sign in sign up
<<
Home , Johann Joseph Fux

14.11. WEDNESDAY SERIES 5 Helsinki Music Centre at 19:00

Kreeta-Maria Kentala, conductor & violin Kaisa Kallinen, violin Hannu Vasara, violin Laura Vikman, violin

Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber: The Peasants’ 5 min Procession to Church Adagio – Die Pauern Kirchfahrt – Adagio – – Allegro – Andante

Telemann: Overture Suite in E Minor, TWV 55; e3 17 min Ouverture – Les Cyclopes – Menuet – Galimatias en Rondeau – Hornpipe

Johann Joseph Fux: Turcaria 20 min Eine musikalische Beschreibung der Belagerung Wiens durch die Türken anno 1683 Turcaria – Janitschara Preparation: Il Libertino – Contretens Die Schlacht: Posta Turcica – Les Combattans Klage: Rondeau Frieden: Rondeau Parade: Marche des Ecurieus

INTERVAL 20 min

1 Giuseppe Valentini: for Four Violins, Op. 7/11 17 min Largo – Allegro – Grave – Allegro e solo – Presto – Adagio – Allegro assai

Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in F Major, RV 574 13 min Allegro – Grave – Allegro

Interval at about 19:45. The concert will end at about 20:50. Broadcast live on Yle radio 1 and streamed at yle.fi/areena. It will also be shown on Yle Teema on 23.12. with a repeat on Yle TV 1 on 29.12.

2 MUSICAL HUMOUR Church is that of the common man plodding along to church to the tune AND TONE of a monotonous hymn; Biber here PAINTING achieves a fine spatial effect of a seem- ingly never-ending procession. Having The 17th and 18th centuries were an sat through the service in a daze, the age of reason. Newton discovered peasant is able to stretch his legs in a gravity and van Leeuwenhoek the mi- dance, and all sorts of things will have croscope, philosophers paved the way happened by the time he gets home. for democracy, and the press was born. The Peasants’ Procession to Church is On the other hand, these centuries also programme music picturing extra-mu- saw the heyday of the grotesque, fan- sical reality by unconventional means. tasy and irrational. Curiosities were car- The Baroque idea of art as an imita- ried home from distant lands, sorcer- tor of nature gave birth to a colourful ers travelled from fair to market, and tone-painting culture, but composers astonishing theatrical devices made were by no means content simply to hosts of angels hover in the air and sail- mirror reality. Life at a Baroque court ing ships slice through the waves. was a spectacle, theatre a dazzling as- The liking for fantasy and whimsy sault on the senses and life in society was reflected in music of the Baroque. a premeditated drama. One element of Peculiar instruments of all shapes this spectacle was the subtle blend of and sizes were invented, with excit- reality and ceremony, of surprise and ing sounds; underlying excess. was, after all, the “doctrine of the af- The logic of the Baroque spectacle fections”. The programmatic sonatas can also be seen in the programmat- with which the Bohemian composer ic suites of Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644–1704) (1681–1767). Among the subjects he entertained the court of the Bishop chose were Gulliver’s travels and the of Olmütz at Kremsier (nowadays adventures of Don Quixote. An unusu- Kroměříž) cultivated various timbral ef- ally prolific composer, Telemann was an fects and unexpected solutions. Biber agile chameleon and a musical cosmo- later moved on to more elevated circles politan who could turn his hand with as court composer in Salzburg, but he ease to many a style, be it German, nevertheless came from more humble French or Italian. circumstances. This can be heard in the In his Orchestral or Overture Suites, well-known Battalia sonata and the six- Telemann followed in the footsteps of part Peasants’ Procession to Church. the great name in French music, Jean- In Battalia, Biber did not hold back Baptiste Lully. The E-Minor Suite on to- on shocking effects in painting the day’s programme is in the manner of battlefield and its soldiers. Not a trace a French dance suite. The impressive is there of noble sentiment. The per- overture is a hyperactive take on a spective in The Peasants’ Procession to French overture spiced with a touch of

3 Telemannish humour. And there is fur- of battle is then described from the ther humour to come, for in between perspective of both the Ottomans and the stylised dances he slips some pro- the defenders of (Posta Turcica grammatic numbers. The one-eyed – Les Combattans) and the music grace- Cyclopes of Greek mythology are por- fully laments the fallen (Klage). Peace trayed in fetchingly clumsy music, is finally extolled and the troops march while “Galimatias” means “nonsense” off in a stirring victory parade. or “gibberish” and speeds along with its tongue in its cheek. “Battalia” or “battle music” was pop- FOR ular in the Baroque and has a parallel EUROPE’S BEST in the painted battle-field panoramas. Johann Joseph Fux (1660–1741), who ORCHESTRA excelled above all as a church and op- era composer, did not leave much in- Italy was Europe’s musical superpow- strumental music, but there is in a col- er in the Baroque, its instrumental lection published in 1701 a suite called compositions characterised by ab- Turcaria. This pictures the battle that stract expression and pure instrumen- had raged outside Vienna a couple tal invention. This does not mean of decades earlier, in 1683, in which that no programme music was writ- the great Central European powers ten, the best-known example here be- drove away the Ottomans that had ing Vivaldi’s highly-descriptive Seasons. been holding Vienna under siege for Italy’s musical flagships were a violin two months. The battle was a histori- tradition schooled in the music of the cal turning point in that it ended the streets and the concerto, a genre that Turkish threat and forced the Osmans gave the composer considerable free- to withdraw after centuries of holding dom. In the 1670s, large string ensem- large parts of Europe in their grip. The bles began to be formed in Rome and exotic aura surrounding things Turkish Bologna. These were the forerunners of would linger for years to come, as illus- the orchestra and they needed suita- trated by many examples in the works ble music to play. Out of the “instru- of Mozart. mental sonatas” grew the concerto, in There is lots of “Turkish” Janissary which dialogue took the place of coun- music in Fux’s battle scenes. Like the terpoint – the combination of two or contemporary paintings of battles, more tunes played at the same time. Turcaria is powerful propaganda, cast- The concerto became fashionable ing the enemy in the role of slightly with the spreading, at the beginning of comic ruffians and the victors as fear- the 18th century, of the concerto gros- lessly noble-minded. The suite begins so established by and with characterised Turkish music that weaving together a solo group of three is followed by a two-part, folksy dance instruments and an orchestra. by the relieved Europeans. The tumult

4 Giuseppe Valentini (1681–1753) suc- silhouette that still presides over the ceeded Corelli as musical director at city, formed notable art collections the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi and organised lavish spectacles from in Rome, a post he would hold for 30 masked balls to hunting feasts. years. The concerto on this programme Friedrich wanted his court orchestra was originally scored for six players with to be the best in Europe – and in this four obbligato violins. These Valentini he succeeded. He gathered around him combined in a variety of new ways, the finest composer-players of his day, and so that the accompanying instru- and the result was an all-stars line-up ments also got a share of the limelight. embracing the musical ideals of both He used the six-movement dance-suite France and Italy. At the beginning of model of Corelli’s chamber concertos, the 18th century, it had over 40 players, but in music that is clearly more capri- including Quantz on flute and Zalenka cious and convoluted. on , both notable compos- The Italian music boom got a further ers as well. The pride of the orchestra boost with and his new was its magnificent French horn sec- concerto concept. His recipe for suc- tion, the sound of which was pol- cess was three movements and tension ished to perfection by Johann Adalbert between soloists and orchestra. It has Fischer and Johann Adam Franz Samm. become a cliché to dismiss Vivaldi as a Another of the orchestra’s driving composer who churned out the same forces was Johann Georg Pisendel, one concerto again and again, because he of the most celebrated violin virtuosos was actually a breathtakingly inven- of his day. In Weimar, he had met J.S. tive composer who had hit on a format Bach, who was working there at the that suited him. He is best known for time, and he enthusiastically performed his solo violin concertos, but his model in concerts by the Leipzig Collegium lent itself well to other compositions, musicum then led by Telemann. When too. He composed solo concertos for Pisendel visited Venice in 1716, he was such newcomers as the and spotted by Antonio Vivaldi. Vivaldi had , homogenised the strings and in- never been to Dresden, but he had troduced enchanting combinations of heard of its first-class orchestra. He timbres in the works with several so- had already composed with it in mind, loists. These included the concertos and he was inspired even further by he tailored for the Dresden court or- Pisendel, who became his pupil and chestra, coupling a string section with built up a fine collection of his music and French horns, which were for the Dresden orchestra. presumably new to him. Many of the Vivaldi concertos were The Electoral Prince Friedrich August obviously intended specifically for the II (Frederick Augustus the Strong) had Dresden orchestra with its brilliant made the court at Dresden one of the French horns and oboes, even though leading cultural centres in all of Europe. only one of them is actually dedicated It was he who conjured up the Baroque “per l’orchestra di Dresda”. French horns

5 dominate the RV 574 concerto, their and is a member of many established breezy fanfares evocative of open-air ensembles. These include the Rantatie Saxony and the hunting grounds so Quartet performing on period instru- loved by Augustus the Strong. ments, and SAMA, combining Baroque with folk and new music. Programme notes by Recordings made by Kreeta-Maria Auli Särkiö-Pitkänen translated Kentala have won great acclaim in (abridged) by Susan Sinisalo Finland and abroad. She has received three Emma awards, a Janne award and two Album of the Year awards of the KREETA-MARIA Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). KENTALA The second of these was for a disc ti- tled Side by Side (2016) combining solo Kreeta-Maria Kentala is a pioneer in the violin partitas by Bach with folk music Finnish early music movement, equal- from her native Ostrobothnia. ly at home as a soloist, leader, cham- Also an active pedagogue, Kreeta- ber musician and pedagogue and in Maria Kentala teaches students spe- repertoire ranging from Baroque to cialising in Baroque music at Novia, Classical, Romantic and folk. Her con- the Pietarsaari University of Applied certs often feature works by little- or Sciences; she previously taught the vio- unknown composers alongside ones by lin at the West Helsinki Music Institute the great masters, and she enjoys com- and at the Sibelius bining different styles. Academy. She was Artistic Director of Born into a musical family in the Kaustinen Chamber Music Week Kaustinen, Kreeta-Maria studied the vi- 2010–2012 and Chairman of the olin at the Central Ostrobothnian Music Kaustinen Folk Musician Association Institute and the Sibelius Academy, 2013–2016. She is now Artistic Director and in the class of Jennifer and Endre of the Oulunsalo Soi festival. Wolf at the Edsberg Music School in Stockholm. While there, she attend- ed a masterclass given by Reinhard KAISA KALLINEN Goebel and later continued with him in Cologne. She also studied Baroque mu- Kaisa Kallinen has been with the FRSO sic with Monica Huggett. since 2001. She is also an active cham- In the course of her career, Kreeta- ber musician: one of the founders of Maria has played the violin in the the Zagros Ensemble in 1993 and a Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra member of the Zagros Quartet. and in the Musica Antiqua Köln en- After studying the violin with Paavo semble led by Goebel and specialising Pohjola at the Sibelius Academy and in music of the 17th and 18th centu- Chaim Taub in Tel Aviv, Kaisa Kallinen ries. She has since been the soloist and obtained a Master’s degree in music in conductor/leader of various orchestras 1998. From 2014 to 2017 she concen-

6 trated on studying Baroque violin with has, this time with pianist Marianna Kreeta-Maria Kentala and Peter Spissky Shirinyan, also been awarded the sec- at Novia, the Pietarsaari University ond prize in the Vittorio Gui Chamber of Applied Sciences. Since gradua- Music Competition. She has been the tion, she has frequently appeared as a leader of the Tempera Quartet from Baroque violinist. 2003 and together they have appeared in Japan and around Europe. Their dis- cography includes the complete works HANNU VASARA for string quartet by Jean Sibelius. Laura Vikman has been the soloist Hannu Vasara joined the FRSO in 1996 with many of the Finnish orchestras and later became leader of the second (including the FRSO), the Stockholm violins. He is also a member of Avanti! Philharmonic and the Belgian National and the Zagros and Doina Klezmer Orchestra, and has performed cham- ensembles. He studied with Paavo ber music at many festivals in Finland Pohjola at the Sibelius Academy and and abroad. She has been a lecturer Chaim Taub in Tel Aviv, began study- at the Tampere University of Applied ing Baroque violin with Sirkka-Liisa Sciences since 2015 and was a part- Kaakinen-Pilch in 2009 and contin- time teacher at the Sibelius Academy ued year with Kreeta-Maria Kentala from 2007 to 2015. at Novia, the Pietarsaari University of Applied Sciences, graduating there in 2013. He can nowadays frequently be THE FINNISH heard in various early music ensembles, RADIO SYMPHONY such as the Finnish and the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra. ORCHESTRA

The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra LAURA VIKMAN (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). Its mis- In addition to leading the second vi- sion is to produce and promote Finnish olins in the FRSO, Laura Vikman is a musical culture and its Chief Conductor chamber musician, soloist and teach- as of autumn 2013 hThe Radio er. She holds a Master’s degree from Orchestra of ten players formed in 1927 the Sibelius Academy and also studied later grew to symphony orchestra size at the music academies in Vienna and in the 1960s. Over the years, its Chief Cologne. Before taking up her present Conductors have been Toivo Haapanen, position in the FRSO, she was the or- Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Paavo Berglund, chestra’s third leader for ten years. Okko Kamu, Leif Segerstam, Jukka- Winner of the Kuopio Violin Pekka Saraste and Sakari Oramo. Competition and the J.S. Bach In addition to the great Classical- Competition in Leipzig, Laura Vikman Romantic masterpieces, the latest con-

7 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 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- ing albums are of music by Lutosławski, Fagerlund and Beethoven. The FRSO regularly tours to all parts of the world. During the 2018/2019

8