Leevi Madetoja - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3; Okon Fuoko Suite (John Storgårds)

Information

Composer: Leevi Madetoja

• (01) Symphony No. 1 in F major, Op. 29
• (04) Symphony No. 3 in A major, Op. 55
• (08) Okon Fuoko Suite, Op. 58

Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgårds, conductor

Date: 2013
Label: Ondine
https://www.ondine.net/index.php?lid=en&cid=2.2&oid=5161

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

This disc completes Ondine’s cycle of Leevi Madetoja symphonies. It’s a shame he didn’t write more of them, for all three are wonderful pieces, fully comparable to those by Sibelius, Nielsen, or any other symphonist of the early 20th century, Scandinavian or not. The First is a pithy work in three movements, colorfully scored, effectively knit together by shared thematic material between movements, and with a distinctly Finnish-sounding central Lento misterioso.

The Third lays claim to being considered Madetoja’s symphonic masterpiece. Although longer than the First, it is lighter in mood, pure, pastoral, fresh, and quite unlike anyone else’s music of the period. The symphony’s longest movement is its third, a scherzo, and its opening sounds almost like Copland in its widely spaced harmonies and “open air” quality. It’s an extraordinary piece, especially given its date of composition in the mid 1920s.

Okon Fuoko is a ballet-pantomine on an exotic Japanese subject, for which Madetoja manages to provide some very exotic-sounding music that isn’t a bit Asian in character. The suite is only thirteen minutes long, but it has real substance and is great fun. The performance is excellent, with Storgards and the Helsinki Philharmonic offering a rhythmically zesty and bold account of the work, as indeed they do of both symphonies as well.

This music now enjoys multiple recordings, as it surely deserves to, but these are as fine or better than the competition, and the engineering is also excellent–clear, well-balanced, and tactile.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/madetoja-symphonies-nos-1-3
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Mar14/Madetoja_sys_ODE12112.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Aug14/Madetoja_sys_ODE12112.htm
https://www.amazon.com/Madetoja-Symphonies-Storg%C3%A5rds-Philharmonic-Orchestra/dp/B00GNNESBK

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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 Fuoko. Acclaimed 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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John Storgårds (born 20 October 1963 in Helsinki) is a Finnish violinist and conductor. Storgårds studied violin with Esther Raitio and Jouko Ignatius, and study conducting with Jorma Panula and Eri Klas at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He was Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra from 2008 to 2015. Storgårds was also Chief Conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra from 2006 to 2009. He has made a number of international recordings for Ondine, Sony and BIS Records, including recordings of music by Andrzej Panufnik, John Corigliano, and Per Nørgård.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Storg%C3%A5rds
http://www.johnstorgards.com/

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