it in fragrance, a pre-Classical drive, clear summer 1905, and it was premiered in Classical tonality, that pro- Paris in October of that year. duce taut dissonances – and to crown Above all, La mer is a breath-taking ex- it all, heavenly, uber-romantic . ample of brilliant orchestration. It paints The colourfulness is further magnified a picture that is beautiful, impressive in the execution; the way the pieces of and unusually credible. It comes close to the pattern are fitted together is unbe- programme music without being pro- lievably imaginative. gramme music as such. It does not real- The first movement begins with a ly tell a story, or at least not in the sense simple tune on a solo clarinet. It hard- that, say, Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel does. ly gets going before the strings burst in Instead, it is anchored on still shots of and the piano presents the first theme, the glittering waves that will never recur light and playful. Although the begin- in exactly the same way yet that appear ning is almost diatonic (“white-keys to be permanent or change only very music”), it leaps mischievously from slowly. The affinity with the paintings of one tonal environment to another. Like Claude Monet is obvious. The sea is, in a much of Prokofiev’s music, it is – as way, most forcibly present at “meta-lev- the analysts would say – “segmentally el”: Debussy’s music is “always the same tonal”. Incorporated in the theme is a yet always different” as only the sea harsh-sounding grinding away can be. But the descriptive impact of in the bass in dactylic metre, to serve as the imagery is unusually powerful: the a reminder of the native landscape. The morning at sea, the play of the waves second theme is preceded by weighty and the tricks of the wind are captured chords. In contrast to the diatonic first with invention, refinement and enthusi- theme, this is chromatic and sometimes asm. The sea of the final movement is pungently dissonant. It is then given vir- dazzlingly revealed in all its might, with- out the help of the wind. 2 tuoso treatment. The opening clarinet older rival, Rachmaninoff, and the aro- tune returns, first in a splendid orches- ma gets even stronger as the melody is tral variation and then oddly distorted laced with increasingly voluptuous tim- by the piano. A fantastic virtuoso as- bres. It is, of course, still true Prokofiev pect is introduced in the second devel- – a mere glimpse of his “lyrical-melod- opment. The recapitulation begins with ic streak”. There is also a “grotesque a precise repetition of the opening pi- streak” that hoofs its way in: the piano’s ano theme, but by this time the music first reply to the ’s statement has caught the virtuoso bug and blaz- of the melody has its home in the do- es a trail in a way that demands great main of ghosts and little imps and does stamina. not seem to have anything in common The second movement consists of a with the only recently-discovered idyll. theme and five variations. The graceful The return of the A section sets a fu- theme is evocative of a folk song, but rious build-up in motion, during which it is too unpredictable for that. The de- the audience will hear (and see!) a brand vices that usually create an impression new keyboard invention: a daring white- of simplicity, such as sequences, recur- keys arpeggio that many pianists even ring motifs and even halts, are here har- today still replace with a glissando. The nessed together in a funny way. The end leaves the audience in no doubt as variations radiate in different directions, to whether or not Prokofiev the soloist travelling further and further from the expected a standing ovation. centre and admirably demonstrating Prokofiev’s command of variation tech- nique. Only the first variation and the EDGAR VARÈSE return of the theme at the end of the (1883–1965): movement observe the basic tempo. A real storm rages in the second variation, AMÉRIQUES which then hops along to syncopated Edgar Varèse was born in Paris in 1883. rhythms, engages in some eccentric On the last day of 1915, having fled to otherworldly meditation and tries its the USA to escape the First World War, luck at a slow dressage-like march on a he arrived in New York and never re- horse that behaves like a bucking bron- turned. He became an American citizen co. As the theme returns, echoes of the in 1927. His first composition in America march linger on in the now clear stac- was Amériques, a musical fresco scored cato figures. for an almost crazily giant orchestra. The finale begins with some defiant, Its first version dates from 1921, after warlike gestures: Prokofiev described a few years of intensive effort. Among the main section as “a battle between other things, the orchestra required 8 soloist and orchestra” in the traditional , 6 oboes, 7 clarinets, 6 bassoons, manner. The B section of the ABA form 8 French horns, 6 trumpets, 5 trom- is a delight for anyone with a sweet bones, 3 and 13 percussionists: tooth. It has the flavour of Prokofiev’s 150 players in all. The premiere by the

3 Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by vidualist through and through who nev- Leopold Stokowski in 1926 inspired (or er stoop to imitating others – though forced) Varèse to revise it. This he did others would try to imitate him all the the following year and the new version more. was given its first performance in Paris a couple of years later. Jouni Kaipainen (abridged) Just as New York is a melting pot of na- tions (or was at least during the waves of immigrants fleeing the war in Europe), HANNU LINTU Amériques is a melting pot of sounds. The mighty blocks of woodwind chords Hannu Lintu took over as Chief inevitably call to mind Manhattan’s sil- Conductor of the Finnish Radio houette and the skyscrapers springing Symphony Orchestra in August 2013 up at the time. Occupying a leading Formerly Artistic Director of the role in the percussion section are sirens Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra and and other sounds characteristic of the Chief Conductor of the Helsingborg asphalt jungle. These are some of the Symphony Orchestra, he has also been reasons why Amériques is generally un- Principal Guest Conductor of the RTÉ derstood as telling about its “geographi- National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin. cal” background and, for example, as He works regularly with the Avanti! imitating a technocratic soundscape. Chamber Orchestra and was Artistic But Varèse himself claimed it says more Director of its Summer Sounds festival about the impression made by the New in 2005. World on a technology-loving newcom- In addition to the lead- er, and that “Americas” should thus be ing Finnish , Maestro Lintu understood as a symbol of all that is has made guest appearances with new and has faith in the future. the Radio Orchestras in Berlin, Paris, Many generations of writers have Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Amsterdam and been provoked into likening Amériques Madrid, with a number of orchestras in to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. It is true North and South America (such as the that massive blocks of sound and Toronto, Houston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, emancipated rhythms do play a lead- Pittsburgh and St. Louis Symphony ing role in both, but the age-old Russian Orchestras, and the Los Angeles steppes and the modern, optimistic me- Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl), tropolis are such different sources of in- in Asia (Seoul, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and spiration that this is inevitably reflect- Hong Kong) and Australia (the Sydney ed in the music. The solo alto at and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras the beginning of Amériques may be as- and others). During the 2012/2013 sea- sociated with the high bassoon of the son he made his debut with such or- Rite, but if this is not coincidental, then chestras as the London Philharmonic, surely it is more in the nature of a trib- the Minnesota Orchestra and the ute? Varèse was, like Stravinsky, an indi- BBC Scottish Symphony, and this sea-

4 son he takes up re-invitations to con- London Symphony Orchestra and the duct the Stockholm and Gothenburg orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, the Symphonies, the Deutsches Symphonie- New York Philharmonic and the Radio Orchester Berlin (DSO), the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt. In ad- Symphony and other orchestras. dition to working with Finnish orches- Hannu Lintu studied the piano and tras he has, in the past few seasons, cello first at the Turku Conservatory conducted the Jerusalem Symphony in his native and later the Orchestra, the Orchestra della Toscana , where he also at- in Florence, the Genoa Municipal tended the conducting class taught Theatre Orchestra, the Radio by , Atso Almila, Eri Klas Symphony Orchestra Cologne, the and Ilja Musin. He has further been tu- Northern Sinfonia, the NHK Symphony tored by, among others, Myung Whun Orchestra in Tokyo, the Estonian Chung at the Music Academy Siena. In National Orchestra and the Weimar 1994 he was the winner of the Nordic Staatskapelle. With the Helsinki Festival Conducting Competition. Orchestra founded by him he has toured Discs by Hannu Lintu have been re- to Central Europe, Japan and China. leased on the Ondine, Alba, Naxos, The focus in Mustonen’s own com- Ricordi, Claves, Hyperion and Danacord positions has recently been on works labels. Many of the discs featuring him for orchestra. His second symphony, as the conductor have won awards both Johannes Angelos, commissioned by the at home and abroad, and his premiere Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra was recording of the opera The Mine by premiered in May 2014. was nominated Mustonen has an extensive discogra- for a Grammy. phy, including several prize-winning cy- cles such as the Preludes by Alkan and Shostakovich that won both Edison OLLI MUSTONEN and Gramophone Awards. Other re- cent releases include the complete Pianist, conductor and , Olli Beethoven piano concertos with the Mustonen is an all-round musician such Tapiola Sinfonietta, Respighi’s Concerto as is seldom encountered. He began in modo misolidio with the FRSO his musical tuition at the age of five, and Sakari Oramo, and solo discs of and since completing his studies in pi- works by Bach, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, ano with Ralf Gothóni, Eero Heinonen Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and and others and in composition with Shostakovich. Einojuhani Rautavaara has travelled the Olli Mustonen has been the recipi- world to appear at the major concert ent of the Finland Prize of the Finnish halls, both for solo recitals and perfor- Ministry of Culture and the Pro Finlandia mances with top orchestras. Medal. Recent engagements have includ- ed performances as a pianist with the

5 THE FINNISH The FRSO has recorded works by Ligeti, Eötvös, Nielsen, Hakola, Lindberg, RADIO SYMPHONY Saariaho, Sallinen, Kaipainen, Kokkonen ORCHESTRA and others, and the debut disc of the opera Aslak Hetta by Armas Launis. The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra Its discs have reaped some prestigious (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish distinctions, such as the BBC Music Broadcasting Company (Yle). Its mis- Magazine Award and the Académie sion is to produce and promote Finnish Charles Cros Award. The disc of the musical culture and its Chief Conductor Sibelius and Lindberg violin concertos as of autumn 2013 is Hannu Lintu. The was Gramophone magazine’s Editor’s FRSO has two Honorary Conductors: Choice in February 2014. Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Sakari Oramo. The FRSO regularly tours to all parts The Radio Orchestra of ten players of the world. One of the many highlights founded in 1927 grew to symphony or- of the 2013/2014 season was a critically- chestra strength in the 1960s. Hannu acclaimed concert conducted by Hannu Lintu was preceded as Chief Conductor Lintu at the Vienna Musikverein dur- by Toivo Haapanen, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, ing a tour of Central Europe. During the , Okko Kamu, Leif 2014/2015 season the orchestra, under Segerstam, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and the baton of Hannu Lintu, will appear in most recently Sakari Oramo. Stockholm and tour Finland. It will also In addition to the great Classical- visit the EBU Festival in Bucharest with Romantic masterpieces, the latest con- Joshua Weilerstein as its conductor. temporary music is a major item in the The home channel of the FRSO is Yle repertoire of the FRSO, which each Radio 1, which broadcasts all its con- year premieres a number of Yle com- certs, usually live, both in Finland and missions. Another of the orchestra’s abroad. Its concerts can also be heard tasks is to record all Finnish orches- and watched with excellent live stream tral music for the Yle archive. During quality on the FRSO website (yle.fi/rso), the 2014/2015 season it will premiere and the majority of them are televised four Finnish works commissioned by live on the Yle Teema channel. 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 in- clude conductors Leonard Slatkin, Kent Nagano, Herbert Blomstedt and Esa- Pekka Salonen, soprano Karita Mattila, violist Tabea Zimmermann and pianist Olli Mustonen.

6