2 SEPTEMBER WEDNESDAY SERIES 1 Helsinki Music Centre at 19

Hannu Lintu, conductor Elina Vähälä, violin Virpi Räisänen, mezzo-soprano

Jean Sibelius: Aallottaret (The Oceanides), Yale version 10 min

Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D Minor, 32 min Op. 47, original version

I Allegro moderato II Adagio di molto III Allegro, ma non tanto

INTERVAL 20 min

Kalevi Aho: Symphony No. 16 for mezzo-soprano, 52 min strings and percussion, fp (Yle commission)

I Die Wanderstraßen (The roads I roam) II Ein Zipfel dieser Welt (A corner of this world) III Des Blinden Sehnsucht (Blind longing) IV Weit verirrte Bilder (Far-straying images) V Die Fahrende (The traveller)

1 JEAN SIBELIUS The score of The Oceanides is a unique blend of symphonic treat- (1865–1957): THE ment and hazy impression. But can it OCEANIDES, YALE be classified as Impressionistic? The VERSION distinguished Sibelius scholar Erik Tawaststjerna said, “Yes and no”, but then Impressionism may mean some- Sibelius had, it seems, been entertain- thing different to the French or the ing the idea of composing a work in Nordic listener. the nature of The Oceanides for some time. At least he did not have to spend long searching for an idea when he did set to work on it. The original spark for JEAN SIBELIUS: VIOLIN a work about the sea may well have CONCERTO, ORIGINAL come from Debussy, whose triptych VERSION La mer in its myriad dazzling shades had been mesmerising the world for In composing his Violin Concerto, nearly a decade already. Fully aware Sibelius was alternately blessed with of the fundamental differences be- moments of blissful inspiration, when tween his style and that of the French exquisite strokes of genius would fol- Impressionists, Sibelius maybe wanted low one another in quick succession, to see what would happen if he com- and moments of despair when he felt bined these two basic approaches, he was bashing his head against a brick and to test the position and future of wall over a form or a detail of content a composer from outside the musical that refused to fall into place. The re- hubs of Europe. sult would be fits of depression and The Oceanides came at an extreme- drinking bouts in Helsinki when the ly interesting juncture in Sibelius’s out- hours would stretch into days and his put. He wrote it at a time when he was wife Aino would be obliged to get out most closely embracing the trends of the horse and carriage and fetch him Central Europe. His natural spiritual home. home lay in the melancholy, sometimes There are, as we now well know, two even gloomy whirlpools of the mind, versions of the Concerto. The biggest and he therefore felt a greater affinity difference between them is the length with the predominantly dark soulscape and structure of the first movement. of Expressionism than with the lighter In the premiere recording of the origi- contemporary Impressionism. This ‘arc- nal version, the first movement is three tic’ aspect of Sibelius generally tends minutes longer than in the final ver- to be underlined, but he was not with- sion. Most of the themes are the same out a more southerly component that in both, the exception being the final produced The Oceanides, which, apart motif in the exposition, the light rhyth- from a few small-scale pieces, was the mical character of which gave way to a only work of this kind he ever wrote. broad and passionate arch. In the origi-

2 nal version, Sibelius extracted consider- KALEVI AHO (B. 1949): able potential from this, but only little remains in the final one. The listener SYMPHONY NO. 16 accustomed to the final version may be surprised at the “delayed entrance” My sixteenth Symphony begun at the of the secondary-theme motif, a lilt- end of November 2013 and finished ing melody in the “Viennese” style. The in February 2014 is scored for a large whole transition is much smoother and string orchestra, four percussionists more organic in the final version. The and mezzo-soprano. This line-up was, other major difference is the absence incidentally, the wish of conductor in the final version of the second, ex- Hannu Lintu, except that I also want- tensive and somewhat “Bach-like” ca- ed a mezzo-soprano for the finale. The denza. The bridge passage preced- percussion section here consists of not ing the second cadenza, which Erkki only the basic symphony orchestra in- Salmenhaara described as charmingly struments but also many unusual ones evocative of Mendelssohn, has likewise such as bell plates, a djembe, darabu- been deleted. ka, ocean drum, spring drum, binzasara The finale is also considerably re- (a Japanese rattle), dobaci (a Chinese- duced – by about two minutes – in Japanese temple bell) and Chinese the revised version. Sibelius cut a lot of moon gong. the virtuoso material (designed “in the When the work was already well un- spirit of revenge”?) from both the fast der way, I came across the poem Die movements. The slow movement was Fahrende (The Traveller) by the German for the most part spared. Despite the poet Gertrud Kolmar (1894–1943). This arguments that have raged round the provided the text for the finale and the merits of the various versions, most titles of all the movements. would agree that the revisions were The first movement (Die clearly for the better and Sibelius was Wanderstraßen) begins with a power- right to make them. The prototypes ful melody in the double basses and a of great masterpieces are nevertheless portentous motif on the bell plates. The extremely interesting both from a gen- calm initial tempo gradually increases eral historical perspective and as a re- and the movement culminates in a wild flection of their composer’s personal Presto passage in 5/4 time with some development. virtuosic percussion solos. From here the music gradually calms down, arriv- Jouni Kaipainen ing back at the initial tempo again in the final bars. The second movement (Ein Zipfel dieser Welt) begins in expectant mood, and mysteriously. Whereas in the first movement the stringed instruments main- ly perform in homogeneous groups, in

3 the second they are often divided, so HANNU LINTU that almost every player has a different part. The movement nevertheless also has some passionate and impassioned Hannu Lintu took over as Chief unison string melodies. The Allegretto Conductor of the Finnish Radio section in the latter half of the move- Symphony Orchestra in August 2013, ment in unreal mood is dominated by thus continuing his long collabora- percussion instruments. tion with the orchestra. During the The third movement (Des Blinden 2015/2016 season he will conduct 15 Sehnsucht) builds up in waves to concerts at the Helsinki Music Centre the most emotionally-charged and and take the orchestra on tour to Japan most passionate climax of the whole and Austria. Symphony, thereafter calming down Formerly Artistic Director of the and fading away. Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra and The fourth movement (Weit verirrte Chief Conductor of the Helsingborg Bilder) is quick. It proceeds throughout Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu has in restrained tones, and the strings are also been Principal Guest Conductor of often divided. Many individual players the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra have their own little solos in this move- in Dublin. He works regularly with the ment. The title I found in a poem by Avanti! Chamber Orchestra and was Gertrud Kolmar corresponds closely to Artistic Director of its Summer Sounds the sense of unreality. festival in 2005. The soft beginning of the finale (Die Outside Finland, Maestro Lintu Fahrende) is dominated by percussions. has guest conducted the London The main instrument is the Chinese Philharmonia, the BBC Scottish, moon gong, the slightly tam tam-like Cleveland, Houston, Minnesota, sound of which gives the finale a rit- Detroit and St. Louis Symphonies, the ualistic basic mood. A little later, the Leipzig and Cologne Radio Symphony percussions and strings are joined by a Orchestras, the Lyon National slow, wordless vocalise sung by a mez- Orchestra and many others. Guest en- zo-soprano off-stage. She then comes gagements in the 2015/2016 season in- on to the stage and sings Die Fahrende. clude appearances with the Iceland and Having sung this poem and thus ver- Baltimore Symphony Orchestras, the balised her message, she exits. The end Moscow State Symphony Orchestra is, like the beginning, dominated by and the Seoul Philharmonic. In May ritualistic booms on the moon gong, 2016 he will return to the Finnish joined right at the end by the mez- National Opera to conduct Wagner’s zo-soprano heard from afar, singing Tristan und Isolde. His previous expe- the last wordless line. rience of opera includes Aulis Sallinen’s Kullervo at the 2014 Savonlinna Opera Kalevi Aho Festival and Tannhäuser at Tampere Opera in 2012. He has recorded the

4 opera Mare and her Son by Tauno solo debut with the Lahti Symphony Pylkkänen with the Estonian National Orchestra, she was the winner of the Opera.Hannu Lintu has released many prestigious Young Concert Artists discs on the Ondine, Naxos, Avie and International Auditions in 1999. Her Hyperion labels. His most recent dates New York debut in the same year also from summer 2015, when he recorded got an excellent review in the New York the Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn vio- Times. lin concertos with Fumiaki Miura and In addition to the leading Finnish or- the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester chestras, Elina Vähälä has been the so- Berlin. Many of the discs featuring loist with, among others, the Minnesota him as the conductor have won awards Orchestra, Simon Bolivar Youth both at home and abroad, and his pre- Orchestra and Nashville Symphony miere recording of the opera The Mine Orchestra and worked with Leonard by Einojuhani Rautavaara was nom- Slatkin, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Okko inated for a Grammy. With the FRSO Kamu, Jakob Hrusa, Thierry Fischer, he has recorded works by Fagerlund, Leif Segerstam and many other dis- Berio, Messiaen and others. The disc tinguished conductors. In December of the violin concerto and orches- 2008 she was chosen to perform at the tral works by György Ligeti (2013) Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and con- was Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice in cert. February 2014. During the 2015/2016 Solo engagements this sea- season Hannu Lintu and the FRSO will son include appearances with the record works by Lindberg, Melartin, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra Prokofiev and others. conducted by Sakari Oramo, a tour Hannu Lintu studied the piano and of Central Europe with the Lahti cello first at the Turku Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, and of the USA in his native Finland and later the with the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Sibelius Academy, where he also at- Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra. tended the conducting class taught She will also make her debut with the by Jorma Panula, Atso Almila, Eri Klas Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra and Ilja Musin. He has further been tu- and the Strasbourg Philharmonic. tored by, among others, Myung Whun Highlights of last season included con- Chung at the Music Academy Siena. In certs with the Nashville and Detroit 1994 he was the winner of the Nordic Symphonies and a US tour with the Conducting Competition. Festival Pablo Casals Prades Collective. With pianist-conductor Ralf Gothóni, Elina Vähälä has premiered the ELINA VÄHÄLÄ Chamber Concerto by Aulis Sallinen and the Double Concerto by Curtis Curtis- Elina Vähälä is one of the brightest Smith. She also gave the first Nordic Finnish stars on the international fir- performance of the Violin Concerto by mament. Only 12 when she made her

5 John Corigliano and in spring 2012 pre- and at the 2014 Schwetzingen Festival miered a Concerto she had commis- Daphne in Hasse’s Leucippo. sioned from Jaakko Kuusisto. Virpi Räisänen has sung with many or- Among Elina Vähälä’s many cham- chestras, among them the French Radio ber music partners are Yuri Bashmet, Philharmonic, the German Symphony, Ana Chumachenco, Ralf Gothóni, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Bruno Giuranna, Jan-Erik Gustafsson, the Gulbenkian Orchestra, the Gary Hoffman, Steven Isserlis, Frans European Union Chamber Orchestra, Helmerson, Paavali Jumppanen, the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Jaakko Kuusisto, Cho-Liang Lin, Arto the Tapiola Sinfonietta and the Noras, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Alisa Helsinki Philharmonic, and with many Weilerstein. In 2009 Elina Vähälä chamber ensembles at venues such as launched the Violin Academy fund- the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the ed by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Aix- and she is a Professor of the Violin at en-Provence Festival and the Musicus the Karlsruhe University of Music. Fest Hong Kong. She has sung Lieder Elina Vähälä plays a Giovanni Battista in Finland, Central Europe, Hong Kong Guadagnini violin from 1780. and Japan. Known for her renderings of contemporary music, she has premiered several dozen works, many of VIRPI RÄISÄNEN them written for and dedicated to her. In 2012 she released her debut disc The Mezzo-soprano Virpi Räisänen stud- Legacy of Mahler (Ondine) with pia- ied at the Utrecht and Amsterdam nist Marita Viitasalo. Virpi Räisänen has Conservatories in the Netherlands and been Artistic Director of the Oulunsalo the Sibelius Academy in Finland. In Soi chamber music festival since 2012. summer 2009 she made her debut at the Salzburg Festival in Luigi Nono’s opera Al gran sole carico d’amore and THE FINNISH was invited back for summer 2010 RADIO SYMPHONY for the premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s opera Dionysos; she also sang this at ORCHESTRA the Dutch National Opera and the Berlin State Opera. Other roles in her The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra repertoire include Elmira in Handel’s (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish Floridante, the double roles of the Muse Broadcasting Company (Yle). Its mis- and Niklausse in Offenbach’s The Tales sion is to produce and promote Finnish of Hoffmann, Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed musical culture and its Chief Conductor Euridice and Iseut aux blanches mains as of autumn 2013 has been Hannu in Martin’s Le Vin Herbé. At the 2013 Lintu. The FRSO has two Honorary Helsinki Festival she sang Maija in Uljas Conductors: Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Pulkkis’s opera Five Women in a Chapel Sakari Oramo.

6 The Radio Orchestra of ten play- The FRSO regularly tours to all parts ers founded in 1927 grew to sympho- of the world. One of the many high- ny orchestra strength in the 1960s. lights of the 2015/2016 season will be Hannu Lintu was preceded as Chief tours to Japan and Austria with con- Conductor by Toivo Haapanen, Nils- ductor Hannu Lintu. Eric Fougstedt, Paavo Berglund, Okko The home channel of the FRSO is Yle Kamu, Leif Segerstam, Jukka-Pekka Radio 1, which broadcasts all its con- Saraste and Sakari Oramo. certs, usually live, both in Finland and In addition to the great Classical- abroad. Its concerts can also be heard Romantic masterpieces, the latest con- and watched with excellent live stream temporary music is a major item in the quality on the FRSO website (www.yle. repertoire of the FRSO, which each fi/rso), and the majority of them are year premieres a number of Yle com- televised live on the Yle Teema chan- missions. Another of the orchestra’s nel. tasks is to record all Finnish orches- tral music for the Yle archive. During the 2015/2016 season it will premiere six Finnish works commissioned by Yle. The programme will also include Piano Concertos by Beethoven and Prokofiev, Symphonies by Schumann and Brahms, and Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah. Among its guest artists will be pianists Murray Perahia, Nelson Freire and András Schiff, conductors David Zinman, Tugan Sokhiev and Manfred Honeck, soprano Karita Mattila and mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. The FRSO has recorded works by Ligeti, Eötvös, Nielsen, Hakola, Lindberg, Saariaho, Sallinen, Kaipainen, Kokkonen and others, and the de- but 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. The disc of the Sibelius and Lindberg Violin Concertos was Gramophone magazine’s Editor’s Choice in February 2014.