6.5. SATURDAY REPEAT Helsinki Music Centre at 16.15 Hannu Lintu, conductor Daniil Trifonov, piano Sebastian Fagerlund: Drifts, fp (Yle commission) 11 min Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G 23 min I Allegramente – Andante – Tempo 1 II Adagio assai III Presto INTERVAL 20 min Carl Nielsen: Symphony No. 4, “The Inextinguishable” 36 min I Allegro II Poco allegretto III Poco adagio quasi andante IV Allegro Interval at about 16.50. The concert ends at about 18.00. 1 SEBASTIAN Fagerlund does not, however, rule out the idea of performing them together FAGERLUND (b. 1972): as a set. DRIFTS The idea of an orchestral triptych having dominated his thoughts while Sebastian Fagerlund was already mak- composing the first part, Fagerlund ing a name for himself at around the decided to make Drifts a mainly slow turn of the millennium, but his real movement. And as such it begins, breakthrough and stylistic breakaway marked Largo misterioso. But like so came with his Clarinet Concerto of many composers, Fagerlund had dif- 2005–2006. He has since composed ficulty sticking to too-detailed a plan concertos for violin, guitar and bas- and the musical material began to as- soon, the last of which was nominat- sume a will of its own. After its slow ed for the Nordic Council’s Music Prize. beginning, Drifts picks up speed in a The biggest of his orchestral works is brisker Energico. These two basic tem- Ignite (2010), which won the coveted pos dominate the piece, but although Finnish Teosto Prize in 2010. His first the quick material began, as it were, opera was the chamber opera Döbeln to force itself to the fore, the feeling (2009), tying in with the war of 1808– of slow music still pervades in that the 1809 between Russia and Sweden (to two tempo zones may overlap or be su- which Finland at that time belonged). perimposed. His next opera, Höstsonaten (Autumn Sonata, 2014–2016) is to be premiered at the Finnish National Opera in MAURICE RAVEL September this year. Singing the lead- (1875–1937): PIANO ing part in this opera based on Ingmar Bergman’s topic will be star Swedish CONCERTO IN G mezzo Anne Sofie von Otter. Drifts is the middle section of an or- Over dinner one night in the late 1920s chestral triptych. Fagerlund already had or early 1930s, Maurice Ravel turned it in mind to compose a three-part enti- to the pianist Marguerite Long sitting ty while composing his previous orches- next to him and informed her that he tral work, Stonework (2014–2015). The was in the throes of composing a con- third, biggest and in a way consolidat- certo for her. Would she have any ob- ing part of the trilogy is a commission jection to its ending pianissimo, with from the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, trills? His question came as a complete the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the surprise to Long, since it was the first FRSO to be premiered in Amsterdam she had heard about a concerto being in April 2018. The three works have a composed for her. It was, of course, an kind of family affinity and to some ex- offer she could not refuse, coming from tent share basic material, but each is such a celebrated composer. Ravel be- an independent entity in its own right. gan by sketching a Basque Rhapsody for 2 his own use but soon abandoned the composing it, he told his friends it idea and set to work on the Concerto in would differ considerably from its pre- G, incorporating motifs he had thought decessors. Its outlines are sharper, its of for the Rhapsody. dramatic curves steeper and its con- The Concerto in G follows the familiar trasts more marked. Sometimes, the three-movement format. It begins with various types of music seem set on a snappy whip lash that sets in motion a collision course – a trait that would a Basque-influenced dance motif for- become even more pronounced in his tified with syncopations. Contrasting fifth symphony. Also new is the way this is the languorous second theme, Nielsen links his movements together one of lyrical mood-painting with jazzy without a break, as an “inextinguish- seasoning. able” entity, thus enhancing the sym- The middle movement is pensive, at- phony’s drama. mospheric and tender. Its main theme The opening eruption flings the un- is modelled on the slow movement of suspecting listener straight into the Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, according to maelstrom. The exceptionally bluster- Ravel the most beautiful thing Mozart ing main theme is followed by a lyri- ever composed, but there is also a cal second one beginning with parallel touch of the haunting naivism of Satie. thirds on the clarinets. This does, even Composing it nevertheless caused so, incorporate a more forceful ver- Ravel quite a headache: “How I worked sion that will later acquire final-theme over it bar by bar! It nearly killed me,” status. A master of symphonic dra- he exclaimed. ma, Nielsen enters the development The spirited writing of the first move- section in a tense, highly expectant ment returns in the finale with even mood that ultimately turns into a heat- greater gusto, and at times spiced with ed combat between opposing musical caustic humour. And at some point forces. Only the final version of the sec- Ravel abandoned the idea of ending ond theme returns in the recapitula- with pianissimo trills. tion, but Nielsen immediately compen- sates for the missing lyrical element with the warm-hearted, pastoral Poco CARL NIELSEN allegretto movement. Scored main- (1865–1931): ly for winds, this movement serves as a Scherzo, but one more akin to the SYMPHONY lighter, Intermezzo-like middle move- NO. 4, “THE ments of the Brahms symphonies. INEXTINGUISHABLE” The third, slow movement is domi- nated by sustained, almost overwhelm- ingly intense melody. At the end, it Carl Nielsen quite deliberately struck builds up to a great climax, from which out in a new direction in his fourth top-speed runs on the violins lead to symphony. Several times while he was an action-packed finale. The skirmish 3 is not, however, over yet and escalates Symphony and Seoul Philharmonic into Nielsen’s famous timpani play-off. orchestras. In 2015 he conducted At the end, the second theme of the a complete cycle of Sibelius’ sym- first movement – representing an ami- phonies in Tokyo with the Finnish cable truce – gradually makes its pres- Radio Symphony Orchestra and the ence felt and carries the symphony to New Japan Philharmonic, and toured a triumphant conclusion. Austria in January 2016 with violinist Leila Josefowicz and the Finnish Radio Kimmo Korhonen Symphony Orchestra. Programme notes translated (abridged) Lintu returns to Savonlinna Opera by Susan Sinisalo Festival in July 2017 to conduct Aulis Sallinen’s Kullervo, and in May 2017 he conducts Sibelius’ Kullervo in a special project with Finnish National Opera and HANNU LINTU Ballet with director and choreographer Tero Saarinen. Previous productions Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio with Finnish National Opera have in- Symphony Orchestra since August cluded Parsifal, Carmen, Sallinen’s King 2013, Hannu Lintu previously held Lear, and Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde in the positions of Artistic Director and spring 2016. Lintu has also worked with Chief Conductor of the Tampere Tampere Opera and Estonian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Principal Opera. Guest Conductor with the RTÉ National Hannu Lintu has made several re-cor- Symphony Orchestra and Artistic dings for Ondine, Naxos, Avie and Director of the Helsingborg Symphony Hyperion. His recording of Prokofiev and Turku Philharmonic orchestras. Piano Concertos with Olli Mustonen Highlights of Lintu’s 2016/17 sea- and the Finnish Radio Symphony son include appearances with the Orchestra was released in September Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, 2016, while other recent releases inclu- Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Radio- de recordings of Mahler’s Symphony Symphonieorchester Wien, Luzerner No. 1, a selection of works by Magnus Sinfonieorchester and Orquesta Lindberg, and Messiaen’s Turangalîla Sinfónica de Galicia, and in North Symphony with Angela Hewitt and America with the St Louis Symphony Valerie Hartmann-Claverie. Lintu has and the Toronto Symphony, Baltimore received several accolades for his re- Symphony and Detroit Symphony cordings, including a 2011 Grammy orchestras. Recent engagements nomination for Best Opera CD plus have included the The Cleveland and Gramophone Award nominations for Gulbenkian orchestras, the Orchestre his recordings of Enescu’s Symphony de Chambre de Lausanne, Orchestra No.2 with the Tampere Philharmonic Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, and Orchestra and the Violin Concertos the BBC Scottish Symphony, Iceland of Sibelius and Thomas Adès with 4 Augustin Hadelich and the Royal 2015/2016 season he performed all the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos with the Hannu Lintu studied cello and piano New York Philharmonic at the Lincoln at the Sibelius Academy, where he later Center and with the Philharmonia studied conducting with Jorma Panula. at London’s Royal Festival Hall. The He participated in masterclasses with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra con- Myung-Whun Chung at the Accademia ducted by Manfred Honeck also pre- Chigiana in Siena, Italy, and took miered his own Piano Concerto. first prize at the Nordic Conducting This season, Daniil Trifonov is Artist Competition in Bergen in 1994. in Residence with the Staatskapelle Dresden and will be its soloist at the BBC Proms, the Vienna Musikverein and elsewhere. With the Mariinsky Theatre DANIIL TRIFONOV Orchestra under Valery Gergiev he will perform the full Rimsky-Korsakov Despite his lack of years, Daniil Trifonov Piano Concerto cycle. Other engage- (born in Nizhny Novgorod in 1991) ments include appearances with the is already an old hand at winning pi- Berlin and Los Angeles Philharmonics, ano competitions: both the Rubinstein the Cleveland Orchestra, the Sydney in Tel Aviv and the Tchaikovsky in Symphony and the Zurich Tonhalle Moscow in 2011.