Humanism As Symphonic Fuel
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MATS LILJEROOS constitutes a stylistically independent project. The writer is a musicologist, freelance writer on music and music critic of the daily newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet. The Sixth Symphony had explored one avenue to the end and it was time to fi nd a new angle on the symphonic problem. AN ABSOLUTE SYMPHONIC Humanism as symphonic fuel AESTHETIC Kalevi Aho’s music reaches out into new territories If the ”abstract intrigue” so prominent in Aho’s mainly non-programmatic music is absent in the programmatic, post-modernist Seventh Sym- phony (virtually unique among the Aho sympho- nies), then Aho is back on home ground in the extremely demanding Piano Concerto and the Imagine a steep mountainside in seances via evocative tone paintings of the mid- OPERATIC SATIRE WITH massive Eighth Symphony (1993) for organ and the heart of myth-drenched Finnish winter darkness and the midnight sun to a raging A CRITICAL BARB orchestra. In the Piano Concerto he continues storm in the mountains, in four movements of to tackle the individual-collective relationship Lapland. In the background a majestic very varied character. The Neoclassical and at times tonal traits of the and pursues his thesis (with the soloist to guide fell, in the foreground a deep valley fi rst period were replaced by a more modernis- him on his journey) of the abstract intrigue to STRIKING IDIOM tic approach in the structurally and emotionally unprecedented heights. The same tendency is against a backdrop of dusky forests intricate Fifth Symphony (1975–76), which is al- apparent in the broadly-conceived Eighth Sym- and bare mountains. The Chamber “His slightly unassuming yet always kind ap- most “Ivesian” in its “colliding” musical planes. phony with its imaginative use of the organ as a pearance is vaguely reminiscent of Shostako- This modernistic approach was further accentu- dramatic and intellectual commentator. Orchestra of Lapland is perched half vich, while his musical voice, with its pluralistic ated in the Sixth Symphony – Aho’s most uncom- The thesis/antithesis concept so typical of way up the slope, the Radio Symphony conception of the world and its intricate balance promisingly advanced symphonic work so far, Aho’s artistic temperament sprouts an offshoot between the deliberately banal and the subtle, Orchestra at the foot. Grouped around including both micro-intervals and clusters on in the witty, pastiche-like Ninth Symphony for is undoubtedly closer to late Mahler.” It is easy its emotionally varied agenda. trombone and orchestra (1993–94). Written for are “mountain musicians”: brass players to agree with this anonymous opinion of Kalevi This second stylistic period continued with Christian Lindberg and subtitled Sinfonia Con- and exotic percussionists. The scene is Aho. Traces of these masters are present in his art such key works as the fi rst opera, the intense certante No. 2, it is nevertheless permeated with and worldview, although “Mahler seen through monologue Avain (The Key, 1977–78) for bari- the dark undertones typical of this composer. illuminated by the seductive rays of the the eyes of Shostakovich” is probably nearer the tone and thirteen instrumentalists, which reveals In the strictly non-programmatic Tenth Sym- northern sun, the wind whistles and it mark. an unerring instinct for stage and drama. This phony (1996), drawing on the main theme from Like Shostakovich, Aho matured early quality was refi ned even further in Aho’s next the fi rst movement of Mozart’s Symphony No. seems as though nature itself wants to and by the age of 22 had already written three work in this genre, as in the sombre and mod- 39, Aho sums up his experience of the symphony take part in this spectacular event. symphonies and as many string quartets. As in ernistic Cello Concerto, in which the individual is so far. With its ingeniously modifi ed (though both Mahler and Shostakovich the symphonies inexorably crushed by the collective. never merely imitative) “Classical-Romantic” (Photo: Ghadi Boustani) (Photo: – together with the three chamber symphonies The opera Hyönteiselämää (Insect Life, aesthetic, it may be seen as a tribute to the great- his will – weather permitting – be the – form an emotionally conditioned dramaturgi- 1985–87), to a libretto by the composer him- est forerunners in this fi eld, with Bruckner in the setting for the fi rst performance of the cal thread running through his works. self after a play by Josef and Karel Capekˇ , and vanguard. string quartet since his fi rst four youthful at- Symphony for six percussion soloists and orches- TTwelfth Symphony, subtitled Luosto, by Starting with the First Symphony, written in the Insect Symphony (Symphony No. 7, 1988) tempts. Instead, he has experimented with vari- tra (1997–98). Rhythm now occupies a more Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) on 16 August 2003. A 1969 when he was still studying composition based on material from the opera, present a sear- eanwhile, Aho has also continued to ex- ous quintet constellations – six so far, including prominent role, and he pays closer attention to symphony specially designed for outdoor pur- with Einojuhani Rautavaara at the Sibelius ing criticism of society. Here Aho’s ironically plore new means of operatic expression. quintets for bassoon and string quartet, for alto the surface of the music. The same tendency can poses may not be unique in symphonic literature, Academy, Aho wrote no fewer than three sym- satiric side, occasionally glimpsed in his earlier MIn this respect his two latest operas, En- saxophone, bassoon, viola, cello and double bass, be seen in the Quintet for fl ute, violin, two violas but it is certainly rare enough to attract attention phonies over the next four years. The fi rst two works, scores a real triumph. He writes effective nen kuin me kaikki olemme hukkuneet (Before We and for clarinet and string quartet. and cello, written for the Kuhmo Chamber Mu- beyond the boundaries of Sodankylä, the mu- already display two basic qualities of his musi- tape music – his only attempt so far in this fi eld All Have Drowned, 1995/99, libretto by Aho His relatively comprehensive solo repertoire sic Festival in 2000, and the Tuba Concerto, even nicpality that commissioned it. cal conception: his feeling for and often highly – and happily makes use of pastiches on such based on a radio play by Juha Mannerkorpi) includes two Sonatas for Accordion, both written though features characteristic of earlier periods Obviously one of the biggest challenges has original use of form (the fi rst and last move- popular music forms as the tango and foxtrot. and Salaisuuk sien kirja (The Book of Secrets, for Marjut Tynkkynen, a Sonata for Solo Violin, are also present here. While constantly reaching been designing the sound and acoustics so that ments of the First Symphony are fugues and the The insect opera and symphony heralded a 1998, libretto by Paavo Rintala and Kalevi Aho) a Sonata for Oboe and Piano, a virtuosic Piano out into new territory, Aho continues to draw on the symphony also works in a normal concert. Second Symphony is a gigantic triple fugue) and third stylistic period, in which the pluralistic el- are important, though different, milestones. The Sonata written for Liisa Pohjola and a series of expressive devices familiar from earlier periods. Though Aho admits that there are always risks his propensity for stylistic and expressive open- ement plays an even greater part. Yet each work psychologically astute chamber opera Before We compositions for solo instruments named “Solo”, Aho has always adopted a humanistic ap- involved in a project like this, he is convinced ness and fl exibility (the second movement of the All Have Drowned, composed for the Finnish including Solo III for fl ute, Solo IV for cello and proach in his music. This has included the com- that the symphony will be able to hold its own First Symphony is a stylised waltz, the third an National Opera, raises seemingly trivial human Solo VI for double bass. pletion and editing of works by other composers in other contexts. “The tonal language was, of excursion into a slightly surrealistic pseudo-Ba- life to a higher existential plane. One striking Apart from his operas, Aho is not a markedly – a job for which, with his sound knowledge of course, conceived with the specifi c demands of roque world). feature of the opera is the natural writing for vocal composer, but he has produced a number music history, he is unusually well-suited. He has the fi rst performance in mind, but the musical The Third Symphony bears the subtitle Sin- the human voice. The compact fresco The Book of fi ne choral works and the delightful song cycle also produced an amazing amount of literature substance should guarantee that balance won’t be fonia Concertante No. 1 and is a fi rst attempt to of Secrets, composed for the Savonlinna Opera Kiinalaisia lauluja (Chinese Songs, 1977) for so- on music over the years, including 460 articles, a problem anywhere else, such as at the Sibelius determine the optimal relationship between the Festival, is the last part of a “human” trilogy, pre- prano and small orchestra/piano. Here his well- a number of newspaper columns and a variety of Hall in Lahti.” individual (the solo violin) and the collective (the ceded by Herman Rechberger’s …nunc et sem- developed feeling for delicate orchestral timbres essays. He has also reconstructed and completed The symphony is 52 minutes long and scored orchestra). The next attempt came ten years later per… and Olli Kortekangas’s Marian Rakkaus adds a special dimension to these sensitive set- works by Erik Tulindberg (the six string quar- for 120 musicians and two singers – Aho’s largest with the richly expressive, passionately virtuosic (Ma ria’s Love).