Atlanta and other stuff

Sorry....I haven´t been very active in blogging recently. That´s because I promised myself that I´ll blog only if I feel like that, not because I have to fill some void in the cyber space. I just loaded a new album by Leona Lewis and got the inspiration for few lines. Additional help for this monumental task is provided by the excellent merlot by Duckhorn Vineyards (Napa Valley)....

During the last month there have been many memorable concerts. Eine Alpensinfonie and Le Sacre du Printemps in Tampere combined with two unique Beethoven experiences. Corey Cerovsek played a deeply beautiful version of the Violin Concerto and Steven Osborne delighted the Tampere public with the 4th Piano Concerto. Once again it was great to work with Steven Osborne. We discussed the 4th concerto a lot: phrases, proportions, drama and tempi only to realise that there are no answers. These questions can only be solved by intuition, while actually making music. I think we solved a lot in the concert but there are certainly enough enigmas left for the next thirty years . I hope one day I have a chance to play a complete Beethoven cycle with Steven (...this is a hint for all the distinguished Vice Presidents of Artistic Planning)

There was also an interesting week in Amsterdam and Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic. This and a certain composer Henk Badings deserve a separate entry later.

I´ve just wrapped up a week with the Atlanta Symphony. A happy week. ASO is a brilliant orchestra and I was impressed by their flexibility and musicality. We played Tchaikovsky, Glazunov and Shostakovich, each composer representing very well his own generation in Russian composing. I couldn´t help remembering one of my teachers, Ilya Musin, who once during one of his numerous master classes at the Sibelius Academy told us how Shostakovich (they were same age) used to show him the schetches of the First Symphony and how they played it together on the piano in the classroom of the St Peterburg Conservatory. For a musician the past is always near.

Atlanta was also one of the nicest cities I´ve been in the US. My friend, percussionist Colin Currie says Atlanta is a big-hearted city and he´s absolutely right. The culinary experiences were unforgettable.

Duckhorn is empty and I have go to sleep. Tomorrow flight to Rochester. More Shostakovich one....

Thanks ASO, Tai, Amy, Carol, Rebecca and Garrett!

Liverpool

I´m now back from Liverpool where we had two very nice but heavy programmes in three different concerts. Rautavaara´s "Before the Icons" got a UK premiere on Wednesday. I´m sure it will become one of his most popular orchestral pieces together with Cantus Arcticus. It´s got the crisp spirit of his 50´s style combined with fine and delicate orchestration of his mature style.

Angela Hewitt played the Schumann concerto and I very much liked her measured and intelligent version of this piece. But why is the finale always so difficult??? Was Schumann´s rhytmical concept revolutionary, ingenious or just naive?

Brahms Fourth Symphony was played in two programmes. What an exhausting piece to to conduct. Not that it`s very long but It´s so well composed and there´s so much meaning concentrated in his complex counterpoint that the performers must struggle all the time between expression and balance. Every note has it´s place in the score almost in a webernian manner.

Last concert ended on Sunday with Eroica. We only had a short rehearsal in the morning but it went surprisingly well. RLPO is having a big boost with Petrenko at the moment. In Liverpool I became to wonder the similarities between Tampere and the industrial cities in Britain. The orchestras have to justify their existence all the time and this can be done only by giving first rate concerts for own audiences and by building an international reputation by recordings and tours.

Getting back to Tampere for Alpine Symphony and Rite of Spring and looking forward to working again with Steven Osborne and Corey Cerovsek with his fantastic "Milanollo" Stradivari.

And we finally saw the Sun....

Yes, the huge score of "Seht die Sonne" behaved well, both logistically and musically. What a great piece it is. It´s my favourite among Magnus Lindberg´s works along with the Clarinet and the Violin Concertos. Orchestra enjoyed playing it a lot and that´s mostly because of Magnus´musicianship. This is what good composing consists of: vision and technique. Good luck and strength to Magnus with the NY Phil!

Topi Lehtipuu sung a fine "Poeme de l`Amour et de la Mer" and once again Wagner and Chausson proved to be a good combination. Just that the orchestration of the original Tannhäuser Overture is a bit clumsy. Why didn´t he compose the whole beginning again for the performances in Paris?

Music in many shades and hues/ digesting Hindemith

This weekend has been recovering from a Hindemith overdose last Friday, Das Marienleben and Mathis der Maler.Once again I was amazed how emotional his music actually is. And difficult to play. And difficult to phrase naturally.Well...I think we did fine.

This week we have a new challenge: Seht die Sonne by Magnus Lindberg, his "2nd symphony".The first problem seems to be logistical: the score is too big for my music stand....

Regards from Poland

I´ve just returned from one of the most ambitious contemporary music festivals in Europe, Sacrum Profanum in Krakow, Poland. I´ve always thought that the music of our time should be integrated into the programmes and not treated as some kind of a curiosity but Krakow was a delightful surprise. Poland seems to be a country were culture is an important part of daily life. I´ve rarely seen this kind of interest from the media, public and press alike. Poland shows that culture is and should be an important force in the society.

Playing the sensitive music by Jonathan Harvey in industrial surroundings wasn´t that easy, though. The venue was a shock in the first and only rehearsal we had and the Ensemble intercontemporain and our great technicians had to work hard in order to make the music and electronics work. And that´s what they finally did. After the chaos of the afternoon the concert went surprisingly well and there was a very special atmosphere. Merci beaucoup, EIC.

Good start

Great concert yesterday! Thanks for all. And thanks especially for Gabriel. I think it would be very difficult to find a singer more suitable for those stunning monologues by Frank Martin. There is something very special in these songs and I don´t think you have to be a religious listener at all to realise that there is a huge amount of hope behind this music and the beautiful text by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Martin´s music should be played more. Maybe in the future we´ll programme Polypyque or even Le Vin Herbé.

I suppose finishing the concert with the Poeme de l´Extase took us as far from Martin´s protestant world as possible. It´s a less complex piece than most people think but it´s certainly true that the huge amount of short themes make the symphonic development impossible and balancing difficult. I´ve tried to read the composers chaotic verses which he wrote to serve as some kind of an explanation of the piece but found the score much more informative. In Scriabin´s (and Wagners´s) case the music itself creates more profound and genuine feelings than the text on which it´s based on.

I was reminded this week that Beethoven was my age whan he composed his 7th symphony. For some reason I found that information spooky.

This weekend is dedicated for some rest and four scores by Jonathat Harvey. It´s been many years since I´ve conducted anything with this much electronics. Harvey is an interesting composer and studying his scores has been quite a journey. I´m looking forward to the first rehearsals with the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris on Tuesday.

Finally....

My website is finally back! I´m so sorry you had to wait for almost 12 months but the process was much slower than I could ever imagine. Anyway, Teemu Mattila has again done great job with the design based on some new photographs by Jonas Lundqvist, Sini Pennanen and Heikki Tuuli.

The timing however is perfect since the first week of September will be my first official week as a Music Director of the Tampere Filharmonia. After four more or less nomadic years it feels good to have a base somewhere, especially in Finland because during my travels I have missed a lot working in my own familiar culture and in my own language. I suppose this makes me a very typical Finn. You will also soon hear about another contract which will bring even more stability to my schedules.

We have already started the work in Tampere this week with two different CD recordings. The first project was around Italian composer Nino Rota and his eclestic two Piano Concertos (played by superb Janne Mertanen). Other pieces recorded were the Trumpet Concerto and orchestral scherzo "Ghost of Buster" by our Composer in Residence Jouni Kaipainen. Both CDs will be for the Alba label with which we have plans for many interesting projects.

My first official subscription concert will be on the 4th of September and the programme will include some of my most favourite music. More about that soon.

www.tampere.fi/filharmonia

It was very hot in Porvoo Summer Sounds this year....a snapshot by Heikki Tuuli