NORDIC HIGHLIGHTS 1/2020 NEWSLETTER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN Focus on Matthew Whitall and Anders Paulsson NEWS Tintomara at Läckö Castle Works by Seppo Pohjola Lars Johan Werle’s opera Tintomara (1973) will Seppo Pohjola is a prolific, highly-acclaimed be staged at Läckö Castle this coming summer. It composer with a catalogue that so far includes was originally written for the 200th anniversary five symphonies, concertos and chamber music. of the Royal Swedish Opera and was an enor- His discs have won excellent reviews in such mous success. The libretto byL eif Söderström prestigious publications as Gramophone. Fen- is based on Carl-Jonas Love Almqvist’s novel nica Gehrman is now to publish his four string The Queen’s Diadem that takes place during the quartets , and also his Helsinki Variations – a time of the murder of King Gustav III in 1792. commission from the Helsinki Philharmonic The plot includes political intrigues, romance, Orchestra – to be premiered in September 2020. jealousy and deceit. The opera will be performed PHOTO: MUSIC FINLAND/MAARIT KYTÖHARJU FINLAND/MAARIT MUSIC PHOTO: between 11 July and 1 August. The music is adapted for chamber orchestra by Hans Ek. Choral Conductor of the Month Larsson Gothe news Our series #swedishchoralmusic will continue in Mats Larsson Gothe is this year’s Composer-in- 2020 with the theme ”The Choral Conductor of Residence at the Korsholm Music Festival on 29 the Month chooses”. Every month one conduc- July – 5 August, where a number of his orchestral tor sends a video greeting about a work from the and chamber works can be heard. Among these is Swedish choral repertoire that he/she is espe- the double concerto Sisyphus’ Dreams for violin, cel- cially fond of. First to come in January was Lone lo and orchestra, with Cecilia Zilliacus and Torleif Larsson, who chose a classic favourite, Lars-Erik Thedéen as soloists, together with the Norrlands- Larsson’s God in Disguise. You can follow the se- opera Symphony Orchestra. Zilliacus will also pre- ries on the Facebook page Swedish Choral Music miere a newly written solo piece for violin. or visit our home page www.gehrmans.se/en/ On 27 January 2021, the memorial day of the swedish-choral-music. Holocaust, The Promise, by Larsson Gothe and librettist Susanne Marko, will have its world pre- Sandström’s Te Deum miere at the Royal Opera in Stockholm. The opera is inspired by a real event in Marko’s family history. to be premiered The production is directed byStefan Larsson and Philharmonischer Chor Berlin and the Upp- Stefan Solyom leads the Royal Opera’s soloists, PETTER MAGNUSSON PHOTO: sala Academic Chamber Choir will mark choir and orchestra. the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II with a concert for peace at Berliner Schnelzer writes Philharmonie on 10 May. Conducted by anniversary oratorio Stefan Parkman, the choirs will give the Albert Schnelzer is at present working on an posthumous premiere of Sven-David Sand- oratorio for the Gothenburg Symphony Or- ström ’s Te Deum, together with the Bran- chestra, the Symphonic Choir and two solo denburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt. singers. It will be premiered during the 400th The same concert will be on 21 May in Norr- anniversary of the City of Gothenburg in köping and 22 May in Uppsala together with February 2021. The work consists of musi- the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. The cal settings to poems on the theme of sea and soloists are Karin Dahlberg, soprano and migration by Karin Boye, Edith Södergran, Olle Persson, baritone. BÄCKER MATS PHOTO: Dan Andersson and Carl Snoilsky. NORDIC HIGHLIGHTS 1/2020 An orchestral fairytale NEWSLETTER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN Sound samples , video clips The musical fairytaleHiiri (The Mouse, and other material are available at 2013) by Satu Simola is a concert expe- www.gehrmans.se/highlights rience for the whole family. It tells the www.fennicagehrman.fi/highlights story of a lonely mouse that builds and lives in a monster machine as protection Cover photos: Anders Paulsson (Peter Knutson), Matthew Whitall (Maarit Kytöharju), Benjamin Staern’s from the world, until a bird of paradise Die Schneekönigin in Stralsund (Vincent Leifer) lands on the machine. A choral and Editors: Henna Salmela and Kristina Fryklöf orchestral conductor, Satu Simola has Translations: Susan Sinisalo and Robert Carroll conducted her work at several concerts. LASSILA OSMO PHOTO: It is now available from Fennica Gehrman Design: Göran Lind in two versions: for narrator and chamber ensemble or chamber orchestra, and in Finnish, ISSN 2000-2742 (Print), ISSN 2000-2750 (Online) Swedish, English and Chinese among others. A study score is available for sale. Printed in Sweden by TMG Sthlm, Bromma 2020 HIGHLIGHTS 1/2020 PREMIERES April – June 2020 PASI LYYTIKÄINEN Taival for chamber ensemble Tampere Raw/Maria Itkonen 1.4. Tampere, Finland (Tampere Biennale) KALEVI AHO Kalevi Aho, Colin Currie and Osmo Vänskä. Quartet for Accordion and String Trio Janne Rättyä, Zillacus Trio Aho’s Sieidi scores success 6.4. Stockholm, Sweden Kalevi Aho’s Sieidi (Concerto for Orchestra and Per- Sonata for Guitar Solo Petri Kumela cussion) has become one of the most performed 26.6. Forssa, Finland (Musica Kalevi Aho) Finnish concertos. It has already been played close to 80 times across the world with soloists Colin Currie, KARIN REHNQVIST Martin Grubinger and Alexej Gerassimez. Sieidi was Silent Earth recently performed in Hong Kong, and it was recorded Netherlands Radio Choir/Netherlands Radio by the Lahti Symphony with Colin Currie for release PO/Dima Slobodeniouk 18.4. Amsterdam, Netherlands on the BIS Records label. There are also several per- formances in an arrangement for piano and percussion MIKKO HEINIÖ with the Austrian multipercussionist Grubinger. Täällä, kaikkialla (Here, Everywhere) for male choir Polytech Choir/Saara Aittakumpu Edition Elvis catalogue 17.4. Helsinki, Finland Fennica Gehrman acquired the Edition Elvis cata- logue administered by the Finnish Music Creators’ BENJAMIN STAERN Association on 15 January. The catalogue encompasses Pippi lyfter hästen/Pippi Longstocking Lifts the Horse music for light and wind orchestra including several Swedish RSO/Ariane Matiakh arrangements. The aim of the deal was to provide a 22.4. Stockholm, Sweden better service for orchestral clients. Fennica Gehrman also now administers the orchestral light music cata- MATTHEW WHITTALL These Things Remain logue of Warner/Chappell Music Finland. TERVO EIJA PHOTO: Winnipeg SO, Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam/ Daniel Raiskin, sol. Henk Neven, baritone The Tampere Biennale Antti Auvinen news 24.4. Winnipeg, Canada The Tampere Biennale has an interesting sheaf of Fennica Gehrman has signed a publishing agree- new Finnish music in store for 1–5 April. Items on ment with Antti Auvinen (b. 1974). A stimulating SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRÖM Te Deum the programme include a concert by Tampere Raw of figure on the Finnish classical music scene, Auvinen Philharmonischer Chor Berlin/Uppsala Academic works by Lotta Wennäkoski, Tuomas Turriago, Pasi is particularly interested in rhythm, timbre and the Chamber Choir/Brandenburgisches Lyytikäinen, Jennah Vainio and Olli Kortekangas. potential of multimedia. Many of his works feature Staatsorchester Frankfurt/Stefan Parkman, Patrik Kleemola will be giving a recital featuring Harri video as a musical element. Despite his modern ap- sol. Karin Dahlberg soprano, Olle Persson baritone Vuori ’s Chiroptera and Mikko Heiniö’s Sonata for proach, his music is, he claims, a continuation of 10.5. Berlin, Germany Guitar, and the concert by the Tampere Philharmonic the centuries-old classical-music tradition. The new will include the by Usko Meriläinen agreement covers 13 works, including , KIMMO HAKOLA Guitar Concerto Himmel Punk Work for orchestra with Ismo Eskelinen as the soloist. The pre-festival Digital Madrigal and Turbo Aria for orchestra. (Helsinki Variations) concert in March also has three premieres for flute and There are also brand-new works in sight, such as a Helsinki PO/Susanna Mälkki piano: Solo I by Seppo Pohjola, Sea Protest by Roope choral work for Dominante, and a joint commission 15.5. Helsinki, Finland Mäenpää and Zefyros by Esa Pietilä. from Joensuu and Jyväskylä for orchestra and video. Karin Rehnqvist awarded In January Karin Rehnqvist received Sweden’s Netherlands Radio Choir and Philharmonic Or- coveted chamber music prize, The Järnåker chestra and Choir under the direction of Dima Grant, for her monodrama Bloodhoof for Slobodeniouk at the Concertgebouw. ”It is mezzo-soprano and eight instruments. Accord- hard not to touch upon the vulnerable situation ing to the jury it is ”a work that interweaves mod- of our earth, so this is my commentary, or rather ern chamber music with Nordic folk music into my inquiry. Music is my truth-teller that I pose a unique dramatic composition in form, content questions to. The answers are not always easy to and expression. The work is a highly charged interpret; they can be ambiguous, just like life”, monodrama which owing to its emotional depth says Karin Rehnqvist. Silent Earth will have its never lets go of the listener.” (See: repertoire Swedish premiere during the Baltic Sea Festival tips.) On 18 April Rehnqvist’s Silent Earth, to a in August with Swedish Radio Choir and Sym- text by Kerstin Perski, will be premiered by the phony Orchestra. PHOTO: THOR AGNES PHOTO: HIGHLIGHTS 1/2020 Seven questions for Matthew Whittall 1. The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is premiering your new These Things Remain for mixed choir, solo- ists and orchestra in April and touring with it to The Nether lands in May. How did this collaboration come about, and how did the composition proceed? Daniel Raiskin, the artistic director of WSO, con- tacted me out of the blue with an offer I couldn’t refuse: to write a piece commemorating the libera- tion of The Netherlands and Belgium by Canadian forces at the end of World War II, to be toured in those countries after the premiere.