11 JANUARY WEDNESDAY SERIES 9 Helsinki Music Centre at 7 pm Sakari Oramo, conductor Jukka Harju, horn József Hárs, horn Markus Maskuniitty, horn Esa Tapani, horn Magnus Lindberg: Al largo 25 min Robert Schumann: Konzertstück in F Major for Four Horns and Orchestra, Op. 86 21 min I Lebhaft II Romance (Ziemlich langsam, doch nicht schleppend) III Sehr lebhaft INTERVAL 20 MIN Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90, “The Italian” 30 min I Allegro vivace II Andante con moto III Con moto moderato IV Saltarello (Presto) Interval at about 7.55 pm. The concert ends at about 9 pm. Broadcast live on YLE Radio 1 and the Internet (yle.fi/rso). 1 MAGNUS LINDBERG up and present us with the next, equal- ly dazzling landscape. Structurally, Al lar- (1958–): AL LARGO go falls into two broad sections, “that both begin very vigorously and end as slow mu- The avoidance of anything slow was for a sic”. Dominating the first half are numerous long time a fundamental feature of the mu- brass fanfares that vary in their details, sup- sic of Magnus Lindberg. Even if the tempo ported by a seething brew in the rest of the marking was somewhat on the slow side, orchestra. After a big climax the music sud- the texture would seethe and bubble like denly becomes introspective, borne alone a piping-hot broth and, what is more, with by a delightful string texture. The return of an energy little short of manic. In this res- the fanfares leads to a new build-up and ul- pect it is exciting to hear what awaits in the timately to a mighty oboe solo on which the orchestral work he wrote last year, for as music muses for a good while. Al largo then its title he chose Al largo. This is, after all, proceeds to the second section, the drama- a term usually associated with the slowest tic plot of which is possibly even more enig- marking on the tempo scale. matic than the first, but just as exhilarating. Lindberg says he deliberately chose Al The gradual fade at the end is both pleasing largo as a paradoxical title, but it also has a and surprising. descriptive secondary meaning; this is rare Al largo was commissioned by the New for a man who has concentrated heavily on York Philharmonic, which premiered it with composing absolute music. But as he puts Alan Gilbert conducting in June 2010. It was it: “I have never composed such fast mu- first heard in Europe at Porto in Portugal in sic, yet even so, it is possible to detect in it October and in Finland in December, when an extremely slow undercurrent and kinetic Hannu Lintu conducted it at a concert by the energy, expressively something big and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. broad. I decided ages ago to give the piece a contradictory name – nothing that would allude to a quick piece, but rather somet- ROBERT SCHUMANN hing like Adagio or Largo. Then I happened (1810–1856): to be chatting to an Italian friend of mine, Luca Francesconi the composer, and asked KONZERTSTÜCK IN F him what would go with the word ‘largo’. He MAJOR FOR FOUR HORNS suggested the Italian phrase ‘al largo’, which AND ORCHESTRA means being at sea, especially the moment when you reach the open sea, the shore va- Schumann tended to concentrate on one nishes from sight and all that lies before you genre at a time, getting deeply immersed is the ocean.” in whatever was uppermost in his mind at While leaving us listeners somewhat bre- any particular time. In 1849–50­­ he hit on the athless, Al largo also carries us along: one idea of composing a number of concertos moment we are gazing at dazzling landsca- not closely tied to tradition. The best known pes, the next we are cast adrift to be swept of these is that for the cello. More unusu- along by the current until the waves lift us al are the two he titled Konzertstück: Op. 92 2 3 for the piano and Op. 86 for four horns. The FELIX MENDELSSOHN former is totally unlike a conventional pia- no concerto, while the latter is really a nor- (1809–1847): SYMPHONY mal concerto that just happens to have four NO. 4, “THE ITALIAN” horns as the soloists. One of the members of the Dresden In 1829, the then 20-year-old Felix Court Orchestra at the time was a certain Mendelssohn embarked on a long journey. Joseph-Rudolph Lewy, a player renowned First he headed for England and Scotland, for his poetic horn sound and for promoting then the following year for sunny Italy, and the new valve horn. Revelling in the poten- he did not travel home, via Paris, until au- tial of this new instrument, Schumann im- tumn 1831. The different milieus made a mediately set about composing one of his great impact on the impressionable youth. most inspired works for orchestra. Though In Italy, he was immediately inspired to wri- the medium was new, the Konzertstück in te a new symphony bathed in sunlight and F Major (1849) is incredibly polished. There steeped in carnivalistic atmosphere. But a is nothing cautious about his handling of a change of scenery easily causes a sensitive modern horn ensemble; rather, the concerto young man to forget what he had in mind. is brimming with self-confidence and senti- Thus by the time he finished the sympho- ment. It is, in a word, romantic. ny in March 1833, he was no longer in con- Schumann uses his French horns in a va- tact with the source of his inspiration; he riety of different roles, in solos, duets and all kept getting stuck and was not pleased with four together. He also writes contrapuntally; the result. He completely overhauled the this was something new for French horns. symphony at least twice, and even then he The adventurous drive and the noble sound was not satisfied. The symphony was pre- of the first movement clearly look ahead to miered in various versions, but he never got the Rhenish Symphony of the following year, round to making the final revisions he had and the characteristic horn sound seems promised in his letters and the score was to be even more pronounced than in that not published until 1849, two years after his symphony. Crowning the relatively unruf- death. fled slow movement is the two-horn canon The listener today finds it difficult to imagi- in the middle section that, with its Baroque- ne what is wrong with this jubilant sympho- like precision, nicely challenges the spirit ny so cleverly crafted. The beginning of the of the Romance that follows. The Finale is first movement is one of the most effective heady virtuoso music, full of heroic vigour and surely the sunniest in all orchestral lite- and not without some humorous twists. rature. The air is alive with the thrill of the carnival Mendelssohn had experienced in Italy, and the second theme, though slightly calmer, has just as much zest. Mendelssohn said that the slow movement was inspired by a procession of pilgrims he had watched. This is expressed in the “walking bass” ac- companiment, while the folk-like melody 2 3 above it could allude to something intimate Philharmonics, the Concertgebouw, Paris, and romantic. The third movement is a dan- Cleveland and Minnesota Orchestras and ce evocative of Schumannian Biedermeier, the Staatskapelle Dresden. His engage- half minuet and half waltz, and not therefo- ments in the 2011/12 season include ap- re a “fairy scherzo” of the kind usually asso- pearances with the German Symphony ciated with Mendelssohn. The Trio section Orchestra Berlin, the Vienna Symphony and could well indicate a sign of homesickness the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. in the German youth, for the distant fanfa- With the FRSO Mr Oramo has toured res on the French horns and bassoons sound to Benin, Vienna, Prague, Germany, Spain veritably Germanic in their southern con- and elsewhere and appeared at the Canary text. The finale, Saltarello, is somewhat akin Islands, Edinburgh and Bergen Festivals and to a tarantella – a wild, whirling Italian dan- the BBC Proms in London. Together they ce that, in its minor-key fury, is ablaze with went on tour to Japan in 2005 and 2007. energy. Sakari Oramo received an Honorary Doctorate in summer 2004 from the Jouni Kaipainen (abridged) University of Central England in Birmingham. In summer 2008 he was awarded the pres- tigious Elgar Medal in recognition of his SAKARI ORAMO work to further the reputation of Elgar and his music, and in 2009 he was hon- Sakari Oramo’s term as Chief Conductor oured with a British OBE for his services to of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra British music. In December 2010 the Finnish (FRSO) began in August 2003. An accom- President awarded him the prestigious Pro plished violinist, he began his career as co- Finlandia medal. leader of the orchestra in 1991 and went on Mr Oramo’s term as Chief Conductor of to obtain a conducting diploma in the class the FRSO ends in spring 2012. He will be of Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy. succeeded in autumn 2012 by Hannu Lintu, In addition to the FRSO, Sakari Oramo the orchestra’s eighth Chief Conductor. is Chief Conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and conduc- tor of Kokkola Opera in Finland. He reg- JUKKA HARJU ularly also conducts the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra and has been appoint- Jukka Harju (b. 1975) made his solo de- ed its Artistic Director as of autumn 2013.