23 APRIL WEDNESDAY SERIES 14 Helsinki Music Centre at 19 Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor Johannes Piirto, piano Tapiola Chamber Choir, coach Hannu Norjanen J. S. Bach–Webern: Ricercar from “The Musical Offering” 7 min Igor Stravinsky: Concerto in D for string orchestra 12 min I Vivace II Arioso (Andantino) III Rondo (Allegro) Igor Stravinsky: Concerto for piano and wind 18 min instruments I Largo – Allegro II Largo – Listesso tempo ma poco rubato III Allegro – Lento INTERVAL 20 min J. S. Bach – Berio: Contrapunctus XIX 8 min Igor Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms 22 min I Exaudi orationem meam, Domine (Hear my prayer, O Lord) II Expectans expectavi Dominum (I waited patiently for the Lord) III Alleluja, laudate Dominum (Halleluja! Praise God) Interval at about 19.55. The concert ends at about 20.50. 1 J. S. BACH (1685–1750) – IGOR STRAVINSKY A. WEBERN (1882–1971): CONCERTO (1883–1945): RICERCAR IN D FOR STRING ORCHESTRA During a visit to the royal court at Potsdam in 1747, Johann Sebastian The Concerto in D composed in the Bach was ordered to improvise “in the United States in 1946 for the Basel old style” on a theme given by the King, Chamber Orchestra and Paul Sacher is Frederick the Great. Later that year one of the last works by Igor Stravinsky he sent the King a “Musical Offering” with a historical orientation. In its based on the theme and bearing the sparse approach, its ballet-like play inscription “Regis Jussu Cantio Et with rhythms, it looks for its model to Reliqua Canonica Arte Resoluta (“the Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. theme given by the king, with addi- In the first movement, major and mi- tions, resolved in the canonic style”, nor chords cheerfully attack one an- RICERCAR). The Offering culminates other with shrieks of delight. The slow in a 6-part fugue (Ricercata) designed movement is surprisingly traditional in by Bach to demonstrate his command its harmonies, but there is also some- of counterpoint. It is no coincidence thing wise and enigmatic about its that it caught the attention of Anton rocking rhythms and charming melo- Webern during his late, serialist period, dy. By contrast, the finale is bristling prompting him to transcribe it for or- with hot-tempered energy. Ever on the chestra in 1935. Webern emphasised move, it is repeatedly interrupted by the unusual relationships between the kindly deviations and the hottest out- intervals by breaking down the six voic- burst is saved right until the end. es in the fugue into brief comments assigned to different instruments. He wanted to prove just how modern a composer Bach was in his day and IGOR STRAVINSKY: still is. The aphoristic nature of the ar- CONCERTO FOR rangement was very much in line with the style of the Viennese School, but it PIANO AND WIND also radiates a romantic and mightily INSTRUMENTS respectful concept of Bach. The graphic lines and clear colours of the Octet for wind instruments com- posed by Stravinsky in 1923 provided the framework for the Concerto for pi- ano and wind instruments he wrote the following year. In three movements, it is Neo-classical in format, which in this 2 case also means it looks with irony on at a melody broken down into timbres, models from the past. but Berio’s aim in his transcription of The first movement is reminiscent Contrapunctus (2001) was to capture of a Baroque French overture (slow– colours in Italian shades, a soft sfumato quick–slow). The opening dotted and stark contrasts of light and shade. rhythms have a majestic dignity, and In this arrangement, dedicated to the pianist does not really get going the memory of conductor Giuseppe until the dancing, leaping intervals of Sinopoli, Berio uses an ensemble of 23 the quick section. It races up and down players to create deep but warm col- in the manner of an Étude and seems ours with piquant saxophone and harp to be on the verge of slipping into rag- highlights. The emphasis on wind in- time mode before the majestic open- struments is also an allusion to Bach’s ing theme returns. organ. Berio did not wish to finish The slow movement is, by contrast, Bach’s fugue; instead, he rounds it off calm and, by Stravinsky’s standards, with the notes B-A-C-H (B flat-A-C-B) sentimental. The winds offer up some in a sort of dissonant Amen. darker shades that encourage the pi- ano to rhapsodise. The finale is a trium- phant march embellished with fanfares IGOR STRAVINSKY: and intermixed with jazz rhythms and SYMPHONY OF cabaret melodies. Dashing along like a Baroque Toccata, the music reflects PSALMS the optimism of the machine age of the 1920s and is checked only by a lit- Stravinsky does not give a personal in- tle reminder of its chorale-like serious- terpretation of the Psalms in this sym- ness before the final sprint for the fin- phony – there are no colourful descrip- ishing line. tions of the wonders of Creation. The first movement begins with sharp chords on the orchestra that are J.S. BACH: – followed by ornamental motifs on the L. BERIO (1925–2003): winds. The oboe introduces the theme of the fugue in the second movement, CONTRAPUNCTUS XIX and is joined by the other winds and finally the chorus. The introduction to Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue, the third and longest slow movement BWV 1080) was to be the last work was the last section of the symphony ever composed by Johann Sebastian to be composed and answers the ques- Bach, and it remained unfinished on tion raised in the previous one. The his death. A fugue, or part of one, was brass, strings, and two pianos launch also to be one of the last works writ- a spirited, rhythmic Allegro that gives ten by Luciano Berio. In arranging the symphony a theatrical splendour Bach’s Ricercare, Anton Webern aimed that nevertheless recedes to make 3 room for the slow main section again. JOHANNES PIIRTO The symphony ends with a monumen- tal coda in which the Laudate hymn Johannes Piirto has studied at the – noble, immobile and ceremonious – Sibelius Academy since 2004, with Jussi travels on to eternity. Siirala, Matti Raekallio, Antti Siirala and Liisa Pohjola. He is also studying com- Antti Häyrynen position with Tapio Tuomela and or- Abridged programme notes translated chestral conducting with Jorma Panula. by Susan Sinisalo He is a laureate of many nation- al and international competitions, such as the Dorothy MacKenzie Artist DIMA SLOBODENIOUK Recognition Scholarship Awards pi- ano competition in New York in 2008 Dima Slobodeniouk was appoint- and the International Maj Lind Piano ed Music Director of the Orquesta Competition in Helsinki in 2012. Sinfónica de Galicia in February 2013. Johannes Piirto has appeared at He has been Artistic Director of the such festivals as those in Mänttä and Korsholm Music Festival and the Oulu Mikkeli, the Ekenäs Summer Concerts, Symphony Orchestra. the Kirkko Soikoon! festival and the A student in the conducting class of Cziffra Foundation festival in Vienna, Atso Almila at the Sibelius Academy and in Switzerland and the USA. His 1996–1998, he then continued with partners in chamber music have includ- Jorma Panula and Leif Segerstam and ed Natalia Gutman, Kaija Saarikettu received his diploma with distinc- and Alexander Chaushian, and in or- tion in 2001. Engagements during chestral repertoire the orchestras in the 2013/2014 season include appear- Vaasa, Mikkeli and Pori. Among his ances with violinist Viktoria Mullova engagements in the present sea- and the French Radio Symphony son are solo appearances with the Orchestra and, among others, the Tampere Philharmonic and the Turku Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Philharmonic, and at the PianoEspoo Orchestra, the Lucerne Symphony, the festival. Monte Carlo Philharmonic, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tapiola Sinfonietta. THE TAPIOLA Dima Slobodeniouk’s discography in- CHAMBER CHOIR cludes music by Sebastian Fagerlund recorded for BIS with the Gothenburg The Tapiola Chamber Choir, which gave Symphony Orchestra. its debut concert in 1984, is known for its own concert productions, concerts requested by professional orchestras and music festivals, and its long-term commissioning and recording projects. 4 Tapiola Originals is an international Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Sakari collection of works commissioned from Oramo. The FRSO has two Honorary composers in the Baltic Sea region. The Conductors: Jukka-Pekka Saraste and choir is involved in the National Library Sakari Oramo. Project documenting works by leading The latest contemporary music is Finnish choral composers. It has also a major item in the repertoire of the contributed to recordings of Finnish FRSO, which each year premieres a operas with the Finnish National Opera number of Yle commissions. Another Orchestra, the FRSO and the Helsinki of the orchestra’s tasks is to record all Philharmonic Orchestra and has per- Finnish orchestral music for the Yle ar- formed great works of the Baroque and chive. During the 2013/2014 season it Classical eras under such celebrated will premiere six Finnish works commis- foreign conductors as Peter Schreier, sioned by Yle. Harry Christophers, Roy Goodman and The FRSO has recorded works by Paul Hillier. Eötvös, Nielsen, Hakola, Lindberg, Many of the choir’s discs have Saariaho, Sallinen, Kaipainen, Kokkonen won prizes at home in Finland. Its and others, and the debut disc of the Penderecki and Sibelius discs are in- opera Aslak Hetta by Armas Launis. Its cluded as ‘benchmark’ recordings in discs have reaped some major distinc- the Gramophone Classical Good CD tions, such as the BBC Music Magazine Guide. The Artistic Director of the Award and the Académie Charles Cros Tapiola Chamber Choir since 1998 has Award.