NEWSLETTER FROMGEHRMANSMUSIKFÖRLAG&FENNICAGEHRMAN

NORDICHIGHLIGHTS Tobias Broström & Esa Pietilä Focus on 2/2019 NEWS

Ten performances of the Moomin Opera Flash Flash available at Yle Areena Th ere will be ten performances of the Moomin Maarit Kytöharju Photo: Opera by Ilkka Kuusisto in September: in Tam- Juhani Nuorvala’s opera Flash Flash – Two pere on 13–15 and Valkeakoski on 21–29. Th e Deaths of Andy Warhol is now at Yle Aree- opera is based on the book Vaarallinen juhannus na and available also to viewers outside (Moominsummer Madness) by Tove Jansson, in . Th is opera to a text in English by which the Moomins take refuge from the fl ood Juha Siltanen has enjoyed cult status on in an opera house fl oating by. Th e project is a the Finnish opera scene; it is seductively joint Music Academy and Valkeakoski melodious, pop-infl ected, absurd and thrill- City Th eatre production. Also taking part in ing – something quite unique. Flash Flash the performance conducted by Tuomas Turria- was premiered on 9 February and received four additional performances at Espoo City go will be students and young actors from the Th eatre in May. Th e soloists were Tuu- Valkeakoski Music Institute and Th eatre School. li Lindeberg, David Hackston, Martti Anttila, Sampo Haapaniemi and Varvara Collections for saxophone Merras-Häyrynen. Tap dancer Ari Kaup- and clarinet pila performed a stunning scene at the end.

Kalevi Aho premieres Th e BBC commissioned a work from Kalevi Aho as part of a set entitled Pictures Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B. Elgar’s ‘Enigma Variations’ provides both model and inspiration for this new Photo: Anna-Kaisa Noki/Tampere-talo Photo: set of variations by 14 living composers to mark the 60th birthday of conductor Martyn Brab- bins. Th e premiere by the BBC Scottish Sympho- Finnish Favourites for the Saxophone is a com- ny Orchestra under Brabbins will take place on 13 pendium of works written for saxophone and August as part of the BBC Proms. piano in 1930–1950. Edited by Olli-Pekka Yet one more instrument is being added to the Tuomisalo, this anthology contains works list of solo concertos by Aho, this time for bass published now for the fi rst time, including a clarinet and orchestra. Th e concerto is a joint few arrangements. commission from the Jyväskylä Sinfonia and the Th e previously published Finnish Favourites Church opera by Kortekangas Joensuu City Orchestra on the initiative of Mik- for the Clarinet edited by Mikko Raasakka Th e church opera Elämänkuvat (Pictures of ko Raasakka. (See: premieres). presents music for clarinet and piano. Pilfi nk Life) by Olli Kortekangas is to be premiered Records has released a new CD that includes at the Korsholm Music Festival on 1 August Valfridsson & Dalasinfoniettan works from the collection by Leevi Madeto- by the Seinäjoki and Vaasa City Orchestras, Jonas Valfridsson ja, Sulho Ranta, Väinö Hannikainen, Erik Vaasa Opera Choir and Children’s Choir, as will be the Dalasin- Bergman and others performed by Raasakka well as two soloists: soprano Päivi Nisula and fonietta’s composer and Antti Vahtola (See: new CDs). baritone Waltteri Torikka. Th e conductor profi le during the Viktor Gårdsäter Photo: will be Anna-Maria Helsing and the stage 2019-2020 season. director is Ville Saukkonen. Th e libretto is He will compose two by Pia Perkiö and the opera was commis- new works: a cham-

NORDIC HIGHLIGHTS 2/2019 sioned by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. ber piece for string NEWSLETTER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN Lasting about one hour, the opera follows the quartet, fl ute, oboe, Sound samples , video clips stories of two characters side by side: a 16th-cen- clarinet and French and other material are available at tury Painter and present-day Mariia. It will be horn, and an orchestral work comprising the third www.gehrmans.se/highlights performed in the medieval Isokyrö Church and part of a trilogy inspired by the fairy-tale artist John was inspired by the paintings on its walls. Bauer. Rounding off the season, the main work in the trilogy, John Bauer Suite 1918 for choir and Cover photo: Ari Kauppila in the opera Flash Flash (Maarit Kytöharju), Tobias Broström (Nicklas Raab), orchestra, will be performed. Th e award-winning Esa Pietilä (Heikki Tuuli) work Th e Only Th ing Th at You Keep Changing Is Editors: Henna Salmela and Kristina Fryklöf Yo u r Na m e will open the season on 20 September, Translations: Susan Sinisalo and Robert Carroll Design: Tenhelp Oy/Tenho Järvinen and in January we can listen to the Swedish pre- ISSN 2000-2742 (Print), ISSN 2000-2750 (Online) miere of A Spark in the Deep Dark. Printed in Sweden by TMG Sthlm, Bromma 2019

HIGHLIGHTS 2/2019 New CEO at Gehrmans Filiz Erat Edhlund has as- PREMIERES sumed the position of CEO at Gehrmans Musikförlag. Music Finland Photos: July–September 2019 She is a trained pianist with OLLI KORTEKANGAS T’have seen what I have seen a focus on chamber music Tuuli Lindeberg, soprano, Petri Kumela, guitar and has long worked in lead- 9.7. Kemiö, Finland (Kemiönsaari Music Festival) Due per due for two violins ing positions in the music Katinka Korkeala, Sonja Korkeala industry, mainly in the copy- 11.7. Salo, Finland Partita for organ right and licensing company Tomi Satomaa ICE. “I feel both excited and 28.7. Turku, Finland Elämänkuvat (Pictures of Life) inspired at the prospect of leading Gehrmans’ develop- Vaasa & Seinäjoki Orchestras/Anna-Maria Helsing, ment together with the team. At the same time as we Vaasa Opera Choir etc., sol. Päivi Nisula, soprano, Waltteri Torikka, baritone oversee an important part of Swedish music heritage, 1.8. Isokyrö, Finland (Korsholm Music Festival) we must seek out and promote the composers who are CECILIA DAMSTRÖM creating the music we believe will be played in the fu- Piano Quintet – Helene Heli Haapala, fl ute, Kristiina Salmi, oboe, ture.” says Filiz Erat Edhlund. Current CEO Gunnar Helmi Malmgren, clarinet, Helgesson will remain at Gehrmans in the role of Sen- Topias Kiiskinen, bassoon, Tiina Karakorpi, piano 2.8. Janakkala, Finland (Kokonainen Festival) ior Director Composers & Repertoire. Öar i ett hav som strömmar (Islands in a Flowing Sea) Marika Hölttö, soprano, Maritta Manner, piano 18.8. Lappeenranta, Finland (Kumaus Festival) Karin Rehnqvist JYRKI LINJAMA

Photo: Ester Sorri Ester Photo: String Quartet No. 2 (Allerheiligentag III) Variations Festival Quartet Th e Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra celebrated a 10.7. Kemiö, Finland (Kemiönsaari Music Festival) century of Finnish independence in 2017 by launch- LOTTA WENNÄKOSKI Zeng for recorder, percussion and strings ing a commissioning project under the title of Hel- (version for string orchestra) Ostrobothnian ChO/Dalia Stasevska, sol. Anna Petrini, sinki Variations. Works by six composers will receive recorder, Antti Ohenoja, percussion an orchestral performance in 2019–2022. Th e fi rst, 25.7. Korsholm, Finland (Korsholm Music Festival) Om fotspår och ljus/ on 11 September, will be Lotta Wennäkoski with Of Footprints and Light Om fotspår och ljus (Of Footprints and Light), fol- Helsinki PO/Susanna Mälkki 11.9. Helsinki, Finland lowed by Kimmo Hakola (spring 2020), Antti Au- VELIMATTI PUUMALA vinen (autumn 2020), Matthew Whittall (spring Hommages fugitifs II (Bagatelles for Piano) 2021), Seppo Pohjola (autumn 2021) and Sampo Joonas Ahonen Haapamäki (spring 2022). 10.8. Oulu, Finland (Oulunsalo Soi Festival) MATTHEW WHITTALL Bright Ferment (String Quartet No. 2) Banff International String Quartet Competition 26.8.-1.9. Banff , Canada KALEVI AHO Variation XII for Pictures Within: F urther collaboration with Birthday Variations for M.C.B. BBC SO/Martyn Brabbins Karin Rehnqvist 13.8. London, UK (Proms Festival) Gehrmans is increasing its collaboration with Karin Concerto for Bass Clarinet and Orchestra Rehnqvist. Upcoming publications include Ljus av Jyväskylä Sinfonia/Ville Matvejeff , sol. Mikko Raasakka ljus/Light of Light (2003) for children’s choir and 4.9. Jyväskylä, Finland orchestra (a resplendent song extolling life and nature), Day is here! (2018) for eight voices and orchestra (set to traditional Native American texts and a text from the Swedish Hymnal, about life and survival), and Staern in Tanglewood and Stralsund Rolf Martinsson festival the frequently performed orchestral piece Arktis Ark- Benjamins Staern’s Confrontation for trumpet solo composer in Nora tis! (2000), a co-commission by the Swedish and and brass quintet will receive its US premiere with Rolf Martinsson is compos- Scottish Chamber Orchestras, inspired by a voyage Håkan Hardenberger and musicians from the Bos- er-in-residence at the Nora Chamber with a Swedish polar expedition in 1999. At present ton Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Festival Music Festival on 15-19 June. Th e Rehnqvist is composing a piece for choir and orchestra on 30 June. Hardenberger will also give the Australi- repertoire will range from his Opus to a newly written text by Kerstin Perski. ”It’s about an premiere of the work at ANAM in Melbourne in 1, String Quartet No. 1 from 1980, to our planet earth, our home in space. It is diffi cult to- October. Th eater Vorpommern will stage Benjamin his Suite for Woodwind Quintet from day not to mention the threats we humans face, and Staern’s popular family opera Th e Snow Queen/Die 2014. Th e artistic leader of the festi- that we ourselves cause”, says Rehnqvist. Th e work is Schneekönigin, to a libretto by Anelia Kadieva Jons- val is violinist and conductor Katari- a joint commission from the Netherlands Radio and son, translated into German by Lisa Henningson. na Andreasson, who also leads the the Swedish Radio, and the premiere will take place in Directed by Horst Kupich there will be nine perfor- festival orchestra in the fi nal concert the Concertgebouw in April 2020 under the baton of mances at the theatres in Stralsund and Greifswald including Airy Flight for trumpet and Dima Slobodeniouk. between 30 November and 5 March 2020. string orchestra.

HIGHLIGHTS 2/2019 Photo: Heikki Tuuli Heikki Photo: Esa Pietilä – modern music with room for improvisation

Saxophonist Esa Pietilä has not forsaken jazz and free improvisation, but his musician pro- fi le has changed and his main focus is now on composing orchestral and chamber music.

sa Pietilä (b. 1964) is the very epitome is coloured by a modernistic roughness of tim- note, as in Th ree Strides of Light (2017) for piano. of the player-composer – a rarity in con- bre and harmony along with vibrant multi-level Th ere is also very little improvisation in Brisk Etemporary Finnish music. Not only does rhythms. His world of sound is often enriched (2017), a duo for cello and marimba. he often play the solo tenor sax in works of his by extended performing techniques. Counter- Th ough musicians with a traditional classi- own; he also gives their performers freedom and balancing his spikiness there may often also be cal training seldom have much experience of responsibility in the form of improvisation. One more sensitive, even lyrical moments, such as in improvisation, Pietilä has not encountered any reason for this is his background in jazz. In 2016, the closing section of Blazing Flames (2018) for problems in the performance of his works, espe- one of Finland’s fi nest representatives of modern tenor sax and string quartet. cially if the players are given precise instructions. free jazz, he was the recipient of the number-one One of Pietilä’s weightiest works is Graffi ti On the contrary: it has been a liberating expe- prize, the Yrjö, awarded to a Finnish jazz musi- Play (2012), conducted at its premiere by rience for many. In Uirapuru (2016) for tenor cian. He has been the tenor sax soloist in his own Esa-Pekka Salonen. Th e solo part is assigned to sax and male choir, for example, the choir paints solo concertos and with the main line-ups led by a jazz trio, alongside which the large chamber colourful, playful sound pictures inspired by the him, such as Liberty Ship founded in 2012. orchestra creates rich worlds of timbre. Asterion Amazon rainforest and the Uirapuru bird in an Th e emphasis in Pietilä’s work in the present for saxophone and octet (2014) has a sim- exultant happening vein. decade has shifted towards modern art music. ilar, multi-timbre mode of expression but in a Th e degree of improvisation varies from one He had already listened to lots of modern classi- more chamber music-like context. Pietilä work to another. Sections may at times cal music and composed some works of his own Pietilä has many interesting works in the pipe- be totally free, and at others he may make ver- when a recording of Lutosławski’s third sym- line. One is a double concerto for violin and ten- bal requests or suggestions. Th en again, the im- phony conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen fi nally or sax he has written for himself and a violinist provisation may be restricted to specifi c notes or prompted him to steer his own composition in renowned for his powers of improvisation, Pek- melodies, or to motivic variation. He may allow the direction of modern art music. He has not ka Kuusisto. Th e idea was to create a sister work the performers liberties such as in Lutosławski- forsaken jazz and free improvisation, but his for the Ligeti Violin Concerto, so that the two an aleatory, though even then the sound does musician profi le has changed and his main focus could perhaps be performed in the same concert. not resemble or imitate that of the great Polish is now on composing. Meanwhile, he has also master. become more versatile as a musician, perform- Improvisation as a tool Th e transitions from improvisation to precise ing new works for sax by other composers, too; Th e compositions by Esa Pietilä frequently in- notation tend to be seamless and carefully calcu- Kalevi Aho and Eero Hämeenniemi are among corporate an element of improvisation. It may lated rather than sharp. Hence it is often diffi cult those who have composed a concerto for him. be part of the initial process, a means of seeking for the listener to decide whether a passage was and shaping the material, but is most obvious in improvised or notated, and when the transition Modernistic roughness and works with a solo tenor sax. Passages for other actually took place. Th is gives Esa Pietilä’s works timbral richness instruments may nevertheless include various a strong narrative feel and dramatic drive. Free improvisation has provided Pietilä with a degrees of improvisation. Th en again, he may in natural bridge from jazz to art music. His idiom some of his works write the parts out note by Kimmo Korhonen

HIGHLIGHTS 2/2019 Tobias Broström:

Photo Nicklas Raab Photo composing solo concertos

Tobias Broström is in the limelight with a new CD and with his new double concerto ”Nigredo” for two trumpets and orchestra premiered in Malmö in March, and to be performed at the BBC Proms in London this summer. In an interview with the composer shortly before the premiere, Tobias Broström gave an insight both into the new work, but also into how he relates to composing solo concertos and working with soloists.

hehliii soloistic, virtuosic il element iin music i writtenif for HåkHåkan Hardenberger H d b anddhi the inau- notion of a ”shadow” or an ”echo” has become has always interested Broström. Al- guration of the concert hall Malmö Live in 2015. more of an accomplished idea. Tready his fi rst large-scale workArena Both titles are redolent of the 1960s and while In the movement that follows, ”No Man’s was a concerto for percussion, after which fol- Sputnik has a musical connection via the picco- Land/Antagonism”, the fi rst trumpet is the lowed a number of solo concertos. ”It is simply lo trumpet part that soars off to great heights, antagonist while the second plays long lines. much more fun to work with the concerto form”, specially designed for Håkan Hardenberger’s It becomes a dialectical struggle between two Broström says, ”both for the collaboration with virtuosic capacity, the other title alludes to mu- characters. Th e third movement ”Equilibrium/ the musicians, but also because the soloist cre- sic’s rhythmic activity, with odd and varied time Dystopia” and ”Remembrance” follows without ates a ‘common thread’ in the orchestral texture. signatures. It is a fast and virtuoso piece, almost a break and paints a dismal picture of the future Th e solo part becomes a point of reference, it – as the composer himself says – ”like a mi- with memories of the past. ”Th ese descriptions has the fundamental musical material and the ni-concerto for conductor and orchestra”. have inspired me in my work of deciding what orchestra can follow like a shadow or engage in roles the solo trumpeters will get vis-à-vis one a dialogue with the soloist”, he says. When asked Nigredo: Dark Night of the Soul another and can be seen as a musical pointer to- what he thinks about virtuosity, a concept that Trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger, together with ward how the listener, too, can embrace the mu- has been interpreted diff erently in diff erent peri- his colleague Jeroen Berwaerts, is also behind sic”, says the composer. ods throughout history, Broström replies that it the commission of the new concerto for two Also, in connection with this work, we discuss isn’t a question of the Paganini type of virtuosity, trumpeters and orchestra. Th e work was entitled the composition of concertos as such. Broström just to show off , but that he likes a ”furious, hec- Nigredo, with the subtitle ”Dark Night of the agrees that these close collaborations with mu- tic virtuosity that provides focus, especially when Soul”, after the famous poem by the 16th-cen- sicians strongly infl uence his choice of musical it comes to creating rhythm”. Moreover, rhyth- tury mystic St. John of the Cross. ”Th e manner material, especially his familiarity with the indi- mical structures often create the very backbone in which I have composed the music and chosen viduals’ technical possibilities and capacity. At the in Broström’s music; it is around these that the the title of the work is linked to Jung’s defi nition same time, ”for musicians like Håkan Harden- musical fl ow and form are built up: ”Th e rhythm of ‘nigredo’, which can be described as a moment berger and Jeroen Berwaerts there are hardly any and the fl ow can in many cases come before both of ultimate desperation, and this is a prerequi- limitations to challenge”. Nigredo, however, is ”not harmony and melody, even though timbre and site for personal development”, says Broström. a virtuoso concerto in the spirit of Th eatron, but dynamics are also central elements” – something It is also reminiscent of alchemy “where nigredo rather a concertising symphony with two soloists, that not least characterises the double concerto (blackness) means decay or decomposition. Al- music with long lines in which the material is al- Th eatron for two percussion players. chemists of former times believed that this was a lowed time to develop”. And perhaps this gives a In contrast to this is Stellar Skies for fl ute and fi rst step on the way to the philosopher’s stone”. hint about the next piece that Broström is work- string orchestra – a tranquil and lyrical piece, and Already in the earlier trumpet concerto, Lucer- ing on – Symphony No. 1 is on the way. even though the solo part has virtuoso features it is naris , there was an interplay between light Staff an Storm of another type than those one fi nds in Broström’s and dark. But if it was light that was central in larger concertos. While a number of Broström’s Lucernaris, the new work is characterised more by Footnote: Nigredo was premiered in March works build on clear-cut rhythms, we encounter darkness, or rather journeying through darkness. by the Malmö Symphony Orchestra/John in Stellar Skies more fl uid, almost intangible struc- Th e concerto is written in two large sections Storgårds and is now awaiting its UK premiere tures where the string orchestra creates a shimmer- but can in principle be divided up into three in Royal Albert Hall during the BBC Proms on ing background with trills, tremolos and fi gura- movements. In the fi rst movement ”Shades and 25 July with the BBC National Orchestra of tions, against which the livelier phrases and the free Echoes” the second trumpet follows the fi rst like Wales/Markus Stenz. In connection with the declamation in the solo part are outlined. a shadow or an echo. In Lucernaris Hardenberg- 40th anniversary of Berwaldhallen it will also be Th e short and intensive Beatnik, the opening er played against a second trumpet, in fact played performed by the Swedish Radio Symphony Or- piece on the new CD, is an orchestral version of by himself via prerecorded material, but now he chestra under the direction of Daniel Harding Sputnik for piccolo trumpet and orchestra, has a physically present playing partner and the in November 2019.

HIGHLIGHTS 2/2019 21th century works REPERTOIRE TIPS for strings REVIEWS

KALEVI AHO MIHKEL KEREM Letter to the Neth- String Sextet ‘Restless erworld/Kirje tuolle Night’ (2004) Dur: 30’ puolen’ (2018) Dur: 12’ Laudatio (2011) Jesper Berg Photo: Pehr Henrik Nordgren in Dur: 10’ memoriam for strings 55432 “Anyone who believes tradi- tional tonality to be no longer capable of expressing Dedicated to the memory of fellow-composer Nord- anything more than timeworn clichés should listen to gren, Letter to the Netherworld is a musical ques- Kerem’s work,” wrote Fanfare. Kerem, himself a vio- tion-and-answer in which the violins put questions to linist, has written idiomatic and hauntingly beautiful the low strings and the rich viola tones act as cata- music for strings. The idea of the String Sextet was lysts. The result is beautiful, moving music. connected to Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht so that the two pieces could be performed together. The mood TOBIAS BROSTRÖM goes from calm to agitated and fi nds peace at the end Mirage (2013/2016) with a long, meditative stretch in D Major. Dur: 5’ ROLF MARTINSSON Mirage is an arrangement for string orchestra of a Kalliope (2003) movement from Broström’s Dur 27’ String Quartet No. 1. The In the highly expressive Jeroen Berwaerts and Håkan Hardenberger opening trills of the violins against the natural over- nine-movement work Kalli- tones in the viola and cello give the piece a magical, ope, Martinsson lets the Mus- shimmering character, like a vibrating light over the es of Greek mythology come Broström’s Nigredo horizon – like a mirage. The violins’ trills then change forth, each in a movement of her own. The movements into a whirling rhythmical accompaniment. The me- are divided into three groups of three so that the tempi The composer evinces an eminent talent when it comes to handling timbre… he lodic element is found throughout the piece in the and the Muses’ diff erent characters are contrasted and keeps the percussion busy creating a soft swarming atmosphere, together with viola and the cello. The music is continually in motion varied as much as possible throughout the work. The the harp, the piano and the whole multifarious orchestra’s web of parts. The so- and doesn’t come to a stop until the very end, when it characters fl uctuate between the harsh and the more loists liberate themselves from this fantastic throng to excel, while the amazing ebbs away and concludes in a quiet pizzicato. romantic, between tranquility and rhythmic tension. secrets of trumpet technique crop out in duels and bickerings. Otherwise, images predominate of the impressionistic tone painting of wide oceans. And Broström is CECILIA DAMSTRÖM JUHANI NUORVALA lord of the waves. Sydsvenskan 15.3. Infi rmus (2015) Varationes ex “Bene Dur: 7’ quondam” (2017) Tobias Broström: Nigredo Dur: 24’ World premiere: Malmö SO/John Storgårds, sol. Håkan Hardenberger, Jeroen Berwaerts, trumpets, 14.3.2019 Infi rmus is the Latin word for Malmö, Sweden ill or weak, and this piece is Eight variations on Bene dedicated to all those who quondam dociles in the suff er from chronic illness- medieval Piae Cantiones collection. The solo viola Högberg’s entertaining es. And one can indeed feel the pain in Damström’s binds the movements together and the theme passes striking piece, which is full of glissandi, achingly high through diff erent eras, musical cultures and styles. Baboon Concerto strings, rapid runs and playing ”sul ponticello”. In this Here again Nuorvala handles his material with real The soloist told stories, blew smoke rings through the instrument, distorted the piece we can also fi nd a quotation from her earlier skill. Shifting rhythms, archaic tones, toe-curling choral composition on the theme ”My God, My God, sounds, beautiful fl ageolet notes and gamelan allu- composer’s melodies and gradually took his instrument apart piece by piece, until why hast Thou forsaken me”? sions, hints of tango and rock – all these can be found at last only the pipe was left… A work with so many comical gimmicks requires in this relaxed, enjoyable piece. a performer who not only masters the virtuosic passages on the instrument, but ANDERS ELIASSON also dares to loosen up in the theatrical features inserted in the score. Sebastian Sinfonia per archi VELIMATTI Stevensson is such an entertainer – he obviously enjoyed his role as the baboon, (2001) Dur: 35’ PUUMALA who cunningly stole the show from the highly competent conductor Susanna Mälkki. The sorrowfully singing Sin- Rime (2013) Dur: 24’ fonia per archi consists of a for strings 55432 Jyllands-Posten 1.3. long continuous movement Memorial Fragment Fredrik Högberg: Baboon Concerto that ranges from the most (2008) Dur: 13’ Danish premiere: Danish National SO/Susanna Mälkki, sol. Sebastian Stevensson, bassoon, 28.2.2019 delicate tenderness and achingly beautiful melodic for violin obligato and strings Copenhagen, Denmark lines, to dramatic outbursts. A twenty-minute-long 54432 opening Adagio turns into a restless, slightly jerky and onrushing Allegro that leads to a Lento, in which Like many of these ‘tips’, both pieces were premiered by the character of the beginning returns. The work ends the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra. Rime alludes to Wennäkoski’s Soie the highlight of the evening on a bright, pure, open chord that imparts a feeling of the frosty autumn fi elds of Central Ostrobothnia. The Lotta Wennäkoski’s extremely virtuosic concerto was the highlight of the release and hope. thread running through is a folk melody noted down evening. Atmospheric poetry, refi ned instrumentation, rich handling of detail by Toivo Kuula. The Memorial Fragment is subtitled “In and sovereign play with the orchestra’s timbral potential – astounding and memory of P.H. Nordgren” and quotes a piece by him TOMMIE HAGLUND that engages in dialogue with Puumala’s own idiom. impressive … Kersten McCall places his outstanding competence in the ser- Serenata per Diotima Breathtaking, quiet moments are often a mystical fun- vice of the work. This is great art, free from the airs and graces of stardom. (2014/2015) Dur: 14’ damental element of Puumala’s works. Westfälischen Anzeiger 25.3. Lotta Wennäkoski: Soie Serenata per Diotima is HARRI VUORI Concertgebouw Orchestra/Thomas Hengelbrock, sol. Kersten McCall, fl ute, 22.3.2019 Dortmund, dedicated to Haglund’s fi rst To Fly, to Fly / Lentoon Germany grandchild. He has told how (2015) Dur: 10’ looking into the little girl’s eyes inspired him while for 18 strings 44442 composing. The music is characterised by an uncanny Sakari Oramo conducted the Finesse and radiance beauty, emotional directness and intimacy. There is premiere of this work in 2015. The guitar concerto Susurrus by Lotta Wennäkoski is distinguished by the fi - a melancholy shimmer over the fl uid string texture. It pictures the polyphony of swans on the wing: The nesse and invention of a score in which the orchestra becomes the sound box And here there are also recurrent lyrical, cantabile and composer wrote: “In summer 2014, four swans landed dizzyingly beautiful interjections from a solo violin. for the guitar. The energy of the solo part and the novel ideas give an instru- on the lake by my summer cottage. My attention was ment so diffi cult to confront with an orchestra an astonishing radiance. immediately caught by their joint song using the fi rst four notes of a major scale, at times slightly extending resmusica.com 11.5. their melody up or down. I was also impressed by the Lotta Wennäkoski: Susurrus strange hypnotic rhythm of their singing.” Estonian National SO/Olari Elts, sol. Petri Kumela, 3.5.2019 , Estonia (World Music Days)

HIGHLIGHTS 2/2019 Symphony No. 17 – an Aho masterpiece Kalevi Aho’s Symphony No. 17 is a modern mas- Lundqvist Mats Photo: terpiece… It is one of the fi nest, most impressive works of art ever produced in this country or that I have come across anywhere for a long time now. The greatest music is never an honour just to the composer or the style he represents; it is some- thing that exists for the listener, making his soul and innermost being shiver… Aho’s symphony arouses a feeling such as this – wonder, astonish- ment, emotion. Etelä-Suomen Sanomat 6.4. Kalevi Aho: Symphony No. 17 Haglund Festival World premiere: Lahti SO/Dima Slobodeniouk, 4.4.2019 Lahti, The Symphony stands out as a spiritual monolith, a Finland pillar of wisdom that radiates in shifting colours, vi- brates, breathes, perhaps even consoles. The music, with features of voluptuous melancholy, forms a slow, Ever innovative Aho hesitant fl ow where impulses and ideas succeed one Possibly Aho’s greatest feat, triumphant as ever in another. Svenska Dagbladet 1.4. these works, is a truly unique harmonic compro- In the violin concerto ”Hymnen an die Nacht”… the Albert Schnelzer & Ilya Gringolts mise between atonality, free tonality and tonality soloist becomes the subject that seems to howl in the – a sort of ‘Ahotonality’. Hufvudstadsbladet 24.4. musically austere moonlight… until the day dawns Nocturnal Songs Kalevi Aho: Trumpet Concerto, and ”the hour of the wolf” passes into a more elegiac In Nocturnal Songs the common denominator for Trombone Concerto tranquility… ”La rosa profunda” is about life’s frailty the inspiration is a state in-between wakefulness and CD: Antwerp SO/Martyn Brabbins, sol. Jörgen van Rijen, trom- viewed through the transitoriness of the rose. It is sleep… an exceedingly successful work that received bone, Alain de Rudder, trumpet (BIS SACD-2196) sensual, shimmering music, fervently conveyed by standing ovations… Ilya Gringolts gave an assured the soprano Miah Persson. Dagens Nyheter 29.3. and moving performance. Gripping new Guitar Concerto Tommie Haglund: Symphony (World premiere), Upsala Nya Tidning 13.4. The seven-movement work traced an almost cin- Hymnen an die Nacht, La Rosa Profunda Albert Schnelzer: Violin Concerto – Nocturnal Songs ematic arc in which diff erent eff ects intertwine as Royal Stockholm PO/Tobias Ringborg, sol. Ilya Gringolts, violin, Miah World premiere: Uppsala CO/Gérard Korsten, sol. Ilya Gringolts, part of a growing story…the magnifi cent result Persson, soprano, 28.3.2019 Stockholm, Sweden (Stockholm Composer 11.4.2019 Uppsala, Sweden kept the audience gripped to the very last note. Weekend) Lapin kansa 13.5. Schnelzer’s sure-fi re hit Kalevi Aho: Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra Captivating music A modern piano concerto that feels like a sure-fi re Lapland CO/John Storgårds, sol. Ismo Eskelinen, 10.5. 2019 The Sea Lapland String hit the very fi rst time you hear it… He has a tone Rovaniemi, Finland Quartet conjured forth language that is up-to-date but not too complicat- Nieminen’s atonal yet ed, with colourful orchestration… Above all, he has melodic texture with something to tell… Conrad Tao performs splendid- a bold spatiality… The ly, and the orchestra and the conductor Søndergård enchanting thematic

seem equally inspired. This is a piano concerto that Romain Etienne Photo: repetitions and spa- deserves to be performed many times and recorded tial echoes engulf the on CD as soon as possible. Dagens Nyheter 15.3. mind and captivate Albert Schnelzer: Piano Concerto – This is Your one to listen. Kingdom Lapin kansa 4.3. World premiere: Swedish Radio SO/Thomas Søndergård, sol. Conrad Tao, Kai Nieminen: Gestures of Winter 14.3.2019 Stockholm, Sweden (Three Quartets of Winter) CD: Sea Lapland String Quartet (Pilfi nk JJVCD-204) Striking beauty and delicacy Katija Dragojevic’s passionate voice A work just begging to be played can be heard in It is obvious from Somber that Tuomas Turriago is a longspun melodic fi rst-class pianist. A work of smoothly changing tem- lines… The beauty pos, rhythms and tonal richness, it tastes strongly of is striking when she jazz in addition to impressionistic shades. A work just succeeds in getting begging to be played! Aamulehti 7.3. this fi rst part to rise Tuomas Turriago: Somber for Piano Solo like a slowly emerg- World premiere: Ville Hautakangas, 6.3.2019 Tampere, Finland ing protuberance of land out of the sea, and there fi ll the air with archaic sounds high up in the treble regis- ter… In the second part the pulse is much quicker and Nea Ilmevalta Photo: the mobility almost boundless. A jubilant feeling that Andreas Sundén emits on his clarinet… In the third A resonant, glowing song cycle part Samuelsson has chosen to be at her most search- Heiniö uses resonant, spectral-led harmonies to set ing, and delicacy permeates the whole movement, Nummi’s tender characters to music…The cycle, both including achingly beautiful string and wind parts. its poetry and its mood, fi ts the meditative, dark ba- Dagens Nyheter 21.3. sic hue of the deep bass voice. Song of Late Summer, Marie Samuelsson: The Love Trilogy though melancholy, nevertheless glows. yle.fi 12.3. CD: Swedish Radio SO/Daniel Blendulf, Malmö SO, Nordic CO/Sarah Mikko Heiniö: Syyskesän laulu Ioannides, sol. Katija Dragojevic, mezzo-soprano, Andreas Sundén, (Song of Late Summer) clarinet (Daphne 1062) CD: Sami Luttinen, bass, Tuula Hällström, piano (Alba ABCD 427)

HIGHLIGHTS 2/2019 NEW PUBLICATIONS NEW CDs

Finnish Music for Clarinet CHAMBER & INSTRUMENTAL and Piano 1922-1959 Mikko Raasakka, clarinet, KALEVI AHO SVENDAVID SANDSTRÖM ALBERT SCHNELZER Antti Vahtola, piano Piano Sonata No. 2 Piece for Horn Sven-David Sandström Piano Concerto – Albert Schnelzer Pilfi nk JJVCD-208 (‘Unknown’) – Hommage à Beethoven GE13462 This Is Your Kingdom FG 9790-55011-517-0 GE 13533 (score) 13534 (solo piano) Hunting Piano Concerto MIKKO HEINIÖ Piece for Horn GE 13535 (study score) This Is Your Kingdom for clarinet and cello for symphony orchestra Syyskesän laulu TOBIAS BROSTRÖM GE 13639 (manuscript) (Song of Late Summer) SCORE BENJAMIN STAERN Benjamin Staern Fantasia Tobias Broström for piano Two Flutes Pont de la Mer YRJÖ KILPINEN GE 13665 GE 13638 (manuscript) for horn and orchestra Refl exer Pont de la Mer Fantasia GE 12805 (score) GE 12806 Sami Luttinen, bass, Morceau de concert pour cor solo et orchestre La noche oscura for solo piano TUOMAS TURRIAGO (solo part) GE 12807(study score) Tuula Hällstöm, piano for clarinet Somber for piano SCORE Alba ABCD 427 GE 13585 FG 9790-55011-483-8 (‘Songs of Late Summer’) ANNSOFI SÖDERQVIST ——Ȭ˜ęȱ㍎›šŸ’œ City Life KIMMO HAKOLA OLLIPEKKA for chamber orchestra ROLF MARTINSSON String Quartet No. 4 Op. 95 GE 13377 (score) GE 13379 City Life Opening Sounds, Ich denke TUOMISALO ED. for orchestra FG 9790-55011-497-5 (score) (study score) Dein…, Tour de Force, FG 9790-55011-498-2 (parts) Finnish Favourites for the SCORE Into Eternity Saxophone/Suomalainen Wind Quintet Op. 96 JENNAH VAINIO Malmö SO/Paul Mägi, saksofonikokoelma sol. Lisa Larsson, soprano “Compressions” FG 979-0-55011-479-1 Frozen Liquid FG 9790-55011-508-8 (score) for string orchestra (score) BIS-2323 (‘Into Eternity’) FG 9790-55011-509-5 (parts) FG 9790-55011-504-0 ILMARI HANNIKAINEN ALLAN PETTERSSON PAAVO HEININEN Piano Sonata in C Minor, JONAS VALFRIDSSON Violin Concerto No. 2, Jonas Valfridsson Symphony No. 17 (fragment) Sonatas for Violin and Piano Op. 1 John Bauer Suite 1918 Op. 134 FG 9790-0-55011-512-5 Norrköping SO/ for orchestra and mixed chorus Christian Lindberg, Boston Sonata: FG 9790-55011-500-2 GE 13040 (score) John Bauer-svit 1918 EINARI MARVIA for orchestra and mixed choir Boston Variations: FG 9790-55011-501-9 GE 13042 (study score) sol. Ulf Wallin Boston Ballade: FG 9790-55011-502-6 Sonata for Piano Op. 16 BIS-2290 GE 13043 (choral score) SCORE FG 9790-55011-481-4 LARS KARLSSON Two hidden treasures of EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA Finnish piano Sonata No. 2 ‘The Fire Sermon’ Who can sail without a wind literature in Urtext editions. CHORAL (Vem kan segla förutan vind) MATTHEW WHITTALL The Hannikainen sonata has MATTHEW PETERSON for organ something of Liszt’s heroism On the beach at night, FG 9790-55011-507-1 Adoramus te and the sensual expression A noiseless patient spider Motet for mixed choir of Chopin, while the spirit (from Leaves of Grass: JYRKI LINJAMA SMzATBarB (Lat) 12 preludes for piano) of Brahms and the infl uence GE 13516 Sonata da chiesa III of Russian piano literature & works by other composers for harpsichord maybe detected in the sonata Ave maris stella Erik T. Tawaststjerna, piano FG 9790-55011-499-9 by Marvia. Motet for mixed choir Alba ABCD 437 SSAATTBB (Lat) (‘Ballades and Other Stories’) ROLF MARTINSSON GE 13517 String Quartet No. 1 GE 13646 (score) GE 13647 (parts) Cantate Domino ORCHESTRA Motet for mixed choir ALBUMS & TUTORS JACOB MÜHLRAD NILSPETTER ANKARBLOM SMzATBarB (Lat) Rolf Martinsson GE 13518 Album for Young Organists/ The Preacher’s Speech Smolan Road ’•œȬŽĴŽ›ȱ—”Š›‹•˜– Kokoelma nuorille urkureille for two marimbas and Concert overture for symphony EVA HOLM FOOSNÆS A collection of 11 new works two vibraphones String Quartet No. 1 orchestra Smolan Road commissioned by the Organum GE 13226 (score) GE 1327 (parts) GE 13508 (score) GE 13510 (study score) A Concert Overture The Black Monkey for symphony orchestra for mixed choir SSAATTBB Society of Helsinki. Tsurah SCORE FG 9790-55011-505-7 SCORE Text: Katherine Mansfi eld (Eng) for soprano, clarinet, violin, TOBIAS BROSTRÖM Winner of the Allmänna Sången Nigredo: Dark Night of the Soul Tobias Broström cello and piano & Anders Wall Composition MERI LOUHOS  for two trumpets and orchestra Text: Exodus 20:4 (Hebrew) Award. KATARINA NUMMI GE 13172 (score) GE 13171 (parts) GE 13484 (score) GE 13486 (study score) Nigredo GE 13487-88 (solo parts) Dark Night of the Soul GE 13617 Piano Studies 4/ for two trumpets & orchestra Jacob Mühlrad Maggid Tsurah Pianoetydejä 4 for soprano, clarinet, violin, EVA BORNEMARK/ARR: for cello violoncello and piano JÖRGEN DAFGÅRD SCORE A new, revised edition. GE 13465 SIMON ÅKESSON FG 9790-55011-196-7 Eclipse Jörgen Dafgård Nu kommer sommaren Concerto for Violin and NU KOMMER SOMMAREN Text och musik: Eva Bornemark SCORE KAI NIEMINEN String Orchestra for mixed choir SATB and piano Arrangemang: Simon Åkesson PIRKKO SIMOJOKI  Three Quartets of Winter Eclipse Text: Eva Bornemark (Swe) GE 13355 (score) GE 13356 (solo violin) Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra GÉZA SZILVAY for string quartet GE 13357 (study score) GE 13640

SCORE Viola ABC, Book A

1. I Can Hear Northern Lights Rolf Martinsson FG 9790-55011-484-5 1 (revised edition) ROLF MARTINSSON STEFAN NILSSON/ARR: FG 9790-55011-252-0 Jacob Mühlrad 2. Towards the Light Maggid Impression PELLE OLOFSON for solo cello Impression FG 9790-55011-485-2 for orchestra for orchestra Våren igen och igen LÁSZLÓ ROSSA  GE 13153 (score) GE 13155 (study score) for choir in diff erent settings 3. Gestures of Winter... SCORE Text: Py Bäckman (Swe) CSABA SZILVAY (Time around northern VÅREN IGEN OCH IGEN Duettini for two cellos EINOJUHANI RAUTAVAARA GE 13599 (SATB/piano) GE Stefan Nilsson | Py Bäckman Pelle Olofson arr night skies) 13600(SATB) GE 13601(SSA) GE för kör SATB och piano Material for the Colourstrings Cello FG 9790-55011-486-9 Angel of Light (Symphony No. 7) 13602 (TTBB) ABC method. FG 9790-55011-503-3 Works for Organ A new, revised edition. 1. From Winter’s Night, FG 9790-55011-444-9 (score) 2. Temple II, 3. Preghiera For further information about our works or representatives (di Francesco di Assisi), SVENDAVID SANDSTRÖM worldwide check our web sites or contact us at: 4. Pre-Inter-Post. Symphony No. 4 – FG 9790-55011-474-6 A Luther Symphony for baritone and orchestra Sven-David Sandström Text: Martin Luther (Ger) Göran Greider GE 13023 (score) GE 13025 (study score) Gehrmans Musikförlag AB Fennica Gehrman Oy Ab GE 13026 (piano reduction) Box 42026, SE-126 12 Stockholm, Sweden PO Box 158, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland Sångens hus (House of Song) Sångens hus Tel. +46 8 610 06 00 • Fax +46 8 610 06 27 Tel. +358 10 3871 220 • Fax +358 10 3871 221 för blandad kör och stråkorkester for mixed choir and string orchestra www.gehrmans.se • [email protected] www.fennicagehrman.fi • info@fennicagehrman.fi Text: Göran Greider (Swe) PARTITUR Hire: [email protected] Hire: hire@fennicagehrman.fi GE 13360 (score) Web shop: www.gehrmans.se Web shop: www.fennicagehrman.fi GE 13362 (choral score) Sales: [email protected] Sales: kvtilaus@kirjavalitys.fi (dealers)