18.10. at 19:00 Temppeliaukio Church at 19:00

RSO-FESTIVAl MAGNUS LINDBERG Dialogues

Tapiola Sinfonietta Magnus Lindberg conductor Laura Mikkola Pekka Kuusisto 1

J.S. Bach – : Bach Measures, movements 1 & 2

Magnus Lindberg: Shadow of the Future, fpF (Ensemble intercontemporain commission)

J.S. Bach – Harrison Birtwistle: Bach Measures, movements 3 & 4

Magnus Lindberg: Piano No. 1 I II III

INTERVAL 15 min

J.S. Bach – Harrison Birtwistle: Bach Measures, movements 5, 6, 7 & 8

Magnus Lindberg: Violin Concerto No. 1 I II III

The concert will end at about 21:00. Broadcast live on Yle Radio 1.

2

PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR MOBILE PHONE IS SWITCHED OFF!

Photographing, video and sound recording are prohibited during the concert. Johann The piece is divided into four main sections. They do not, however, have any Sebastian Bach clear individual character, he says. Hence (1685–1750) the second, for example, is slow at first but then picks up speed. The various contexts – Harrison are constantly changing and interacting. Birtwistle The chamber music feel is most apparent at the end of the third section in the oboe (b. 1934): duet that forms a cadenza-like bridge to Bach Measures the finale. The steady-beat closing section works up to a sumptuous climax before The music of Bach has lent itself well to arriving at a brittle conclusion. transcription, as many a in dif- Lindberg completed Shadow of the ferent times and eras has discovered. Future soon after the choral Triumf att Their arrangements have varied from ver- finnas till(2018) settings of poems by sions faithfully adhering to the original to Edith Södergran, which also provided the ones deconstructed in many ways. Bach title for this chamber work. It is, however, Measures (1996) for chamber orchestra not programmatic, and Lindberg admits by Sir Harrison Birtwistle was originally a to having some doubts about such a dance work. It draws on eight of the 48 concrete name. The music nevertheless 3 organ preludes in the Orgelbüchlein, most has a certain affinity with Södergran’s which Bach wrote in Weimar between 1708 poem Framtidens skugga (Shadow of the and 1717. Each is based on a Lutheran cho- Future) and the lines “The future casts its rale tune, and the collection as a whole is blessed shadow upon me; it is nothing but one of the cornerstones of his output for flooding sun.” the organ. Birtwistle has treated Bach with respect. Bach Measures is more of a transcription Magnus Lindberg: for chamber orchestra than a reworking of Bach’s material. The movements from it will here be heard in small groups in No. 1 between the works by Lindberg. Magnus Lindberg (b. 1958): Shadow of Magnus Lindberg began entertaining the the Future idea of a piano concerto as early as 1983, Shadow of the Future (2019), premiered but did not get round to writing it until this summer in , represents today’s the early 1990s. It was premiered in 1991, softer, more nuanced Magnus Lindberg, but was followed by a new version two its translucent soundscape evoking years later. Not until the third version of thoughts of Debussy and Ravel. A major 1994 did it acquire its final form. element it shares with Debussy is the use The concerto set out to make the solo of a pentatonic scale – a five-note scale part closer to the traditional, natural such as can be produced using only the sound of the piano. Instead of rhythm, black keys on a piano. harmony and timbre now occupy the foreground. The shadow of Debussy concerto has several other motifs that can be fleetingly detected in the piano keep recurring, thereby underlining its texture, and some have seen a connection melodic dimension, but the solo part with Ravel’s G-major concerto in the also has plenty of virtuosity in the true modest orchestration. concerto tradition. The concerto is in three movements The three movements are joined with performed, in the way typical of a break. The first is the longest and most Lindberg’s , without a break. diverse. As Pekka Kuusisto put it, “the The first is quick and lively, abounding orchestra even tackles the soloist out in tempo changes, and the relationship of the way at times”. It is a movement between piano and orchestra is highly of transparent textures, rich sounds, interactive. The music slips seamless contemplation and drama. into the slow middle movement, though The slow movement, beginning with a Lindberg once reckoned that the sort of chorale on the woodwinds, glows audience may not necessarily recognise with flaming intensity around the middle. it as slow because the piano goes on At the end, linking the movement with bubbling. The movement does, however, the finale, the violin has a challenging solo breathe more calmly, and at the end, the cadenza. piano has a big cadenza that serves as The finale is shorter than the other 4 a bridge to the aggressive, almost - two movements and affords flashes of like finale that nevertheless ends in more motifs from the previous ones. The forces lyrical vein. determinedly build up in a luxuriant climax that harks back to the chorale of the slow Magnus Lindberg: movement and acts as the dramaturgical Violin Concerto. apex of the whole concerto. No. 1 Programme notes by Kimmo Korhonen translated (abridged) by Susan Sinisalo The first violin concerto (2006) by Magnus Lindberg was a commission from the Lincoln Center, New York to be Laura Mikkola premiered at the city’s Mostly Mozart Festival. No way was it a Mozart styli- sation, though the premiere context did Laura Mikkola is one of the most highly-ac- influence his choice of a Mozartian and claimed Finnish pianists in the world today, Classical orchestra consisting of strings, performing around the globe. She studied double oboes, bassoons and French the piano at the , and in horns. This was a beautiful tribute to the the United States at the Curtis Institute in festival’s signature composer and en- Philadelphia and the University School of sured that the solo violin could easily be Music in Bloomington, Indiana. Her teach- heard. ers included Murray Perahia, Menahem The first melodic idea is introduced Pressler and Gary Graffman and she was by the soloist in the opening bars. The set well on the way to an international ca- reer on winning the second and audience Fagerlund. He has recorded both staple prizes in the prestigious Queen Elisabeth works (Sibelius, Ravel, Prokofiev) and Competition in Brussels. In 1995 she was more contemporary repertoire (Schnittke, awarded the Finland Prize for a young Rautavaara, Lindberg, Fagerlund, Tüür). artist. Laura Mikkola commands a wide The Tapiola repertoire of over 60 concertos, solo and chamber works. She has a very close Sinfonietta relationship with the works of and has recorded his three The Tapiola Sinfonietta of 43 players piano concertos and a broad selection of is one of Finland’s leading orchestras. his works for solo piano. Her discography Founded as the orchestra of the City also includes the complete solo piano of Espoo in 1987, it adopted its pres- works by Einar Englund and music by ent name in 1990. Its regular conduc- Ravel, Shostakovich, David Matthews, tors have included Osmo Vänskä, Jean- Erkki-Sven Tüür and others. Jacques Kantorow, John Storgårds and Olli Mustonen. The artistic planning is the re- sponsibility of a team of three. In 2006, Pekka Kuusisto the orchestra appointed Artistic Partners instead of regular conductors, among 5 Pekka Kuusisto was only 19 when he them Olli Mustonen, Pekka Kuusisto, won the international Violin Mario Venzago, Alexander Melnikov, and Competition. Unlike many winners he as of this season Taavi Oramo. has not, however, sought an internation- The Tapiola Sinfonietta is an extremely al virtuoso career, preferring to follow versatile ensemble, not only in its concert a path of his own not confined to clas- repertoire, extending from Baroque to sical genres. He has been an Artist in contemporary, but also because of its Association of the Tapiola Sinfonietta, participation in opera, jazz, rock, light and since 2016 Artistic Director of the music and projects involving several arts. Australian Chamber Orchestra and The Tapiola Sinfonietta has been Artistic Partner of the Saint Paul Chamber making highly-acclaimed tours since Orchestra in Minnesota; Principal Guest 1991– to Europe, the United States and Conductor of the Norwegian Chamber the Far East. It has released some 70 Orchestra since 2019, Artistic Partner discs, many of which have won prizes and of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and awards. “Artistic Best Friend” of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Kuusisto has collaborated with many contemporary , among them Nico Muhly, Thomas Adès, Daniel Bjarnason, Andrea Tarrodi, and in Finland Uljas Pulkkis, Sauli Zinovjev and Sebastian