12.10. FRIDAY SERIES 3 Music Centre at 19:00 ICELAND and ESTONIA 100 YEARS

Anna-Maria Helsing, conductor Arto Noras, cello

Jüri Reinvere: Through a Lens Darkly 17 min

Sergei Prokofiev: Rêves, Op. 6 12 min

Anna Þorvaldsdóttir: Dreaming 17 min

INTERVAL 20 min

Antonín Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104 40 min I Allegro II Adagio, ma non troppo III Finale: Allegro moderato – Andante – Allegro vivo

1 The LATE-NIGHT will begin in the main Concert Hall after an interval of about 10 minutes. Those attending are asked to take (unnumbered) seats in the stalls.

Paula Sundqvist, violin Tuija Rantamäki, cello Sonja Fräki, piano

Antonín Dvořák: Piano Trio “Dumky” 31 min 1. Lento maestoso – Allegro vivace – Allegro molto 2. Poco adagio – Vivace 3. Andante – Vivace non troppo 4. Andante moderato – Allegretto scherzando – Allegro 5. Allegro 6. Lento maestoso – Vivace

Interval at about 20:00. The concert will end at about 21:15, the late-night chamber music at about 22:00. Broadcast live on Yle Radio 1 and Yle Areena. It will also be shown in two parts in the programme “RSO Musiikkitalossa” (The FRSO at the Helsinki Music Centre) on Yle Teema on 21.10. and 4.11., with a repeat on Yle TV 1 on 27.10. and 10.11.

2 JÜRI REINVERE director became a close friend and im- portant mentor of the young compos- (b. 1971): THROUGH A er. Theirs was not simply a master-ap- LENS DARKLY prenticeship relationship, for they often talked about music, and Reinvere would Jüri Reinvere has been described as a sometimes express his own views as a true cosmopolitan with Estonian roots. composer and act as Bergman’s guide. It well reflects his sojourn in many lands, The title of Through a Lens Darkly al- for since his youth in Estonia, he has ludes to both Bergman and Laretei and lived in Poland, , Sweden, and thus pays homage to two people who since 2005 . But it also says meant a lot to him. On the one hand something about his art, for his works it is an adaptation of Bergman’s film often address pan-European questions Såsom i en spegel (1961, Through a Glass of humanity, identity and existence in- Darkly), which is dedicated to Laretei, dependent of nationality. and on the other it alludes to Laretei’s Reinvere applies a variety of stylistic memoir Såsom i en översättning (2004, and expressive approaches, from min- As in Translation), the title of which was imalistic textures to modernistic com- Reinvere’s suggestion. plexity and expressive intensity. He has Reinvere describes Through a Lens also made a name for himself as a poet Darkly as a psychologically narrative and essayist and has won numerous work. It has no programme pointing prizes for both musical compositions directly to Bergman, but according to and essays. Reinvere, certain situations typical of In 2017, the Gothenburg Symphony Bergman’s film can be detected. Orchestra commissioned Jüri Reinvere to compose a new work for a concert honouring the Ingmar Bergman cente- nary in February 2018. The result was SERGEI PROKOFIEV Through a Lens Darkly. The premiere (1891–1953): included a visualisation, but this is not RÊVES, OP. 6 marked in the score. The piece is the first of three orchestral works com- posed in quick succession; the next was Even as a young man, Sergei Prokofiev Und müde vom Glück, fingen sie an zu was already assuming the role of a dar- tanzen (2018), which was conducted by ing iconoclast in St. Petersburg musi- Paavo Järvi in Pärnu in August this year. cal circles. Yet in 1906, still a budding The commission for Through a Lens composer only 15 years old, he was still Darkly fell on fertile ground. In the ear- quoting Tchaikovsky, Wagner and Grieg ly 1990s, Reinvere had become friends as his favourite composers. He rapid- with the Estonian-Swedish pianist Käbi ly changed his mind, however, so that Laretei, who introduced him to her only two years later he was penning ex-husband Ingmar Bergman. The great a little piano pieced called Suggestion

3 Diabolique. Ruthlessly aggressive, it was of Rachmaninoff’s Isle of the Dead. The a minor sensation when he played it at a music slumbers in its own dream reality, concert of new music in St. Petersburg twice building up to a moderate climax. in December 1908. It becomes more active in the second While Suggestion Diabolique is a dis- half, painting with a thinner brush and tinctly “Prokofievan” piece, its 17-year- thickening towards a radiant peak, from old composer was still seeking a style which it then sinks back to the noctur- all of his own. He had for some time nal twilight of the opening. felt an attraction for the strangely en- chanting music of Alexander Scriabin. ANNA In early 1910, he went to meet Scriabin ÞORVALDSDÓTTIR and showed him a piano transcription he had made of the first movement of (b. 1977): DREAMING that composer’s Symphony No. 3, The Divine Poem (1902–1904). “I grew up in a tiny coastal village, and Inspired by this meeting, Prokofiev set there was so much space around us. On about composing an orchestral work. the one side you have the enormity of He decided to call it Rêves (Dreams), the ocean, then on the other the majes- and in doing so nodded in the direc- ty of the mountains. You’re always close tion of Scriabin and his orchestral min- to nature, and you feel at one with it.” iature Rêverie (1898). The concert at Recalling the landscapes of her child- which he conducted the premiere of hood may possibly seem irrelevant did his new work in St. Petersburg in late not Nature and the stimuli it provided 1910 marked his debut as a conductor. pop up so often in the music of Anna Unfortunately, no critics were present; Þorvaldsdóttir. Often, this is deliberate, they had all gone to a Scriabin concert underlining the inspiring influence on held on the same evening. her work of the Icelandic scenery. But Of all the works composed by “Nature” should, in speaking of her mu- Prokofiev in his youth, Rêves comes sic, be understood in the broad sense closest to Scriabin. It is dominated by of the word, not just as an objective- an elegant world of sound and a rich- ly-perceived landscape but as a more ness and warmth characteristic of the profound, elemental life force of sub- Late Romantic period combined with terranean volcanic energy and tectonic the shifting harmonies of impression- friction. ism. Despite being an early work by Anna Þorvaldsdóttir has become Prokofiev – the only opus-numbered one of Iceland’s internationally best- orchestral one to precede it being the known composers in the present dec- Sinfonietta of 1909 – it is orchestrated ade. Dreaming (2008) is a key work in with a sure hand and is already artisti- her career to date in that it won her cally consistent. the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2012. Rêves begins in dusky nocturnal Since then, she has received other dis- mood, in deep-hued waves evocative tinctions: the New York Philharmonic’s

4 Kravis Emerging Composer Award in and finally “becomes motionless”, as in- 2015 and the Lincoln Center’s Emerging dicated in the score, while nevertheless Artist Award in 2018. In April this year, giving the players discreet signs to in- Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted the com- dicate when each loop ends. The music missioning New York Philharmonic in gradually fades away, led by a solitary the premiere of her Metacosmos, and cello. Alan Gilbert will conduct the Philharmonic in its European premiere ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK in January 2019. Right now, her order (1841–1904): CELLO book is full for several years ahead. “Dreaming” is an appropriate title for CONCERTO IN B a work by Anna Þorvaldsdóttir, since MINOR, OP. 104 dreaming about the material and struc- ture of a work is an essential part of “If I had known that it was possible to her composition process – a period in compose such a concerto for the cel- which she immerses herself in its sound lo, I would have tried it myself,” huffed world before actually sitting down to Brahms in 1896, after his cellist friend sketch and write. The orchestra is the Robert Hausmann had given him a pri- instrument with which she feels most vate hearing of the brand-new cello at home. She loves the opportunity of concerto by Antonín Dvořák. working with various textures and ma- Dvořák put the finishing touches to terials, she says, and of superimposing his cello concerto in B Minor in New different levels to create a flowing tex- York, in winter 1894–1895. He did, how- ture of sound materials and harmonies. ever, make some amendments to it on In the typical Þorvaldsdóttir manner, his return to Europe in early summer Dreaming is slow, picturesque, captivat- 1895, following the illness and death ing music, its sound world rich and mul- of his dear sister-in-law. He dedicated tilevel. The changes are slow but have the concerto to his cellist friend Hanuš an air of inevitability, of organically Wihan and promised him its premiere, growing and transforming. but scheduling proved difficult and the Dreaming begins with percussion on soloist at the premiere in London in the borders of silence, and the first March 1896 was the English cellist Leo bars are played without a conductor. Stern. The subterranean forces lead to a big Not without reason did Brahms ex- eruption, after which a broad sweep of tol Dvořák’s concerto, for it is nowadays melody emerges from the landscape one of the most popular and high-rat- (at this point the score tells the cel- ing cello concertos of the Romantic era. lo “thoughts of nature”). At the end, Dvořák brilliantly succeeded in solving Þorvaldsdóttir applies an aleatoric loop one of the problems of all concertos, technique in which the individual play- and especially ones for the cello, of ers repeat a given section at their own making sure the soloist does not get pace. The conductor stops conducting drowned by the orchestra. He also filled

5 his work with some of his most beauti- ANNA-MARIA HELSING ful and most expressive melodies. The concerto is in three movements. Anna-Maria Helsing is in frequent de- The opening one begins with an or- mand with orchestras and opera hous- chestral exposition before working over es, especially in the Nordic countries. As the themes with the solo leading the Chief Conductor of the Oulu Symphony way. Despite its gentle opening and mi- Orchestra 2010–2013 she was the first nor key, the main theme shows deter- woman to hold this position in a Finnish mination and reveals its true spirit in orchestra. an expansive grandioso version. By con- Anna-Maria Helsing began her career trast, the second theme sings in a ma- as a violinist (with diplomas from the jor key. The opening theme dominates Jakobstad Conservatory in Finland and the fairly short development section. the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, The recapitulation begins with the sec- Poland). She studied in the Sibelius ond theme and the main theme is not Academy conducting class 2004–2007 heard until the end, in a fine major-key and was chosen to take part in the version. International Conductor’s Academy of Like the first movement, the slow the Allianz Cultural Foundation under one begins with a motif presented by the guidance of Esa-Pekka Salonen, a clarinet. The most stirring moment is Gustavo Dudamel and others. In 2011, the sentimental melody in the middle she was the first conductor to be award- section, borrowed by Dvořák from one ed the Louis Spohr Medal in Seesen, of his own songs. It was one of his sis- Germany. ter-in-law’s favourites and was added by In addition to her engagements with Dvořák when he heard she was gravely most of the major Nordic orchestras, ill. Anna-Maria Helsing has conducted The finale also begins with a link to ensembles in Estonia, Germany (Jena, the opening movement, for despite be- , Bochum) and England. ing played pianissimo, it sets off with a She made her debut with the BBC determined, march-like theme that will Philharmonic in Manchester in May, be the core of its rondo form. At the followed in June as conductor of the end, Dvořák allows the music to sub- Philharmonia Orchestra’s chamber en- side into a stretch of calm, with a flash- semble in the Music of Today series at back to the opening theme of the first the Royal Festival Hall in London. movement and a fragment of the senti- Anna-Maria Helsing feels a special mental song from the second. This was affinity for modern and contemporary added by Dvořák last of all, after hear- music and has conducted a number of ing that his sister-in-law had died. premieres. In 2008, she made her de- but at the Finnish National Opera con- Programme notes by Kimmo Korhonen ducting Kaija Saariaho’s Adriana Mater. translated (abridged) by Susan Sinisalo Other opera premieres conducted by her have included Momo by Svitlana

6 Azarova at the Royal Danish Opera, the Hamburg Musikhochschule. He has Magnus-Maria by Karólína Eiríksdóttir held masterclasses the world over. on tour in Scandinavia, and Hallin Janne In 1980, Arto Noras founded the by Jukka Linkola. She has also per- Naantali Music Festival in Finland and formed established operas by Mozart, has been its Artistic Director ever since. Cimarosa, Puccini, Mascagni, Madetoja On his initiative, the first International and Bernstein at the Tampere Opera Paulo Cello Competition, of which he is and the Savonlinna Opera Festival, to Artistic Director and Chairman of the name but a few. Jury, was founded and first held in 1991. He has also sat on the juries of many other international competitions. ARTO NORAS

Arto Noras is one of Finland’s most cele- brated instrumentalists on the interna- THE FINNISH tional circuit, renowned for his dazzling RADIO SYMPHONY technique and feel for style. A soloist ORCHESTRA and chamber musician of the highest order, he is also a notable teacher. Noras has an extremely broad rep- The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra ertoire taking in all the main works for (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish cello. He has collaborated with many Broadcasting Company (Yle). Its mis- contemporary composers – Joonas sion is to produce and promote Finnish Kokkonen and , for exam- musical culture and its Chief Conductor ple, have composed a cello concerto for as of autumn 2013 hThe Radio him and he has had a close partnership Orchestra of ten players formed in 1927 with Krzysztof Penderecki. later grew to symphony orchestra size A wide selection of Noras’s reper- in the 1960s. Over the years, its Chief toire can be heard on disc. He has re- Conductors have been Toivo Haapanen, corded concertos with, among oth- Nils-Eric Fougstedt, , ers, the Finnish Radio Symphony Okko Kamu, Leif Segerstam, Jukka- Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, Pekka Saraste and Sakari Oramo. the Toronto Symphony and the Warsaw In addition to the great Classical- National Philharmonic, and chamber Romantic masterpieces, the latest con- music with Bruno Rigutto (Beethoven, temporary music is a major item in the Fauré, Franck, Debussy), Ralf Gothóni repertoire of the FRSO, which each year (Sallinen) and Juhani Lagerspetz premieres a number of Yle commis- (Brahms, Schumann). sions. Another of the orchestra’s tasks is Alongside his career as a performing to record all Finnish orchestral music for artist, Arto Noras was Professor of cel- the Yle archive. During the 2018/2019 lo at the from 1970 season, the FRSO will premiere four until his retirement and thereafter at Finnish works commissioned by Yle.

7 The FRSO has recorded works by Mahler, Ligeti, Eötvös, Sibelius, Lindberg, Saariaho, Sallinen, Kaipainen, Kokkonen and others, and the debut disc of the opera 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 season its schedule will include a tour of Finland under Hannu Lintu, to Pietarsaari, Kauhajoki, Forssa and Lahti. FRSO concerts are broadcast live on the Yle Areena channel and Yle Radio 1 and recorded on Yle Teema and Yle TV 1.

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