11 NOVEMBER WEDNESDAY SERIES 5 Helsinki Music Centre at 19 Olli Mustonen, piano Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 5 in C Major, Op. 38 15 min (original version) I Allegro tranquillo II Andantino III Un poco allegretto Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, 29 min Op. 84 I Andante dolce II Andante sognando III Vivace INTERVAL 20 min Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 1 8 min Allegro Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 28 7 min Allegro tempestoso Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, 18 min Op. 83 I Allegro inquieto II Andante caloroso III Precipitato Interval at about 19.55. The concert ends at about 21.10. Broadcast live on Yle Radio 1 and online at yle.fi/rso. 1 SERGEI PROKOFIEV The sonata begins with an Allegro tempestoso (“tempestuous”) that (1891–1953): PIANO charges along like the cavalry; such ac- SONATAS tion-packed Allegros would in fact be- come one of Prokofiev’s trademarks in As a student in the early years of last his works for the piano. The elegant century, Sergei Prokofiev composed a second theme (Moderato) makes only a host of piano sonatas, some of which fleeting appearance before the march- survived after subsequent revision. His like Allegro comes storming back. The Piano Sonata No. 1 dates from 1909 second time round, the lyrical second and was based on a sonata he had theme has increasingly ethereal aspira- sketched during the family’s summer tions and works up to a splendid dra- vacation in Sontsovka a couple of years matic climax. The Allegro theme then earlier. Hence the subtitle “From Old returns, this time more cautiously, but Notebooks”. soon becomes more optimistic and fi- The fact that the precocious nally triumphant. Prokofiev was still only young when Escaping from the uproar of the he wrote this sonata does not mean October Revolution, Prokofiev trav- it is second-rate, though it is possi- elled on a Soviet passport to Western bly atypical. In a single movement, it Europe, where he quickly drew atten- is the work of a brilliant young pia- tion to himself as both a pianist and a nist, and one with all the profuse vir- modern composer. He wrote his Piano tuosity of Rachmaninoff. Binding the Sonata No. 5, Op. 38 in 1923, at Ettal in sections together is the overall sonata the Bavarian Alps, and it soon found a form. Though the listener may be able place in his recital repertoire. Its some- to hear echoes of other composers, what tepid reception nevertheless led the boundless energy and fast-shifting him to conclude that it was not suita- moods represent Prokofiev at his most ble for the public at large. This may ex- typical, in a combination of poetry and plain why he compressed it in 1953 (as abrasiveness. Op. 135), but the earlier version to be Also “From Old Notebooks” is Piano performed tonight by Olli Mustonen is Sonata No. 3, first conceived in 1907 considered the better of the two. but not actually born until 1917, amid The first movement of the fifth pi- the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. ano sonata is calm, bright and un- At around that time, Prokofiev an- forced and does not point its finger nounced that he was fleeing to the at anything or anyone. But Prokofiev country, where music would not be dis- does fearlessly fill it with dissonances, turbed by war and politics. Something chromatics, colliding themes and pas- of the Zeitgeist can, however, be sensed sages that may leave the unsuspecting in the vigorous one-movement sonata listener somewhat bewildered. The po- that would serve him well as a bravura etic charge and linear elegance of this recital number in years to come. movement are, however, undeniable. 2 The middle movement is a stacca- ent in every dimension, from the roar to march tinged with irony and a beat of battle to the plight of the civilian. that persists throughout the middle The first movement once again reveals section. The finale has elements both Prokofiev’s lyrical inspiration and his pointedly ironic and singing in the classical approach to structure. The ap- manner of the French composers. Now plied sonata form runs through a num- and then it is interspersed with the ur- ber of phases but is at the same time bane sounds of the roaring twenties organised with intellectual clarity. The and the industrial screeches of the bal- beginning grows out of melancholy let mécanique. The basic undercurrent pensiveness and the theme, roaming is nevertheless clear, rational, and de- right across the keys, seems to reflect terminedly opposed to overblown clos- calm yet somehow rootless thoughts. ing scenes. The second theme expresses ele- Prokofiev began hisPiano Sonata No. ments of loneliness, longing and de- 7, Op. 83 at the same time as No. 6, in spair, but its unadorned melody is soon 1939, but he did not finish it until 1942, forced to give way to an ominous de- in the darkest moments of the Second velopment section. A shower of sem- World War. The war made the contrasts iquavers in the right hand quells all starker. The first theme of the broad optimism and leads to a biting stac- opening movement is short, rhythmic cato motif that hammers out icy dis- and brutal, the second flash-like and sonances with a victor’s hand. At the sentimental. The chaotic impression is end the music sinks back, exhausted, tempered by translucent interludes. into a meditation that, gradually trans- The slow movement begins with a formed, hovers in a world of its own. cantabile theme that could almost be The slow movement (marked borrowed from Schumann but that ex- Andante sognando, meaning “dreami- udes the elegiac quality of the melo- ly”) gives the impression of being a bal- dies in Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and let-class dance that has lost its way and Juliet. The monumental middle section ended up in a piano sonata. The waltz- shatters the idyll, however, and the cur- ing flightiness evokes some sharp, iron- sory recapitulation does not altogether ic comments, but Prokofiev does not bring relief. let his theme forfeit its appeal. Some The finale is a triumphant dash sped have seen in this movement features along by a tricky 7/8 time signature and of Prokofiev himself. forte–marcato accents. The mechan- The finale enters with a spate of ical rhythms favoured by Prokofiev in notes that is somehow reminiscent of the 1920s work up to a wild crescendo the end of the G-sharp minor sonata that is more than just a pianistic tour (1897) by Scriabin. Following its am- de force. The massive build-up is both biguous beginning, the movement’s electrically charged and coldly rational. straight-forward impact and clear con- The war year, 1944, in which Piano trasts may conjure up images of the Sonata No. 8 was completed is pres- Soviet attack on Berlin. In the final as- 3 sault, the main theme is embellished the Estonian National Orchestra and with high fanfare motifs that ring out the Weimar Staatskapelle. With the like the victor’s trumpets. Once again Helsinki Festival Orchestra founded by Prokofiev expresses himself in terms him he has toured to Central Europe, both direct and ambiguous. Japan and China. The focus in Mustonen’s own compo- Programme notes by Antti Häyrynen sitions has in the past few years been translated (abridged) by Susan Sinisalo on works for orchestra. His second symphony, Johannes Angelos, commis- sioned by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra was premiered in May 2014. OLLI MUSTONEN Mustonen has an extensive discogra- phy, including several prize-winning cy- cles such as the Preludes by Alkan and Pianist, conductor and composer, Olli Shostakovich that won both Edison Mustonen is an all-round musician such and Gramophone Awards. Other re- as is seldom encountered. He began cent releases include the complete his musical tuition at the age of five, Beethoven piano concertos with the and since completing his studies in pi- Tapiola Sinfonietta, Respighi’s Concerto ano with Ralf Gothóni, Eero Heinonen in modo misolidio with the FRSO and and others and in composition with Sakari Oramo, and solo discs of works Einojuhani Rautavaara has travelled by Bach, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Scriabin, the world to appear at the major con- Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Shostakovich cert halls, both for solo recitals and per- and others. formances with top orchestras. Olli Mustonen has been the re- Recent pianist engagements have in- cipient of the Finland Prize of the cluded performances with the London Finnish Ministry of Culture and the Pro Symphony Orchestra and the orchestra Finlandia Medal. of the Mariinsky Theatre, the New York Philharmonic and the Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt. In addition to working with Finnish orchestras Olli Mustonen has, in the past few seasons, conducted the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra della Toscana in Florence, the Genoa Municipal Opera Theatre Orchestra, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Cologne, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra in Moscow, the Northern Sinfonia, the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, 4.