A belated thank you for your support, Antonio.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Leevi Madetoja - Orchestral Works Vol. 1 (Arvo Volmer)


Information

Composer: Leevi Madetoja
  • (01) Juha, opera, Op. 74
  • (03) Ostrobothnians Suite, Op. 52
  • (08) Symphony No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 35

Oulu Symphony Orchestra
Arvo Volmer, conductor

Date: 1998
Label: Alba Records
http://www.alba.fi/en/shop/products/4174


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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

This lovely disc makes the perfect introduction to Leevi Madetoja’s mature sound world. The two sets of excerpts from his operas, the works on which his reputation largely rests today, give a good sense of their native tunefulness and telling use of a somewhat austere orchestral palette. But the big event is the superb recording of the lyrical Second Symphony, one of the great ones in the Finnish repertoire and fully comparable to the contemporaneous works of Sibelius (it dates from 1918). Structurally it’s quite interesting: a pastoral opening movement (shades of Sibelius 2!) leads to a lengthy Andante, followed by a turbulent Allegro third movement (the symphony’s most highly developed section) and closing with a brief, calm epilog. That quiet ending, of course, accounts for the work’s comparative neglect since by any criterion this is a major statement and an extremely attractive exercise in late Romantic nationalism. Arvo Volmer lavishes great care on these performances, and the Oulu Symphony plays with genuine skill, sympathy, and warmth. Excellent sound rounds out an enticing package.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

Another review:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/dec00/madetoja.htm

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Leevi Madetoja (17 February 1887, Oulu – 6 October 1947, Helsinki) was a Finnish composer, music critic, conductor, and teacher. He is generally considered to be among the most significant Finnish composers to emerge after Jean Sibelius, with whom he studied. The core of Madetoja's oeuvre consists of a set of three symphonies, two operas, an Elegia for strings, the suite The Garden of Death for solo piano, and the Japanisme ballet-pantomime Okon FuokoAcclaimed during his lifetime, Madetoja is today seldom heard outside the Nordic countries, although his music has in recent decades enjoyed a renaissance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leevi_Madetoja

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Arvo Volmer (born November 4, 1962 in Tallinn) is an Estonian conductor. Volmer was principal conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2001. From 2004 to 2013 he was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Since September 2014 he has been the Chief Conductor of the Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento. Volmer has also been guest conductor of many orchestras, especially in Scandinavia. Among his recordings are the complete orchestral works of Leevi Madetoja and the complete symphonies of Eduard Tubin and Jean Sibelius.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arvo_Volmer
https://www.arvovolmer.com/

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FLAC, tracks
Links in comment
Enjoy!

5 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Track 9 seems corrupt. Will you please fix it. Many thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't seem to find any corruption in within track 9. Can you point me the timing of the corrupted point?

      Delete
  3. I have listened to this and also I can hear nothing wrong in track 9. Many thanks for these Madetoja albums

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete