Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Sasha Mäkilä Conducting Madetoja Discoveries About the Art and Profession of Conducting A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Music) Supervisor: Prof. Mart Humal Tallinn 2018 ABSTRACT Conducting Madetoja. Discoveries About the Art and Profession of Conducting For the material of my doctoral project, I have chosen the three symphonies of the Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja (1887–1947), all of which I have performed in my doctoral concerts during years 2012–2017. In my doctoral thesis, I concentrate on his first symphony, Op. 29, but to fully understand the context it would be beneficial to familiarize oneself with my doctoral concerts on the accompanying DVDs, as well as with the available commercial and archival recordings of Madetoja’s three symphonies. The aim of this thesis is to understand the effect of scholarly activity (in this case working with manuscripts and recordings) on the artistic and practical aspects of a conductor’s work; this is not a study on the music of Madetoja per se, but I am using these hitherto unknown symphonies as a case study for my research inquiries. My main research inquiry could be formulated as: What kind of added value the study of composer’s manuscripts and other contemporary sources, the analysis of the existing recordings of the work by other performers, and the experience gained during repeated performances of the work, bring to performing (conducting) the work, as opposed to working straightforwardly using only the readily available published edition(s)? My methods are the analysis of musical scores, manuscripts and recordings, critical reflection on my own artistic practices, and two semi-structured interviews with conductor colleagues. This thesis can be divided into two parts: The first part concentrates on Madetoja’s first symphony, its background, its form, and my research on the manuscripts and recordings of the work. The second part is an account of the process of studying, rehearsing and performing Madetoja’s first symphony in 2012 and 2017, which is followed by peer evaluation, critical reflection, and conclusions. This thesis is a chance to see inside the artistic process of an orchestra conductor and to find out something about the nature of the study and rehearsal process leading up to a performance of a symphonic work. Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 5 Subject and Research Inquiry .................................................................................................................. 6 Materials and Methods ............................................................................................................................ 9 Literature review ................................................................................................................................... 12 1 Leevi Madetoja and his symphonies .................................................................................. 17 1.1 Composer biography ....................................................................................................................... 17 1.2 Madetoja’s symphonies ................................................................................................................... 19 1.2.1 Composing history and premiere of the first symphony .......................................................... 20 1.2.2 Published editions of Madetoja’s symphonies ......................................................................... 21 2 Madetoja’s first symphony in analysis .............................................................................. 23 2.1 Analysis of the form ........................................................................................................................ 23 2.1.1 First movement, Allegro .......................................................................................................... 24 2.1.2 Second movement, Lento Misterioso – the two versions ......................................................... 26 2.1.2 Third movement, Finale – Allegro vivace ............................................................................... 28 2.2 Manuscript sources of the symphony .............................................................................................. 30 2.2.1 Description of the main sources of Madetoja’s 1st symphony ................................................ 31 2.2.2 First movement, Allegro .......................................................................................................... 33 2.2.3 Second movement, Lento Misterioso ....................................................................................... 35 2.2.4 Third movement, Finale – Allegro vivace ............................................................................... 38 2.2.5 Tempo and duration markings in the manuscript scores .......................................................... 39 2.3 Analysis of the existing recordings of Madetoja’s 1st symphony ................................................... 39 2.3.1 First movement, Allegro .......................................................................................................... 42 2.3.2 Second movement, Lento misterioso ....................................................................................... 47 2.3.3 Third movement, Finale – Allegro vivace ............................................................................... 50 2.4 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................... 53 3 Performing Madetoja’s 1st symphony with TFO (2012) and ERSO (2017) .................. 56 3.1 Personal preparation ........................................................................................................................ 56 3.2 Administrational preparation checklist ............................................................................................ 59 3.2.1 Contacting the people ............................................................................................................... 60 3.2.2 Visiting the hall and the orchestra ............................................................................................ 61 3.2.3 Correcting the parts and submitting bowings to the orchestra ................................................. 61 3.2.4 Seating arrangements and string count .................................................................................... 62 2 3.2.5 Planning the rehearsal schedule ............................................................................................... 63 3.3 Rehearsal process with TFO and ERSO .......................................................................................... 64 3.4 Performances with TFO and ERSO and their feedback .................................................................. 67 3.4.1 Jury feedback ........................................................................................................................... 67 3.4.2 Reviews .................................................................................................................................... 68 3.5 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................... 68 4 Peer evaluation and critical reflection ............................................................................... 70 4.1 Discussions with conductor colleagues ........................................................................................... 70 4.1.1 About the first movement of the symphony ............................................................................. 70 4.1.2 About the second movement of the symphony ........................................................................ 74 4.1.3 About the third movement of the symphony ............................................................................ 76 4.1.4 About recording Madetoja’s symphonies ................................................................................ 78 4.1.5 About conductor’s work as a scholar and an interpreter .......................................................... 79 4.2 Critical reflection ............................................................................................................................. 82 4.2.1 Reflections on the analysis of the symphony ........................................................................... 84 4.2.2 Thoughts on my own work processes ...................................................................................... 85 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 87 Sources ..................................................................................................................................... 91 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 94 Doctoral Concerts ................................................................................................................... 97 Töö lühikokkuvõte .................................................................................................................