31.10. WEDNESDAY SERIES 4 Helsinki Music Centre at 19:00
Manfred Honeck, conductor Matthias Goerne, baritone
Dmitri Shostakovich: Suite on Verses of 40 min Michelangelo Buonarroti, Op. 145/a (1974) Truth (Istina) Morning (Utro) Love (Lyubov) Separation (Razluka) Anger (Gnev) Dante To the exile (Izgnanniku) Creativity (Tvorchestvo) Night (Noch) Death (Smert) Immortality (Bessmertiye)
INTERVAL 20 min
1 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D Major, “Titan” 50 min 1. Langsam. Schleppend. Wie ein Naturlaut 2. Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell 3. Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen 4. Stürmisch bewegt
Also playing in this concert will be five students from the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, chosen for the Helsinki Music Centre’s Orchestra Academy: Elizabeth Stewart, violin I, Andrew Ng, violin 2, Maria Viksten, viola, Basile Ausländer, cello, and Kaapo Kangas, double bass. The Helsinki Music Centre Orchestra Academy is a joint venture by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the FRSO and the Sibelius Academy aiming at training that is of an increasingly high standard and with a more practical and international orientation. Players, conductors and composers take part in the project under professional guidance. The Orchestra Academy started up in autumn 2015.
Interval at about 19.50. The concert will end at about 21.15. Broadcast live on Yle Radio 1 and Yle Areena. A recording of the concert will be shown in the programme “RSO Musiikkitalossa” (The FRSO at the Helsinki Music Centre) on Yle Teema on 9.12. with a repeat on Yle TV 1 on 15.12.
2 DMITRI “The attraction of his poetry,” wrote Shostakovich, “lies in its deep philo- SHOSTAKOVICH sophical ideas, its great humanism and (1906–1975): SUITE its reflections about creation and love. ON VERSES OF My Suite for bass and piano is based MICHELANGELO on eight sonnets and three poems by Michelangelo; there is lyricism here, BUONARROTI tragedy and drama, and two ecstatic panegyrics on Dante. I gave my own ti- The late works of Dmitri Shostakovich tles to all the songs or romances – the are music of bleak truths and sounds. poet gave no titles, but they are sug- The Suite on Verses of Michelangelo gested by the content.” Buonarroti of 1974 was preceded by As late as 1970, Shostakovich was still the enigmatic 15th symphony (1971), attending the Communist Party meet- and the bone-chilling 14th (1973) and ing and composing works in line with 15th (1975) string quartets. After the Soviet policy, such as the Loyalty suite Michelangelo suite he composed only (Op. 136) for male choir to poems by the Op. 146 Verses of Captain Lebyadkin Yevgeny Dolmatovsky and the March of (Dostoevsky) and last of all the gloomy, the Soviet Militia (Op. 139. Thereafter, ceremonious Viola Sonata, Op. 147. suffering from a deadly heart com- Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) plaint, he abandoned the official truths. was one of the greatest universal geni- The Michelangelo poems reflect the uses in Renaissance art. According to timeless theme of the creative art- his contemporary biographer Giorgio ist’s conflict with authority. He would Vasari, he was unsurpassed in all three describe his orchestral arrangement genres of the visual arts: painting, of the suite as his “16th symphony”. sculpture and architecture. His poems Despite its obvious similarity with the were written for private use, but here 14th, dealing with death, the 11-move- again, he addressed such subjects as ment Michelangelo suite cannot really love, death, forgiveness and eternal life. be called symphonic. Shostakovich probably turned to the The first song, Truth, establishes the Verses after hearing the Seven Sonnets role of the artist as the speaker of truth. of Michelangelo by Benjamin Britten in The declaratory trumpets and discon- 1966. By 1975, the fifth centenary of solate, grovelling strings are the oppos- Michelangelo’s birth was fast approach- ing forces of artistic and worldly power. ing, and Shostakovich decided to set to Like a sculptor, Shostakovich uses big music a sample of texts in what he con- blocks to construct his orchestration sidered to be the rather poor Russian – bare groups of instruments at a dis- translation by Abram Efros. He com- tance from one another. posed his suite for the bass singer Having proclaimed its message, the Yevgeny Nesterenko and further made suite retreats into the private sphere, an orchestral arrangement (Op. 145a) in though still in recitative-like mode. the year of his death. Morning is softened by a harp and per-
3 cussions, but the double bass seems to GUSTAV MAHLER hint at toil. Woodwinds enliven Love, out of which grows the search for spiritual (1860–1911): beauty to which the artist is bound. The SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN D personal nature of this song is revealed MAJOR, “TITAN” in Separation, which ultimately means death. Anger erupts in irate brass and per- “His father, apparently a brutal person, cussions, striking at self-interest and treated his wife very badly, and when objectivity. Dante places the misunder- Mahler was a young boy there was a stood and ill-treated genius on a ped- specially painful scene between them. estal. It became quite unbearable to the boy, To the Exile takes a closer look at the who rushed away from the house. At latter theme. It is easy here to spot par- that moment, however, a hurdy-gurdy allels with the fates of, for example, in the street was grinding out the popu- Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Mstislav lar Viennese air ‘Ach, du lieber Augustin’. Rostropovich, but the censure is lev- In Mahler’s opinion the conjunction elled above all at the repression of the of high tragedy and light amusement artist who speaks the truth. was from then on inextricably fixed in Creativity uses the orchestra like a his mind, and the one mood inevitably sculptor his chisel, his hand guided by brought the other with it.” a higher power. Sigmund Freud’s medical notes on The last three Verses turn from his famous patient Gustav Mahler are work to the shadowy future. An angel a reminder of how quickly the music in Night sculpts a dream not affect- of that composer may shift from past ed by the surrounding degeneration. childhood memories to the unpredict- From here, it is only a short distance to able present, or from romantic idealism Death, which brings back the declarato- to everyday reality. The intersection of ry trumpets of the opening movement. past and present in a person’s experi- Death relieves us from exhaustion and ences, and of the subconscious and shame, both our own and that of the hidden meanings in Mahler’s music be- world. Shostakovich here alludes to his come a lasting element of the Viennese earlier works but offers no redemption. tradition. Immortality ends the suite with an in- Gustav Mahler was somewhat suspi- nocent tune Shostakovich composed as cious of Freud’s attempt to interpret a child. The artist lives on in the hearts the human psyche from a single per- of all those whose sufferings he has spective. In his symphonies, the various recognised. The tinkling epilogue on levels of reality are in a constant state harp and percussions is not so much of conflict, and he seems to suffer from a heavenly vision as a reminder of the neuroses. True, Theodor Adorno the power of art. philosopher did point out that Mahler’s music is not so much about neuroses as about justified fears, of the catastro-
4 phes that threaten both our culture as ny as a heroic tale of survival. a whole and us individuals. The premieres of all the versions of Mahler’s first symphony looks to the the first symphony got a cool or even collection of folk poetry Des Knaben hostile reception. The music’s idyllic as- Wunderhorn published by Achim von pects seemed simultaneously too fa- Arnim and Clemens Brentano in the miliar and too strange. Mahler’s con- early 19th century; his songs based on temporaries were baffled by the very these conjure forth dreamy landscapes opening: cuckoos calling and birds and childhood visions. Another impor- chirping over a static drone. tant source was his own Lieder eines In the earlier versions, Mahler had fahrenden Gesellen composed in Kassel titled the opening part Aus der Tagen in 1883–1884, for the symphony incor- der Jugend (From the days of youth), porates some of the cycle’s material. and the first movement more general- The song-like themes link Mahler’s ly Frühling und keine Ende (Spring and first symphony to Schubert, the idea of no end). The nature mood of the first the wayfarer and the variation and rep- movement is a blend of not only real- etition of long melodic motifs. These istic images but also of dreamy land- also generated epic dimensions and scapes and subconscious memories. a sense of time standing still, but the Mahler later recalled how his father Mahler symphony also has a more per- once left him on the edge of the forest sonal background factor. and told him not to move until he re- Moving to Leipzig in 1885, Mahler turned. His father got waylaid and for- began completing the opera Die Drei got his son, who was found hours lat- Pintos by Carl Maria von Weber at the er on the same spot, dreaming. In the request of that composer’s grandson. symphony, this timeless opening is in- He fell in love with Mrs Marion von terrupted by a French horn that sets a Weber and later confessed that this sunny stroll in motion. hopeless, passionate affair contributed The singing string melody is from to his symphony. He nevertheless in- Ging’ heut Morgen übers Feld (I walked sisted that the symphony would always across the fields this morning) in Des be greater than the love affair that in- Knaben Wunderkind. The mysterious ini- spired it. This affair may have been the tial mood with its wind instruments’ call reason for writing the symphony, but returns before, at the end of the move- no way did it constitute the content. ment, Mahler pulls out all the stops and At least four different versions of unleashes some magnificent brass fan- Mahler’s first symphony exist. The first fares – spring comes bursting in. two are in five movements, but Mahler Mahler originally headed the second deleted the original second movement, movement Mit vollen Segeln (Set with the “Blumine Andante”, in 1896. He also full sails) and its wild Scherzo dash mix- rejected the subtitled “Titan” borrowed es with the mood of a country Ländler from the popular novel by Jean Paul. that, with its yodelling and boot-stamp- The allusion to the character in the nov- ing, maintains a sense of unreality. The el speaks of the nature of the sympho- Trio section is by contrast feminine and
5 waltzing. ollections of the nature scenes of the The curious tableau presented by the first movement and steams ahead to slow movement really misled contem- a tragic climax. Back come the inferno porary listeners, who reckoned Mahler motifs, erupting in a festive apotheosis. was ridiculing the serious job of writing The trumpet fanfares and French horn a symphony. In the early versions, he ti- chorales (played standing) radiate a he- tled it Todtenmarsch in Callots Manier (A roic aura and the thundering orchestra funeral march in the manner of Callot); claims the ultimate victory. he had in mind an etching found in many German homes of a funeral pro- Programme notes by Antti Häyrynen cession of animals bearing a dead hunt- translated (abridged) by Susan Sinisalo er. The melody of Frère Jacques (Bruder Martin) whining in a minor key in a high MANFRED HONECK double bass register sets the scene for an irreverent country shindig seasoned Renowned for his distinctive interpre- with blaring march motifs and Jewish tations, Manfred Honeck has served themes in a Klezmer spirit. This festival as Music Director of the Pittsburgh cavalcade is the first of many in which Symphony Orchestra since the Mahler mixes fragments of Jewish– 2008/2009 season, for a term that ends Catholic–Bohemian–Austrian tradition in 2020. He frequently also conducts to form a grotesque picture in which many of the world’s finest orchestras, the pieces refuse to fall into place. the FRSO included, to great acclaim. Into the middle of this peculiar col- Born in Austria, Manfred Honeck lage Mahler pops one of his sweetest received his musical training at the tunes, Die zwei blauen Augen (The two Academy of Music in Vienna and for blue eyes of my beloved) from Lieder many years played the viola in the eines fahrenden Gesellen. Theodor Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna Adorno claims it is here possible to State Opera Orchestra. He began catch the soft Austrian dialect spoken his conducting career as assistant to by Mahler’s mother. Claudio Abbado and in 1987 founded Continuing without a break, the fi- the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra. nale was initially titled Dall’ Inferno al During the 1990s, Honeck regularly Paradiso (From the Inferno to Paradise). conducted at the Zurich Opera House, It plunges straight into a world-en- where he received the prestigious gulfing tempest before being washed European Conductor’s Award in 1993. ashore on a romantic string theme that He was Music Director of the Norwegian grows increasingly passionate before National Opera 1997–1998 and ap- once again colliding with the foaming pointed Principal Guest Conductor opening section. of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra The struggle is interrupted by a pre- in 1998. From 2000 to 2006 he was view of the final tableau. The romantic Music Director of the Swedish Radio theme rises on wings again amid rec- Symphony Orchestra and from 2007 to
6 2011 of the Stuttgart State Opera. He the Bastille, the Vienna State Opera was Principal Guest Conductor of the aIn opera, Goerne has a carefully cho- Czech Philharmonic 2008–2011 and sen repertoire. Topping his list of roles again 2013–2016. are Wolfram in Tannhäuser, Amfortas in Maestro Honeck has made many Parsifal, Kurwenal in Tristan and Isolde, guest appearances with the Pittsburgh Orestes in Elektra, and the title roles in Symphony Orchestra in the United Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and Wozzeck. States and Europe. With it he has re- Goerne’s biggest recording project leased many discs of works in the sta- to date has been the 12-CD selection ple repertoire, including Mahler’s sym- of Schubert Lieder completed in 2014. phonies 1, 3, 4 and 5. In addition to He has received four Grammy nomi- two earlier Grammy nominations, he nations, an ICMA award for best vocal won the Grammy for Best Orchestral recital and in 2014 the Diapason d’Or Performance in January 2018, for for his disc of songs by Hanns Eisler. He Shostakovich’s fifth symphony. The has also recorded songs by Schumann, International Classical Music Awards se- Brahms and Mahler, and sung in com- lected him as Artist of the Year 2018. plete recordings of many oratorios Though a great supporter of tradi- and operas (including Wozzeck, Das tion, Honeck also considers it a risk. Rheingold, Die Walküre and Siegfried). For as he says, “There is a danger, if From 2001 through 2005, Matthias you feel too comfortable with it, if you Goerne taught as an honorary pro- don’t think about it anymore,” and he fessor of song interpretation at the likes quoting Gustave Mahler, who said, Robert Schumann Academy of Music “Tradition is the conservation of fire, in Düsseldorf, and in 2001, he was ap- not adoration of the ashes.” pointed an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London.
MATTHIAS GOERNE
Matthias Goerne is one of the most sought-after vocalists and a frequent guest at renowned festivals, concert halls and opera halls the world over. He is the New York Philharmonic’s Artist in Residence for the 2018/2019 season. A native of Weimar, Matthias Goerne studied with Hans-Joachim Beyer in Leipzig, and later with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer- Dieskau. Since making his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 1997, he has made guest appearances at, among others, Covent Garden, the Teatro Real Madrid,
7 THE FINNISH ing albums are of music by Lutosławski, Fagerlund and Beethoven. RADIO SYMPHONY The FRSO regularly tours to all parts ORCHESTRA of the world. During the 2018/2019 season its schedule will include a tour The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra of Finland under Hannu Lintu, to (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish Pietarsaari, Kauhajoki, Forssa and Lahti. Broadcasting Company (Yle). Its mis- FRSO concerts are broadcast live on sion is to produce and promote Finnish the Yle Areena channel and Yle Radio 1 musical culture and its Chief Conductor and recorded on Yle Teema and Yle TV as of autumn 2013 hThe Radio 1. Orchestra of ten players formed in 1927 later grew to symphony orchestra size in the 1960s. Over the years, its Chief Conductors have been Toivo Haapanen, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Paavo Berglund, Okko Kamu, Leif Segerstam, Jukka- Pekka Saraste and Sakari Oramo. In addition to the great Classical- Romantic masterpieces, the latest con- temporary music is a major item in the repertoire of the FRSO, which each year premieres a number of Yle commis- sions. Another of the orchestra’s tasks is to record all Finnish orchestral music for the Yle archive. During the 2018/2019 season, the FRSO will premiere four Finnish works commissioned by Yle. The FRSO has recorded works by Mahler, Ligeti, Eötvös, Sibelius, Lindberg, Saariaho, Sallinen, Kaipainen, Kokkonen and others, and the debut disc of the opera Aslak Hetta by Armas Launis. Its disc of the Bartók violin concertos with Christian Tetzlaff and conductor Hannu Lintu won a Gramophone Award in 2018, and that of tone poems and songs by Sibelius an International Classical Music Award. It was also Gramophone maga- zine’s Editor’s Choice in November 2017 and BBC Music Magazine’s Record of the Month in January 2018. Its forthcom-
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