18 MARCH WEDNESDAY SERIES 12 Music Centre at 19

Hannu Lintu, conductor Olli Mustonen, piano

Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini, 23 min a symphonic fantasy for , Op. 32

Sergei Prokofiev: Piano No. 1 in D Flat, Op. 10 15 min I Allegro brioso – Poco più mosso – Tempo primo II Meno mosso – Più mosso (Tempo 1) III Andante assai – Tranquillo, decrescendo e ritardando IV Allegro scherzando – Poco più sostenuto – Più mosso – Animato

INTERVAL 20 min

Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 4 in B Flat, 24 min Op. 53 (for the left hand) I Vivace II Andante III Moderato IV Vivace

Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet, 20 min a fantasy overture for orchestra after Shakespeare

Interval at about 19.50. The concert ends at about 21.20. Broadcast live on Yle Radio 1 and yle.fi/rso.

1 PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY It thus reflects the flames that torture Francesca and Paolo her lover just as (1840–1893): much as the memory of the great love FRANCESCA DA RIMINI and passion that drove them into each other’s arms. When, in his Divine Comedy (1308–1321), the great medieval poet Dante Alighieri was wandering through Hell with the SERGEI PROKOFIEV Roman master Virgil as his guide, he (1891–1953): PIANO encountered among those guilty of sweet thoughts and desires in its sec- CONCERTO NO. 1 ond circle a young maiden by the name of Francesca da Rimini. Dante’s od- Prokofiev regarded his first piano con- yssey fired the imagination of Pyotr certo (1911–1912) as his earliest ma- Tchaikovsky in late summer 1876, and ture work. At its premiere in Moscow in in the space of only three weeks he August 1912, it was such a success that penned a symphonic fantasy bearing he had to play three encores. Ironically, the maiden’s name in a spate of fren- the critics condemned it as “a cacoph- zied creativity. Its premiere in Moscow ony of sounds that has nothing to do in 1877 was a great success. with civilised music” and declared its Francesca da Rimini is one of a madman in need of a strait- Tchaikovsky’s most emotionally compel- jacket. This alone was sufficient to win ling works. He clearly had no difficulty him the status of a young Russian sen- identifying with the feelings of hope- sation. less love. It is, however, also possible to The concerto begins with a “mighty detect certain other sources of inspira- theme” in the manner of, say, the fa- tion in the background. Only a couple mous opening bars of the B flat minor of months earlier, he had visited the concerto of Tchaikovsky. Prokofiev nev- Bayreuth Festival, and although he dis- ertheless assigns his piano a different missed the Ring tetralogy as being bor- role, for whereas Tchaikovsky’s opening ing in the extreme, the influence of theme never returns, Prokofiev uses his Wagner may nevertheless be detected as a milestone in the structure. In a way, in places, as in the stormy, blazing chro- the pompous opening theme is, at it matics. At more general level, as an or- were, set in quotation works, and it may chestral fantasy immersed in the world be heard as a gently ironic comment on of Dante, Francesca da Rimini may bear the grand gestures of Romantic concer- echoes of Liszt and his symphonic po- tos. ems. The concerto is in a single movement Cast in a single movement, Francesca built round the traditional sonata form. da Rimini seeks not so much to give The section that follows the opening a detailed account of events as to il- constitutes an exposition and is marked lustrate some of the focal elements. by both virtuosic, often sharply trans-

2 lucent textures and a second theme ed to retain the publishing rights and that proceeds at a more leisurely pace. refused to give his permission when the Following the return of the mighty German pianist Siegfried Rapp, who had opening theme is a slow, dreamy epi- lost his right arm in the Second World sode in nocturnal mood that momen- War, asked to perform it in 1950. In the tarily swells to romantic proportions. end, Wittgenstein consented and Rapp The next, sizzling and scherzo-like sec- gave the concerto its first performance, tion and the explosive solo cadenza cor- in Berlin in September 1956. respond to a development section lead- The opening movement bursts out ing to a recapitulation and a fine final like a toccata, vivacious and whimsi- build-up with the return of the opening cal and seeking to strike a balance be- theme. tween light and heavier moods. It takes the form of a rondo, a form that usually ends a work in several movements. SERGEI PROKOFIEV: The concerto’s emotional hub is the PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4 big slow movement, one of Prokofiev’s finest gems. It is a movement of lyrical In August 1914, during the first few beauty, profundity and intensity. It calls weeks of the First World War, Paul to mind the more melodic sections of Wittgenstein, a pianist, was hit in the el- his ballet The Prodigal Son composed bow by an enemy bullet. He was taken, two years earlier and represents a step- unconscious, to the field hospital, and ping-stone to the romantic outpouring woke after surgery to find his right arm of Romeo and Juliet. had been amputated. Unlike his three The third movement begins calmly brothers, he was not driven to suicide. but soon picks up speed, at times be- Instead, he decided to defy his difficul- coming more aggressive and edgy, too. ties and continue his career as a pianist. The closing movement passes in a flash, He performed works scored for the left like a sparkling closing comment. hand, arranged normal repertoire for the left hand only, and finally commis- sioned works from some of the most PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY: famous of his day, among ROMEO AND JULIET, them Hindemith, Korngold, Richard Strauss, Ravel, Prokofiev and Britten. A FANTASY OVERTURE The works he commissioned have met with varying fates. Romeo and Juliet has come to be re- Prokofiev composed his concerto in garded as Tchaikovsky’s first real mas- 1931 and sent Wittgenstein the score. terpiece, but its chronological place in The pianist’s reply was disheartening: his output is not altogether simple. He “Thank you for the concerto, but I do began composing it in autumn 1869, on not understand a single note of it and I the suggestion and to some extent the shall not play it.” He nevertheless want- instructions of Mily Balakirev, one of the

3 leading figures of the Russian national HANNU LINTU school, and had completed the first ver- sion before the autumn was over. But its Hannu Lintu took over as Chief premiere in 1870 got a cool reception, Conductor of the Finnish Radio and Tchaikovsky produced a revised ver- Symphony Orchestra in August 2013 sion two years later. The final version – Formerly Artistic Director of the the one heard nowadays – had to wait Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra and another ten years, however. Chief Conductor of the Helsingborg The different versions of Romeo and Symphony Orchestra, he has also been Juliet do have some material in com- Principal Guest Conductor of the RTÉ mon, such as the great, archetypical National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin. love theme already present in the first He works regularly with the Avanti! version. Some things were lost in revi- Chamber Orchestra and was Artistic sion, but new ideas were added, and Director of its Summer Sounds festival above all Tchaikovsky reshaped the dra- in 2005. matic structure. He did not cover the In addition to the lead- full plot of Shakespeare’s classic trag- ing Finnish , Maestro Lintu edy or its star-crossed lovers; instead, has made guest appearances with he sought to bring out the main forces the Radio Orchestras in Berlin, Paris, at play and to use them to construct a Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Amsterdam and powerful musical portrait. Madrid, with a number of orchestras in The pious mood of the slow intro- North and South America (such as the duction depicts Fr Lorenzo, the be- Toronto, Houston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, nevolent Franciscan monk whose well- Pittsburgh and St. Louis Symphony meaning plan goes horribly wrong Orchestras, and the Los Angeles and leads to the young lovers’ death. Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl), The real thematic core consists of the in Asia (Seoul, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and dramatic, rhythmically striking main Hong Kong) and Australia (the Sydney theme expressing the feud between the and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras Montagues and Capulets and the con- and others). During the 2012/2013 sea- trasting second theme, the ecstatic love son he made his debut with such or- of Romeo and Juliet. This latter is one of chestras as the London Philharmonic, Tchaikovsky’s many great . The the Minnesota Orchestra and the enmity between the Montagues and BBC Scottish Symphony, and this sea- the Capulets becomes more and more son he takes up re-invitations to con- heated in the development, whereas duct the Stockholm and Gothenburg the youngsters’ love burns most fiercely Symphonies, the Deutsches Symphonie- in the recapitulation. The tragedy ends Orchester Berlin (DSO), the Toronto in the lovers’ deaths, but their memory Symphony and other orchestras. lingers on in the final pages. Hannu Lintu studied the piano and cello first at the Turku Conservatory Programme notes by Kimmo Korhonen, in his native and later the translated (abridged) by Susan Sinisalo

4 , where he also at- Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony, tended the conducting class taught the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra by , Atso Almila, Eri Klas in Moscow, the Northern Sinfonia, the and Ilja Musin. He has further been tu- NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, the tored by, among others, Myung Whun Estonian National Orchestra and the Chung at the Music Academy Siena. In Staatskapelle Weimar. He has taken the 1994 he was the winner of the Nordic Helsinki Festival Orchestra founded by Conducting Competition. him on tour to Central Europe, Japan Discs by Hannu Lintu have been re- and China. leased on the Ondine, Alba, Naxos, Occupying a central position in Ricordi, Claves, Hyperion and Danacord Mustonen’s own compositions in re- labels. Many of the discs featuring him cent years have been works for orches- as the conductor have won awards both tra. His second symphony, Johannes at home and abroad, and his premiere Angelos, commissioned by the Helsinki recording of the The Mine by Philharmonic Orchestra, was premiered was nominated in May 2014. for a Grammy. Mustonen’s extensive discography includes many award-winning cycles, such as the Alkan and Shostakovich OLLI MUSTONEN Preludes that won Edison and Gramophone awards. Other releas- Olli Mustonen is a rare combination of es in recent years have included the pianist, conductor and composer. His complete Beethoven Piano teachers in the piano, which he began with the Tapiola Sinfonietta, Respighi’s playing when he was five, included Ralf Concerto in modo misolidio with the Gothóni and Eero Heinonen, and in FRSO and Sakari Oramo, and solo discs composition Einojuhani Rautavaara. His of works by Bach, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, work has taken him to major concert Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and houses the world over, to appear both Shostakovich. in recital and with the finest orchestras. Recent seasons have brought Olli Mustonen invitations to appear as the soloist with the London Symphony THE FINNISH Orchestra and the orchestra of the RADIO SYMPHONY Mariinsky Theatre, the New York ORCHESTRA Philharmonic and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. In addition to or- chestras in his native Finland he has, The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra among others, conducted the Jerusalem (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish Symphony, the Orchestra della Broadcasting Company (Yle). Its mis- Toscana in Florence, the Geneva Opera sion is to produce and promote Finnish Orchestra, the Cologne Radio Symphony musical culture and its Chief Conductor

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

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