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NEWSLETTER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN NORDIC HIGHLIGHTS 3/2009 Seven questions for Erkki-Sven Tüür Börtz and the Musical Drama

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Börtz and the Musical drama Seven questions for Erkki-Sven Tüür N O R d I C N E W S L E T T E R F R O M G E H R M A N S M U S I K F Ö R L A G & F E N N I C A G E H R M A N

Transcript of Highlights5

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N E W S L E T T E R F R O M G E H R M A N S M U S I K F Ö R L A G & F E N N I C A G E H R M A N

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ICHIGHLIGHTS 3/2009

Seven questions for Erkki-Sven Tüür

Börtz and the Musical drama

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New work by DafgårdGehrmans has signed an agreement for Jörgen Dafgård’s new orchestral work Through Fire and Water. This 13-minute work will be premiered by the Malmö Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Daniel Raiskin in April of next year. At present, Dafgård is writing a work for eleven instruments commissioned by the Nordic Chamber Ensemble, with scheduled premiere in 2010.

Gehrmans’ new hire agentsGehrmans Musikförlag has signed new representational agree-ments with Mongo y Boceta in Spain, InterMusica in Portugal, PWM in Poland, Albersen in the Benelux countries and Schott Musik for China and Japan. The publishing houses are as from 1 January 2009 Gehrmans’ hire agents in each respec-tive territory. Contact information can be found at our website: www.gehrmans.se/english/orkester.

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NEWSLET TER FROM GEHRMANS MUSIKFÖRLAG & FENNICA GEHRMAN

Sound samples and in-depth material are available at

www.gehrmans.se/highlights and www.fennicagehrman.fi/highlights.

Newsletter from Gehrmans Musikförlag & Fennica Gehrman No. 3/2009Cover photo: Katarina Giotas as the duchess of Osuna, from the rehearsals of daniel Börtz’s Goya (Photo: GöteborgsOperan/Joakim Hovrevik) Editors: Henna Salmela and Kristina FryklöfTranslations: Susan Sinisalo and Robert Carrolldesign: Göran LindISSN 1239-6850Printed in Sweden by 08 Tryck, Bromma 2009

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Crusell Week to focus on KortekangasOlli Kortekangas has been chosen as the focus composer for next year’s Crusell Week. He has been commissioned to write a new work for oboe and strings to be performed by Anni Haapaniemi and the New Helsinki Quartet. Earlier works by him will also be heard at the festival scheduled for the last week of June 2010.

Mikko Heiniö brochure and sampler CDFennica Gehrman has published a brochure on the music of Mikko Heiniö accompanied by a sampler CD. The brochure gives details and a comprehensive catalogue of his works, musical examples and numerous pictures. On the CD are samples of 13 of his works, including Songs of Night and Love (Symphony No. 2), Khora (Piano Concerto No. 7) and the piano quartet The Voice of the Tree, not yet available in commercial recordings. Some of the samples can be heard on the Fennica Gehrman website. Enquiries about the brochure to [email protected].

Aho’s Rituals – recording of the month The new Kalevi Aho CD “Rituals” was the recording of the month at June 2009 MusicWeb International. The CD (BIS-1686) includes three works: The Book of Questions for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, the Viola Concerto and Symphony No. 14. According to Dan Morgan, Rituals finds the composer at the very peak of his powers: “In the final poem of The Book of Songs (The Butterflies) the music seems to tremble on the very edge of extinction. Rarely have I heard playing of such translucence; indeed, I found myself listening to this song again, if only to reassure myself that it is as lovely as I had first imagined. ...The CD is a musical and sonic treat. All the strengths and qualities of Aho’s earlier works are here in abundance. Really it’s time we heard more of his music in our concert halls.”

New sheet music from Choralsongs.fi A lot of new material, such as choral works by Olli Kortekangas and Timo-Juhani Kyllönen, has been added to the Choral-songs.fi website this September. Main-tained by the Kopiosto Copyright Society, it is a service developed in collaboration with Finnish publishers delivering sheet music to the client’s email address. At pres-ent comprising about 700 choral works, it will reach the one-thousand mark in the course of this autumn. Some of the works are on sale at Fennica Gehrman but others are at present out of print.

Hakola goes into orbitKimmo Hakola has com-posed a new orchestral work called Le nuage d’Oort for the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. It was premiered at a concert on a space theme on 26 August along with additions by contemporary composers to Holst’s classic Planets. The con-cert with visual effects was conducted by John Storgårds. The HPO also per-formed the Hakola work at a broadcast guest concert at the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm on 30 August.

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Kai NiemiNeNOn a Winter’s Night a Traveller... (Guitar Concerto)Joensuu City orchestra, cond. Esa heikkilä, sol. John Mills17 September, Joensuu, Finland

miKKo HeiNiöMoon Concerto / Månkonsert (Piano Concerto No. 8)Finnish Rso, cond. santtu Rouvali, sol. Monica Groop, mezzo-soprano, heini Kärkkäinen, piano23 September, Helsinki, Finland

daNiel börtzGoya (Opera in Two Acts) the Göteborg opera, cond. Joakim unander, sol. anders larsson, anders lorentzon, Fredrik Zetterström, Michael Weinius, ann-Kristin Jones, Katarina Giotas etc.26 September, Gothenburg, Sweden

Kalevi aHoHistorial Pictures / Historiallisia kuviasibelius academy Chamber orchestra2 October, Turku Castle, FinlandMineaMinnesota orchestra, cond. osmo Vänskä5 November, Minnesota, U.S.A.

NilS liNdberGSweet and Kindstockholm Cathedral Choir, cond. Gustaf sjökvist, sol. Margareta Bengtsson, soprano4 October, Stockholm, Sweden

JyrKi liNJama Allerheiligentag IIsinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä, cond. tibor Bogányi28 October, Jyväskylä, Finland

Kimmo HaKolaAn Johannesavanti! Chamber orchestra, cond. dmitri slobodeniouk3 November, Helsinki, Finland

olli KorteKaNGaSConcerto for Organ and Stringsst. Michel strings, cond. Petri Komulainen, sol. Jan lehtola5 November, Mikkeli, Finland

aNderS eliaSSoNConcerto per violino, viola ed orchestra da cameraostrobothnian Chamber orchestra, cond. Juha Kangas, sol. ulf Wallin, violin, lars anders tomter, viola25 November, Helsinki, Finland

P r E M I E r E Sautumn 2009

Benjamin Staern will be engaged in the project “Tonsatt” during the period 2010-2012. Tonsatt is a collaboration involving orchestras and ensembles from the south of Sweden, with the purpose to draw attention to and boost interest in the music of our time by creat-ing, introducing and performing new works. Benjamin Staern’s engagement includes composing

Des Jona Sendung on DVDOn 26 November the Estonian com-poser Rudolf Tobias’ grand oratorio Des Jona Sendung ( Jonah’s Mission) will be released on DVD by Video Artists International. 100 years will then have elapsed since the first performance in Leipzig in 1909. The DVD was recorded in Tallinn last autumn with Neeme Järvi conducting the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, choirs and solo-ists. In conjunction with this, entirely new orchestral material including orche-

stral and vocal scores has been produced by Estonian Classics. Fur-ther performances of Des Jona Sendung are planned for 2012 at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and with the London Philharmonic, both with Neeme Järvi at the podium.

Open Mind at WMD and on to JapanRolf Martinsson’s striking concert-opener Open Mind was selected by ISCM’s international jury for the World Music Days’ opening concert in Visby on 25 September, where music from five continents was performed. The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra played under B. Tommy Andersson. Open Mind has also been chosen by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Sakari Oramo for their Toshiba Grand Concerts Tour in Japan next Febru-ary, with performances in Fukuoka, Sendai, Hyogo and Tokyo.

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Further hearingof Nuorvala hitNotturno Urbano by Juhani Nuorvala has proved to be a last-ing hit; it can once again be heard at a concert by the Lappeenranta City Orchestra on 29 October, with Jan Söderblom conducting. Scored for orchestra, it was composed in 1996 and has been performed by almost every professional Finnish orches-tra. Abroad it has been heard in, among others, Japan.

Lucernaris top 10 at rostrumTobias Broström’s trumpet concerto Lucernaris repre-sented Sweden at the 56th International Rostrum of Compos-ers in Paris this June. 56 works from 29 national radio networks took part in the competition, in which Lucernaris placed among “the top 10 recommended” works. Håkan Hardenberger pre-miered the concerto on 8 May and will give it another per-formance with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra under Dmitri Slobodeniouk in the Estonia Concert Hall, Tallin on 29 January.

Villarosa Sequences to the USAOn 29 November Thomas Jennefelt’s choral suite Villarosa Sequences

will be performed in its entirety for the first time in the USA. Miguel Felipe will conduct the Boston Choral Ensemble in two perfor-mances in Cambridge and Boston respectively. The Boston Arts writes anticipating the performance: “Jennefelt’s seven-movement symphony for voices combines the meditative qualities of minimalist tone clusters with the drama of vibrant melodic lines to craft a unique choral experi-ence that is at once peaceful and exhilarating.”

new orchestral works for the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra and the chamber orchestra Musica Vitae.

Benjamin Staern to be the next “Tonsatt” composer

Hardenberger at the premiere of Lucernaris

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A N N I V E r S A r I E Serkki-Sven tüür: 50 on 16 october 2009

Henrik otto donner: 70 on 16 november 2009

mikael edlund: 60 on 19 January 2010

aulis Sallinen: 75 on 9 april 2010

erland von Koch: Centenary of birth on 26 april 2010

Hugo alfvén: 50th anniversary of death on 8 May 2010

Nils erik Fougsted: Centenary of birth on 24 May 2010

veljo tormis: 80 on 7 august 2010

ingvar lidholm: 90 on 24 February 2011

allan Pettersson: Centenary of birth on 19 sept. 2011

erik bergman: Centenary of birth on 24 nov. 2011

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You formed the rock group In spe at the age of 17. Is this sort of music-making still part of your life?

This spring In spe appeared in its original line-up at the Tartu Music Festival then celebrating its 30th anniversary. This was, however, an exception. Sometimes I listen to prog-rock to hear if any-thing interesting is happening.

Where do you find your greatest sources of inspiration?

You can never foresee what may be a catalyst for the invention of new musical ideas. In my opinion, you have to live with an open mind and be recep-tive. Anything that comes my way may prove to be inspiring. But you have to have time to listen to what is happening deep within; the right choices are made in silence.

How would you describe the intellectual climate in Estonia today from a composer’s point of view?

I have to say that when I’m in Estonia, I spend most of my time in my country house on the is-land of Hiiumaa – either composing or just work-ing on the land or, especially in summer, keeping my visitors company. The atmosphere there is ide-al for me. I go to Tallinn from time to time, mostly in connection with musical festivals or concerts or

It is said that your music is often influenced by visual ideas. How are they manifest?

It’s not easy to explain. I treat musical material or-ganised with varying degrees of intensity and den-sity as an architect would treat, say, glass, metal, wood or concrete. In composing my Architectonics series I was interested in the systematic bind-ing together of atonal and tonal relationships, and I sketched some of these as abstract drawings be-fore I began composing.

Action-Passion-Illusion for strings has been one of your most performed works. What was your recipe for it?

In 1993 Tõnu Kaljuste re-formed the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. For its opening concert he asked me to compose a short, quick piece that would begin without a lot of preliminary waffle and have a showy ending. So I did as he asked and called it “Illusion”. After the premiere I felt it could be preceded by some sort of music beginning in a low register and slowly, broadly branching out. And so I composed “Passion”. I then realised the work was a triptych that needed an opening move-ment, and the result was “Action”. On the other hand, both Passion and Illusion can be performed independently.

other cultural events. But as a city it’s too small. If you want to catch real urban trends you have to go to Berlin or New York. I can’t really answer that question. Somehow I’m just an onlooker on life in Estonia.

What book and CD would you take with you on a desert island?

That’s a difficult question to answer. In a way I’m already on a desert island, but I’ve got lots of books and music here. I don’t have any absolute favourites.

What are your thoughts and plans for the future?

Right now I’m working on my Eighth Symphony, a commission from the Scottish Chamber Orches-tra. My most distant commission at the moment is for 2013. I’ve been privileged to meet some mag-nificent musicians who are playing and conducting my works in different countries and I’m very grate-ful to them for this.

HENNA SALMELA

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Seven questions for Erkki-Sven Tüür

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His first opera, The Bacchae, premiered at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1991 under the direction of Ingmar Bergman, was a key work in which ear-lier experiences are summarised. At the same time, it was a starting point toward a new aesthetics of music. A lingering monumentality in his musical language originating partly in the Bergman period came to an abrupt end in 1998 with Marie Antoi-nette , a work commissioned by the Folkopera in Stockholm with a libretto by Claes Fellbom. Here Börtz explores further the human voice and its possibilities, with a much more flexible and mobile orchestra in the background. There is a kind of eighteenth-century aesthetics in the tone language that not only harmonises with the plot but also brings out the musical dramaturgy with its arias, concertati and ensembles, where dramatic passages alternate with more reflective musical flows.

Svall & Magnus GabrielIn his next opera, Svall (Surge), also with a text by Fellbom, Börtz plunges from historical time into today’s emotionally charged complex of problems, viz. honour killing. This work, too, was commis-sioned by the Royal Swedish Opera. But it was Daniel Börtz’s talent for depicting an historical period and its figures with a contemporary per-spective and attitude that led to a commission in 2004 from the Läckö Castle Theatre for an opera about the castle’s most famous building propri-etor, Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie. The work was premiered in 2008 at Läckö Castle. The opera Magnus Gabriel, set to a libretto by Iwar Berg-kvist, has a new tone and a new touch. Here the sonority of chamber music is predominate. The use of the orchestra is at times discriminating and sophisticated, and then goes on to depict, with complex tempo changes, saturated harmonies and

suggestive rhythms, the different subtexts of the character roles. Börtz has a nineteenth-century bel canto feeling for how melodies are used dramati-cally and there is an almost smarting intensity in the vocal lines. He scales back the music bit by bit to a minimum and then lets the vocal flow through without disturbing either dramatic char-acter or musical substance. With Magnus Gabriel a new musical vitality and sophistication of sound appears in Daniel Börtz’s dramatic music, and it

can undoubtedly be said that this recently gained ground is to be found in Goya, the Gothenburg Opera’s new commissioned work whose world premiere is set for 26 September 2009.

Goya – a mighty frescoThe conception of Goya came originally from the artist and scenographer Lennart Mörck. His vi-sion of the Spanish master and his journey through court drawing rooms and battlefields, his revealing and equivocal portraits of persons in authority, al-ternating with paintings of the horrors of war in the Spaniards’ bloody uprising against the invader Napoleon, were a decisive impulse for Börtz to take on an operatic depiction of the complex artist that was Goya. The eruptive vitality that charac-terised Lennart Mörck meant that the basic idea and concept of the work were determined at a very early stage. At Lennart’s death in 2007 work on the text had begun and Magnus Florin had been entrusted the task of writing the libretto.

Goya is the diametrical opposite of Magnus Gabriel. In Goya we encounter a large orchestra with threefold woodwinds, brass, four percussion-ists, harp and strings. There are seventeen charac-ter roles portrayed by twelve singers and an actor. Like the ample gallery of characters that Goya met throughout his long life, a throng of kings, dukes and duchesses, politicians, inquisitors and Goya’s own family enters the stage. And yet it is no problem to follow what is happening. Börtz’s music is razor-sharp in its language and its char-acterisation. As in Magnus Gabriel, light texture alternates with the forceful and the monumental. But in contrast to The Bacchae the grandiose and the powerful elements are not overwhelming. It is packed with meaning and intense, but in a clear dramaturgical context and in continual contrast to the intimate and the sublime. The vocal parts

Daniel Börtz’s creativity is continually developing. He has composed music successfully in all musical forms imaginable, such as works for solo instruments, songs, chamber music, instrumental concertos and symphonies. But it is as a musical dramatist that he surprises us and enters upon a new course.

Börtzand the Musical drama

From the rehearsals of Goya: Michael Weinius as Charles IV and Anders Larsson as Goya

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are demanding, but not to the extent that the singers have to damage their voices. It is a mighty fresco that Daniel Börtz lets us share in, and it is also the most nuanced and richly coloured musical drama of his that we have experienced so far.

The art of operaOpera is a fascinating form of art: at the same time conservative bordering on the reactionary as well as innovative, looking ahead and continually calling into question its roots. When Claudio Monteverdi cre-ated L’Orfeo in 1607 the art of opera became accept-ed. Very little has changed since then except for the purely musical development, but the idea of opera, its body language and its dramaturgy are the same. It sometimes happens that contemporary composers want to burst asunder the old, abandon it altogether and create new conditions for operatic expression. Unfortunately, it must be acknowledged that there are few, if any, interesting attempts. The composers and musical theorists of the Renaissance, and their ques-tions regarding the Greek drama, can still be inter-preted from new perspectives, and new questions can be posed and further develop the language of music.

In Goya we constantly feel this connection with the basic context of the art form. Like Monteverdi, who in L’Orfeo only had a large room in which to tell his fa-vola, and therefore had to use music’s power to focus and open up the drama, Börtz uses – modern stage machinery notwithstanding – the same technique of music dramaturgy. By shifting from the grandiose orchestral sound and power to the solitary monody – the simple accompanied solo song – Börtz focuses the drama on the stage without utilising lighting, curtains or props. And the singing does not even have to be followed by tones: a rich percussion texture fulfils the same function and a new tension between song and rhythm arises. But Goya is not a traditional operatic work in the sense that it copies the old form and relies on earlier experiences. The work is deeply rooted in Western operatic art. But by choosing to depict the great master Goya, who maintains his artistic integri-ty and imagination in a repressive feudal society prone to violence, Börtz defies opera’s means of expression. And in combination with the dramaturgy of the li-bretto and the stage, the opera prisms from former times are turned once more to new positions where the colour spectrum and the reflections provide new light constellations and the music-shaping answers must be reformulated. It is precisely in these new con-texts that Daniel Börtz’s opera Goya is so fascinating: because of its virtuoso realisation, form-giving power and the new answers to musical poetics and gestures. At the same time, Goya points to opera’s multiplicity, complexity and superior capacity to make its listeners feel both intimately moved and interactive.

ANDErS WIkLUND

Professor at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg

Flow à la Hakola…The Meta4 Quartet – and Kimmo Hakola – really do have flow. Hakola’s String Quartet is like a blazing fire… Meta4’s performance was both hair-raisingly furious and crystal-clear… Hakola was the right partner for Beethoven’s B flat major Quartet, Op. 130. The original finale, the Grand Fugue, particularly, reaches beyond the possible in the same spirit.Helsingin Sanomat 18.8. / Jukka IsopuroKimmo Hakola: String Quartet No. 1, A même les échos 1Meta4, 16.8.2009 helsinki Festival, Finland

Successful surpriseHakola wants to do things differently, to take the listener by surprise, and in this he is successful. The nuage d’Oort as he portrayed it sparkled in shades at times warm and at others ominous.Helsingin Sanomat 28.8. / Samuli Tiikkaja

Hakola’s work proved clearly to be the brightest of all the satellites.Hufvudstadsbladet 29.8. / Mats LiljeroosKimmo Hakola: Le nuage d’Oort World Premiere: helsinki Po, cond. John storgårds, 26.8.2009 helsinki, Finland

Quirk and twists in Larsson’s quartetsIf you haven’t yet made the acquaintance of the music of this interesting Swede this is a really good starting point. The music is, superficially, easy to listen to but has sufficient quirks and twists and turns to keep you wondering what is going to happen next. The Stenhammar Quartet plays magnifi-cently and the recording and presentation are excellent.MusicWeb International August / Bob BriggsLars-Erik Larsson: String QuartetsCd: the stenhammar Quartet (daphne 1035)

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Högberg’s earwormRocky Island Boat Bay by Fredrik Högberg, especially, falls under the category of new discoveries…The main movement is sig-nificant, too, with its varied and enjoyable, at times lovely jazzy, material. As is also the Finale, which with the nostalgic and beauti-ful Love Song manages to plant yet another “earworm” into our auditory canals. Klassik Heute 12.8. / Rasmus van RijnFredrik Högberg: Rocky Island Boat Bay Cd: norrköping so, cond. Mats Rondin, sol. Øystein Baadsvik, tuba (Bis-Cd-1685)

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Symphonic organ work by Aho A great, impressive work the four movements of which form a thrilling entity. On the one hand it bows to the largest organ works by Bach in many movements. On the other hand it draws on the tradition of the French organ symphony. …Its two- and four-part fugues are masterpieces of the art of composition, at the same time music that builds up to a strong climax…Helsingin Sanomat 27.6. / Veijo MurtomäkiKalevi Aho: Alles Vergängliche, Symphony for OrganWorld Premiere: Jan lehtola, 25.6.2009 Mänttä, Finland

A blend of old and newAho’s Quintet is a coherent, mature work in which he allows alienating harmonic worlds to grow up round romantic motifs. The four movements create a broad entity that culmi-nates in a magnificent final build-up.Helsingin Sanomat 27.6. / Veijo Murtomäki

Kalevi Aho: Hommage à Schubert (String Quintet)World Premiere: sonja & Katinka Korkeala, violin, Marko Ylönen & Katja Kolehmainen, cello, ulla soine, viola, 7.7.2009 dragsfjärd, Finland

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Aho’s String Quintet was premiered at the Kemiönsaari Music Festival

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Schnelzerian humour and verveWith melting vibrato, this fine en-semble performs Albert Schnelzer’s surrealistically inspired String Quartet No. 1. The quartet, with the title The devil in the Belfry, has a recognisable “Schnelzerian” humour and verve in the staging of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story about the little town Vondervot-teimittis.

Svenska Dagbladet 18.8. / Sofia NyblomAlbert Schnelzer: String Quartet No. 1 – The Devil in the BelfryWorld Premiere: the Weber Quartet, 16.8.2009 Kalv Festival, sweden

Attractive, earnest musicKyllönen has been much performed in Finland, partly because he was an inde-pendent voice, moving east, one might say, when other Finnish composers moved west. But it is surely also because his music is good, solid work, and I can hardly imagine better performances of this music. I recommend this disc generally, and es-pecially to those who would like to explore a different voice in modern Finnish music. Fanfare 2009 / Alan Swanson Timo-Juhani Kyllönen: Symphony No. 1, Lichtenthal, Accordion Concerto No. 1, Concerto grossoCd: st. Petersburg state academic Capella so, cond. alexander Chernushenko, sol. Matti Rantanen, accordion (alba aBCd 256)

Fascinating EdlundLike all art of great value, Edlund’s music arouses the desire to listen to it more than once. The listener never gets finished with his fragrant, immensely delicate music, just more and more fascinated. Taking his starting point in the rock music of the 60s, and guided by his own uncompromising stance, he has over the years chiselled, filed and polished Swedish art music into perhaps the most discrimi-nating of personal styles. Svenska Dagbladet 6.5. / Carl-Gunnar ÅhlénMikael Edlund: The Lost Jugglery, Solo, Jord, Blue Garden, Music for Double Wind QuintetCd: Kroumata, trio Mats, Mats Zetterqvist, Boel adler etc. (CaP 21447)

Wonderfully evocative This is wonderfully evocative music, idiomatic and supple… Nieminen writes very well for his solo instruments, giving them a thorough workout and integrat-ing them with the orchestral textures in a marvelous way. The flute and clarinet concertos are highly sophisticated and unflaggingly interesting, not to men-tion tuneful and breezily ruminative in nature. While, of course, debussy haunts the proceedings, I kept thinking of a more sedate version of Ibert as a model. But in many ways, this music transcends either of those folks, and I found every moment quite enjoyable. …I cannot imagine anyone who would be less than enthralled by this music.

Fanfare Sept/Oct 2009 / Steven E. Ritter

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Passionately lyricalA new work destined for London is the String Quartet No. 2 by the young Swedish composer Albert Schnelzer. He celebrates the spectres of Shostakovich, Berg, Ravel – yet speaks with a confident and passionately lyrical voice all his own. The Times 10.8. / Hilary FinchAlbert Schnelzer: String Quartet No. 2 – Emperor Akbar World Premiere: the Brodsky Quartet, 6.8.2009 nordland Music Festival, Bodø, norway

Albert Schnelzer and the Brodsky Quartet at the Nordland Music Festival

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Sydämeni laulu (The Song of my Heart) caused a lump in the throats of performer and audience alike… The orchestra, conducted by Mikko Franck, captured both the deep and wonderfully beautiful melodic undercurrent of Rautavaara’s music and the roistering of the drinking session.Helsingin Sanomat 14.9. / Veijo Murtomäki

Aleksis Kivi is a poignant and well-written opera… Rautavaara cleverly incorporates Kivi’s original texts in his libretto, thereby giving it extra beauty value.Hufvudstadsbladet 14.9. / Jan GranbergEinojuhani Rautavaara: Aleksis Kivi, Opera in Three ActsFinnish national opera orchestra, cond. Mikko Franck, sol. Jorma hynninen, Riikka Rantanen, Ville Rusanen etc., 12.9.2008 helsinki, Finland

Kai Nieminen: Palomar (Flute Concerto), Through Shadows I Can Hear Ancient Voices (Clarinet Concerto), Vicoli in ombra Cd: sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä, cond. Patrick Gallois, sol. Gallois, flute, Mikko Raasakka, clarinet(naxos 8.572061)

Linde’s orchestral worksLinde’s output is thoroughly tonal, and his early works already show complete mastery of orchestration, and a sound grasp of architecture and structure.

This fine, very approachable music has been recorded superbly...The project deserves every success.Audiophile Audition 3.7. / Peter JoelsonBo Linde: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3Cd: Gävle so, cond. Petter sundkvist (ssaCd 1133)

Rautavaara’s opera caused a lump in the throat

Quo Vadis – a drama of fate

The work stands out as a drama of fate. The vocal sections constitute stations in the rest-less orchestral flow. The chorus functions as in the Greek drama, while the soloist – given a moving interpretation by Michael Weinius – stands as the lone human being before the surrounding powers that the orchestra conjures up under the able direction of Johannes Gustavsson. It is here reminiscent of Allan Pettersson’s music: growing in wrath and subsiding in resignation but continually born anew, driven by a blind life instinct. Dagens Nyheter 18.5. / Thomas AnderbergAnders Eliasson: Quo VadisWorld Premiere: swedish Rso, swedish Radio Choir, cond. Johannes Gustavsson, sol. Michael Weinius, 15.5.2009 stockholm, sweden

Jorma Hynninen as Aleksis Kivi

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C H A M B E R & I N S T R U M E N T A L

MIKAEL EDLUNDThe Lost Jugglery, Solo, Jord, Blue Garden, Music for Double Wind QuintetKroumata, trio Mats, Mats Zetterqvist, violin etcCaprice CaP 21447

NILS KLÖFVER (ARR)Variety Lights (Aulin: Four Aquarelles, de Sarasate: Zigeunerweise, Elgar: Salut d’Amour, Haendel: Sonata in D etc) Björn Kleiman, violin, nils Klöfver, guitarnota Bene Productions nBP021

BO LINDEOrchestral Works Vol. 3 (Pensieri sopra un cantico vecchio, Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2)Gävle so, cond. Petter sundkvistswedish society saCd 1133

EINOJUHANI RAUtAVAARA12 ConcertosVarious performers (previously released material)ondine odE 1156-2Q (4-Cd set)

N E W P U B L I C AT I o N SN E W C D s

T U T O R SGézA SzILVAyColourstrings Violin ABC Book E: FG 979-0-55009-543-4Book F: FG 979-0-55009-544-1

ALBERt SCHNELzERDance with the Devilfor piano solo GE 11390

Frozen Landscapefor cello or violin and piano GE 11391

Lamento – for the Naughty Children under the Second Umbrellafor violin, clarinet, cello and prepared pianoGE11394 (score and parts)

Predatory Dancesfor piano trioGE 11389 (score and parts)

Requiemfor soprano and pianotext: Edith södergran (swedish)GE 11392

Solitude for cello soloGE 11393

Solitude for violin soloGE 11397

String Quartet No. 2 – Emperor AkbarGE 11420 (score and parts)

Wolfgang is Dancing!for violin, clarinet and celloGE 11395 (score and parts)

C H O R A LSALEM AL FAKIR/ ARR: DANIEL MÖLLERGood Songfor mixed choir (saB) and instrumentstext in English a song by the successful swedish pop singer salem al Fakir GE 11414

PER GUNNAR PEtERSSON Adventsmusik for mixed choir (satB) and organtext in swedisha less advanced setting for choir with a virtuoso organ part GE 11407

FREDRIK SIxtENJubilate Deofor mixed choir (satB) a cappella text in latinExuberant, magnificent a cappella music GE 11442

S C O R E S tOBIAS BROStRÖMLucernaris – Concerto for Trumpet, Live Electronics and OrchestraGE 11398

Violin Concerto GE 11362

HALVOR HAUGSymphonic PictureGE 11229

NILS LINDBERGShall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Dayversion for string orchestraGE 11158

KIMMO HAKOLADiamond Streetfor solo clarinetFG 979-0-55009-606-6

NILS KLÖFVER (ARR)Nils Klöfver Collection arrangements for violin or flute and guitar(see also new Cds)Four Aquarelles (Tor Aulin)GE 11481

Zigeunerweise (Pablo de Sarasate) GE 11482

Salut d’Amour (Edward Elgar)GE 11483

Sonata in D, Op.1 No. 13 (G. F. Haendel)GE 11484

NILS LINDBERGShall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Dayversion for string quartetGE 11160 (score and parts)

BENJAMIN StAERNArpalineafor guitar soloGE 11464