27.5. FRIDAY SERIES 15 Helsinki Music Centre at 19.00

Hannu Lintu, conductor Violeta Urmana, soprano

Ludwig van Beethoven: Leonore II, overture 13 min

Hector Berlioz: The Death of Cleopatra 25 min

C’en est donc fait! (recitative) Ah! qu’ils sont loin ces jours (cantabile) Au comble des revers (recitative) Grands Pharaons, nobles Lagides

INTERVAL 20 min

Richard Wagner: Idyll 20 min

Richard Wagner: “Starke Scheite”, 20 min final scene from the opera Götterdämmerung

Interval at about 19.50. The concert ends at about 21.10. Broadcast live on Yle Teema and Radio 1, and online at yle.fi/rso.

1 LUDWIG VAN thinking the piece must be about to end, Beethoven heralds in an Un poco BEETHOVEN sostenuto passage featuring a solo first (1770–1827): on an E-flat trumpet and then on a vi- LEONORE II, OVERTURE olin; in the opera, a trumpet signals Florestan’s release. The overture nev- Ludwig van Beethoven knew he wasn’t ertheless then leads Presto to a trium- cut out to compose an opera. So as phant conclusion the impact of which is someone quipped, he had to prove it by underlined by massive C-major chords. writing one. He completed the first ver- These structural quirks are a reminder sion of his one and only opera, Fidelio, that Leonore II was not an independent in 1805, but the third version nowadays concert number but a piece intended performed is nine years younger. It is specifically as an opera curtain-raiser. highly symphonic, and not generally re- garded as a world-shakingly great mu- sic drama. Beethoven himself said he HECTOR BERLIOZ thought of his melodies as instrumen- (1803–1869): THE tal rather than vocal, which is hardly sur- prising, since all in all he is not particu- DEATH OF CLEOPATRA larly thought of as a vocal composer. The composition process was not Hector Berlioz the composer was a rev- an easy one, and writing a satisfactory olutionary; he clean-swept the 19th-cen- overture proved especially troublesome. tury idea of how to use an orchestra and As Robert Schumann jokingly said, acted as a vital link between Beethoven Beethoven composed four overtures for and von Weber to Liszt, Wagner and one opera whereas Gioachino Rossini right up to Mahler. He set German mu- wrote one overture for four operas. And sic on the highest pedestal, enjoying it Beethoven truly did write four differ- more than possibly anything else, and ent overtures for Fidelio. The second is was delighted to evoke such a strong known as Leonore II, because while he favourable reaction in German musical was writing the opera, he still called it circles. Leonore. This second Leonore overture, The young Berlioz tried several times nowadays opus numbered 72a, was – all in vain – to win the Prix de Rome heard at the premiere in 1805. adjudicated by the Paris Conservatoire. The Adagio with which the over- The jury deemed his cantatas Orpheus ture begins is both pacifying and dis- (1827) and Herminie (1828) too modern, tancing, incorporating a quotation and the same fate awaited The Death of from Florestan’s aria In des Lebens Cleopatra (La mort de Cléopâtre, 1829), Frühlingstagen. The Allegro slips stealth- though the Symphonie Fantastique of ily in on the cellos and briskly works up 1830 hit the jackpot. The two-part to a jubilant forte, only to pull back again Death of Cleopatra well demonstrates before long. Just as the listener begins his dramatic instinct. The first part is

2 a delicious mixture of Classical opera Wagner had finished the first two and Romantic rhetoric as Cleopatra be- operas (Das Rheingold and Die Walküre) moans the mistakes she has made in in his Ring tetralogy and was working on life. The second part, a meditation, is a the third, Siegfried. completely different kettle of fish, de- On the morning of Christmas Day manding a singer of vast vocal scope 1870 Cosima woke to the sound of mu- to emphasise Cleopatra’s doubts, traitor sic. Opening the door, she saw a small that she is, about sleeping for eternity orchestra conducted by Wagner on the in the company of the pharaohs. The stairs outside. The music they were play- only dramatic death pangs are probably ing was The Siegfried Idyll, a gift from in Hollywood movies, and after reaching Wagner to his wife and his 18-month- a frenzied climax, Cleopatra joins her old son. He had kept the piece a secret Caesar not with a bang but a whimper. from his wife while composing it and while it was being rehearsed at a near- by inn. RICHARD WAGNER As the name says, the piece is about (1813–1883): Siegfried, but it also draws on an an- cient lullaby, Schlaf, mein Kind, schlaf ein. THE SIEGFRIED IDYLL The dreamily happy Siegfried Idyll later became a popular concert piece, though The Siegfried Idyll sheds new light on Wagner did not at first permit its publi- the extravagant proportions to which cation, feeling it was too intimate to be Wagner aspired, and achieved in his played outside the family. operas. It is a rare work for him, if for Naturally it was no coincidence that no other reason than that in the latter Richard and Cosima called their son half of his life he concentrated almost Siegfried. The Nibelungen story had exclusively on his operas and their pro- aroused his interest way back in 1844, motion. For the Siegfried Idyll reveals a after reading an article by Friedrich totally different Wagner: a composer of Theodor Vischer virtually crying out for selfless love and tender feelings. someone to convert the ancient Norse The 1860s found Wagner working un- and Germanic sagas into a libretto and der the patronage of the Bavarian King further an opera. Ludwig II. He engaged the renowned Der Ring des Nibelungen, more fa- pianist-conductor Hans von Bülow miliarly known as The Ring, is a myth- as his court pianist, for the pianist’s ological, megalomaniac, eschatolog- young wife Cosima, daughter of Franz ical, symbolist, incestuous story of Liszt, had seriously turned the head of greed and moral degeneration. It is, in Wagner the composer. They had two a way, still topical today: when, at the daughters, born in 1865 and 1867, but end of Götterdämmerung (The Twilight were not married until Cosima’s divorce of the Gods), Valhalla, the gods’ abode, came through in 1870, by which time bursts into fire and the end of the world they also had a year-old son, Siegfried. dawns, it may be seen as an allegory for

3 our Western world – a world that is be- Conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic lieved to have degenerated as a result Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of amorality, cynicism and greed and to with the RTÉ National Symphony be about to hit a brick wall. Nothing can Orchestra and Artistic Director of the prevent this destruction, just as the god Helsingborg Symphony and Turku Wotan could not prevent the destruc- Philharmonic orchestras. tion of Valhalla in The Ring. Highlights of Lintu’s 2015/16 sea- In the imposing final scene of son include appearances with the Götterdämmerung, Brünnhilde, daughter Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Orchestre de of Wotan and aunt to Siegfried the hero, Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestre na- requests that a great pyre be built for tional de Lille, Gulbenkian Orchestra, her. Starke Scheite schichtet mir dort she and the Iceland Symphony, Baltimore sings as she prepares for her own and Symphony, Moscow State Symphony the world’s demise. As the opera reach- and Seoul Philharmonic orchestras. He es its peak, Brünnhilde begs the ravens conducts the Finnish Radio Symphony symbolising death to fly home, and mo- Orchestra on tour in Japan in autumn tifs from the earlier operas pass here 2015 – as part of his complete cycle of and there through the music. Even the Sibelius’ symphonies with the New Japan listener with a lesser acquaintance with Philharmonic – and on tour in Vienna, Wagner will recognise the flashback to Salzburg and Innsbruck in January The Ride of the Valkyries, but more im- 2016 with violinist Leila Josefowicz. portant as regards the message of the Recent engagements have included the tetralogy is the fact that Brünnhilde re- Philharmonia, BBC Scottish Symphony, turns to Siegfried’s “holy wonder” mel- Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Cleve­ ody and his mother Sieglinde’s motif, land and St Louis Symphony orches- seen by Wagner as purifying the world tras; the Houston Symphony, MDR and humanity. Maybe the twilight of Sinfonieorchester Leipzig and the the Gods is, therefore, ultimately a cre- Orchestre national de Lyon; and debuts ative twilight. with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, the Hallé, and the Detroit Symphony Programme notes by and Minnesota orchestras. Osmo Tapio Räihälä translated In May 2016 Lintu returns to Finnish (abridged) by Susan Sinisalo National Opera to conduct Wagner’s , having previous- ly conducted them in - direct- ed by Harry Kupfer, Carmen, and Aulis HANNU LINTU Sallinen’s King Lear. Other recent oper- atic projects include Sallinen’s Kullervo Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio at the 2014 Savonlinna Opera Festival Symphony Orchestra since August and Tannhäuser with Tampere Opera 2013, Hannu Lintu previously held the in 2012. Lintu has also worked with positions of Artistic Director and Chief Estonian National Opera, recording

4 Tauno Pylkkänen’s Mare and her son. career, she made a name for herself Hannu Lintu has made several re- worldwide as a highly acclaimed Kundry cordings for Ondine, Naxos, Avie and in Parsifal and as Eboli in . Hyperion. In summer 2015 he recorded In recent years she has sung such parts Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky’s Violin as Verdi’s , Puccini’s and Concertos with Fumiaki Miura and the Wagner’s Isolde and Sieglinde. Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin Violeta Urmana is a regular guest at for Avex, while other recent recordings the world’s major opera houses, among feature works by Ligeti, including the them the New York Metropolitan, the Violin Concerto with Benjamin Schmid, Opéra National de Paris, , Milan and Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony and Covent Garden. Her Lied repertoire with Angela Hewitt and Valerie includes works by Mahler, Berlioz and Hartmann-Claverie – both for Ondine Richard Strauss. Forthcoming engage- with the Finnish Radio Symphony ments are Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex at Orchestra. Lintu has received sev- the Aix-en-Provence Festival with Esa- eral accolades for his recordings, in- Pekka Salonen conducting in July, and cluding a 2011 Grammy nomination Verdi’s Aida at the for Best Opera CD plus Gramophone in September. She has recorded nu- Award nominations for his recordings merous operas, headed by Verdi’s Il tro- of Enescu’s Symphony No.2 with the vatore, A Masked Ball, Aida and Don Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra and Carlos, Wagner’s Parsifal, and Mascagni’s the Violin Concertos of Sibelius and . She has also re- Thomas Adès with Augustin Hadelich corded Mahler’s and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Rückert Songs, and Berlioz’s The Orchestra. Death of Cleopatra to be heard at this Hannu Lintu studied cello and piano concert. at the Sibelius Academy, where he later Violeta Urmana has been award- studied conducting with Jorma Panula. ed the title of Kammersängerin by the He participated in masterclasses with Vienna State Opera and Commendatore Myung-Whun Chung at the Accademia dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia in Italy. Chigiana in Siena, Italy, and took Her Lithuanian homeland has given her first prize at the Nordic Conducting its most important award: the order, Competition in Bergen in 1994. third class, “Grand Duke Gedeminas of ”, and she has been the recip- ient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for singers in London. VIOLETA URMANA

Born in Lithuania, Violeta Urmana is one of the most highly sought-after singers of dramatic German and Italian repertoire. At the very beginning of her

5 THE FINNISH The FRSO has recorded works by RADIO SYMPHONY Ligeti, Eötvös, Nielsen, Hakola, Lindberg, ORCHESTRA Saariaho, Sallinen, Kaipainen, Kokkonen and others, and the debut disc of the op- The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra era Aslak Hetta by Armas Launis. Its discs (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish have reaped some prestigious distinc- Broadcasting Company (Yle). Its mission tions, such as the BBC Music Magazine is to produce and promote Finnish musi- Award, the Académie Charles Cros cal culture and its Chief Conductor as of Award and a MIDEM Classical Award. autumn 2013 has been Hannu Lintu. The The disc of the Sibelius and Lindberg FRSO has two Honorary Conductors: Violin Concertos was Gramophone mag- Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Sakari Oramo. azine’s Editor’s Choice in February 2014. The Radio Orchestra of ten players The FRSO regularly tours to all parts founded in 1927 grew to symphony or- of the world. One of the many high- chestra strength in the 1960s. Hannu lights of the 2015/2016 season will be Lintu was preceded as Chief Conductor tours to Japan and Austria with conduc- by Toivo Haapanen, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, tor Hannu Lintu. Paavo Berglund, Okko Kamu, Leif The home channel of the FRSO is Yle Segerstam, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Radio 1, which broadcasts all its con- 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.fi/ repertoire of the FRSO, which each year rso), and the majority of them are tele- premieres a number of Yle commissions. vised live on the Yle Teema channel. Another of the orchestra’s tasks is to re- cord all Finnish orchestral music for the Yle archive. During the 2015/2016 sea- son 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.

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