Anders Eliasson isn’t as well-known outside of Scandinavia as he should be. This release should help remedy that. Eliasson had an epiphany when he attended the Royal Swedish Academy of music in the 1960s. As he wrote, “It was a time of unbearable self-denial. Metrical rhythms, melodies, even particular intervals were all taboo in contemporary […]
BIS
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Kaveli Aho Double and Triple Concertos – Definitive Performances
Finnish composer Kaveli Aho is a symphonist. His ideas seem best-suited to large-scale works. Among those large-scale works are 36 concertos, including the two on this recording. And within the subset of concertos, these two are also large-scale. One is a double concerto, the other a triple concerto. Aho composed his double concerto for cor […]
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Singular music from Kalevi Aho
The subtitle for this release is “Seven instrumental solos by the Finnish symphonist.” And that’s significant. Kalevi Aho seems to naturally think in orchestral terms. To date, he’s composed 17 symphonies and almost 40 concertos for a wide variety of instruments. That concerto experience comes into play with his series of solos. Aho’s collaborated with […]
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Allen Pettersson – Symphony No. 12 delivers emotionally
This is not music for the faint of heart. Allan Pettersson’s 12th Symphony delivers almost a solid hour of unrelenting outrage and compassion for the downtrodden of society. And even if you don’t understand the words the chorus is singing, the singers’ delivery gives you their emotional impact. Petterson set nine of Pablo Neruda’s poems […]
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Modern masterworks by Victoria Borisova-Ollas
Victoria Borisova-Ollas is a Russian-born composer making her home in Sweden. If you (like me) aren’t familiar with her work, start with this recording. It’s stunning. Borisova-Ollas writes deeply spiritual music, drawing on classical music traditions of the past as well as the present. And she’s an imaginative orchestrator. Her use of percussion is original […]
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Kaveli Aho chamber music distill composer’s essence
Finnish composer is best known for his large-scale orchestral compositions. And that, to me, made this release of chamber music all the more interesting. What happens when an artist who’s used to creating massive soundscapes with a host of timbres is reduced to a few instruments? For the best composers (like Aho), the process simply […]
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The ethereal beauty of Peteris Vasks Viola Concerto
Peteris Vasks is one of my favorite contemporary composers. He has a distinctive voice, and his works always deliver emotionally (to me, anyway). The two compositions on this release are no exception — though they are exceptional. The Concerto for Viola and String Orchestra was written in 2014 and premiered by its dedicatee, Maxim Rysanov. […]
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Explosive performance of Allan Pettersson Violin Concerto
You could consider Swedish composer Allan Pettersson a musician’s musician. His symphonies, though rarely performed in concert halls, are considered ground-breaking masterworks. Since 2009 maestro Christian Lindberg has been moving through Pettersson’s orchestral catalog. This release is but the latest in his string of outstanding Pettersson recordings. The official title of the major work on […]
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Kalevi Aho Wind Quintets performed with love
This release tells a story — the story of a relationship between composer and performers. Finnish composer Kalevi Aho writes very challenging music. The Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet (BPWQ) accepted that challenge and performed his Wind Quintet No. 1. In fact, they fell in love with the work, playing it more than 20 times in […]