Information
Composer: Uuno Klami
Pekka Kauppinen, violin (1-3)
Kymi Sinfonietta
Dmitri Slobodeniouk, conductor
Date: 2007
Label: Alba Records
- (01) Violin Concerto, Op. 32
- (04) Suite for String Orchestra
- (08) Sérénades joyeuses
- (12) Scenes from a Puppet Show
Pekka Kauppinen, violin (1-3)
Kymi Sinfonietta
Dmitri Slobodeniouk, conductor
Date: 2007
Label: Alba Records
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Whether he knew it or not Uuno Klami toiled under the reputation of Sibelius. Among Finnish composers he was hardly alone in this. The benevolent yet oxygen-sapping shadow from Järvenpää was cast not only over Sibelius’s own generation but over succeeding generations including those born after Sibelius’s death in 1958. The compulsion to create musical works however can be strong and there is much to be enjoyed and discovered as well as assessed among those unconquered by its sway.
Klami drank deep draughts of the Finnish nationalist essence but later mixed it with the voices of Gallic impressionism and Stravinskian energy from his studies in Paris. His serious side is represented by the wanly impressionistic Sea Pictures (1930-32), the vitally potent and imaginative Kalevala Suite (1943), the smokingly volatile Cheremissian Fantasy for cello and orchestra (1931), the romantically determined Violin Concerto (1942) and the bafflingly neglected Psalmus (1936) for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra.
He is not neglected on commercial recordings. In the age of the LP Fennica, Finnlevy and Finlandia paid him attention. However as with other neglected composers the entry of the CD onto the world stage in 1983 was the cue for a substantial jolt of new recording ventures. Klami benefited, as did many others, with reissues and fresh recording projects. The Warner-Finlandia combine gave us an extremely valuable Klami compendium (deleted and now fetching between £30 and £40 on Amazon) in their Meet the Composer series as well as the world premiere recording of Psalmus on FACD369 - the latter remaining deleted for years for reasons beyond understanding. Ondine, Bis and Naxos (listed below) have also waded in to provide coverage of the vast bulk of the orchestral music.
Alba stand in the shadow of Ondine and Warner-Finlandia. Alba’s catalogue however holds its own peculiar treasures including the complete Madetoja orchestral works, including the grand ballet Okon Fuoko and the complete piano solos. Let alone music by Tiensuu, Tuukkanen, Hämeenniemi, Kreek, Kokkonen and Merilainen. Their complete Tubin symphonies are as conducted by Arvo Volmer who through ABC Classics is making his mark on the international scene. A full index of reviews of their recordings can be found here. The present three discs have until now passed us by.
The Kymi - Scenes disc is an all-Klami affair. Of the three it’s the shortest in playing time but then all three are within hailing distance of an hour. The Violin Concerto dates from 1943 but was lost and the work rewritten in 1954. Although the original score was found in 1957 the rewrite is what we hear from Pekka Kauppinen. It’s a lovely work which will appeal to you if you enjoy the first concertos of Szymanowski and Prokofiev. You will also need to be able to live with pages that in their contours inevitably recall the Sibelius concerto and the idyllic sense of Slavonic nocturnals and perfumed air. The finale is more urgent, zany and even manic - a sort of moto perpetuo without quite fitting the definition. It ends on a very cleever downbeat pizzicato. The concerto lasts for more than half the duration of the CD. I recall hearing Jennifer Koh’s version on Bis some years ago and my recollection is that Koh’s tone is more full-lipped; I would need to get hold of a copy to check. Kauppinen is in any event a most touching and virtuosic guide. The Suite for String Orchestra (1937) is the same undemanding ‘pleasantrie’ that appears on Alba ABCD 242 recalling Rakastava at one moment and Sibelius’s more intense works the next - for example in the stormy flighted final Allegro vivo. The pellucidly scored Sérénades joyeuses is unmistakably influenced by neo-classical Stravinsky and the absurdist fantasies of Prokofiev’s Love of Three Oranges. As ever with Klami the four miniature movements are wonderfully concise and inspiration is not overstretched. Use of sharply etched percussion, hieratic trombone, edgily rhythmic cells and woodwind coloration make this a very distinctive mix. Finally we get the five movements of Scenes from a Puppet Show have the sharply defined horizon of de Falla’s Harpsichord Concerto softened by the lacy-fragile and slightly melancholy sound of Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye. Even the titles hint at the connection: The Chinese Merchant and Prinsessa Ruusunen - La belle au bois dormant. The final Brave General is a cheeky-cheery impudent fellow whose woodwind solo march suggest a jaunty CO of the bedroom playbox.
-- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International
Klami drank deep draughts of the Finnish nationalist essence but later mixed it with the voices of Gallic impressionism and Stravinskian energy from his studies in Paris. His serious side is represented by the wanly impressionistic Sea Pictures (1930-32), the vitally potent and imaginative Kalevala Suite (1943), the smokingly volatile Cheremissian Fantasy for cello and orchestra (1931), the romantically determined Violin Concerto (1942) and the bafflingly neglected Psalmus (1936) for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra.
He is not neglected on commercial recordings. In the age of the LP Fennica, Finnlevy and Finlandia paid him attention. However as with other neglected composers the entry of the CD onto the world stage in 1983 was the cue for a substantial jolt of new recording ventures. Klami benefited, as did many others, with reissues and fresh recording projects. The Warner-Finlandia combine gave us an extremely valuable Klami compendium (deleted and now fetching between £30 and £40 on Amazon) in their Meet the Composer series as well as the world premiere recording of Psalmus on FACD369 - the latter remaining deleted for years for reasons beyond understanding. Ondine, Bis and Naxos (listed below) have also waded in to provide coverage of the vast bulk of the orchestral music.
Alba stand in the shadow of Ondine and Warner-Finlandia. Alba’s catalogue however holds its own peculiar treasures including the complete Madetoja orchestral works, including the grand ballet Okon Fuoko and the complete piano solos. Let alone music by Tiensuu, Tuukkanen, Hämeenniemi, Kreek, Kokkonen and Merilainen. Their complete Tubin symphonies are as conducted by Arvo Volmer who through ABC Classics is making his mark on the international scene. A full index of reviews of their recordings can be found here. The present three discs have until now passed us by.
The Kymi - Scenes disc is an all-Klami affair. Of the three it’s the shortest in playing time but then all three are within hailing distance of an hour. The Violin Concerto dates from 1943 but was lost and the work rewritten in 1954. Although the original score was found in 1957 the rewrite is what we hear from Pekka Kauppinen. It’s a lovely work which will appeal to you if you enjoy the first concertos of Szymanowski and Prokofiev. You will also need to be able to live with pages that in their contours inevitably recall the Sibelius concerto and the idyllic sense of Slavonic nocturnals and perfumed air. The finale is more urgent, zany and even manic - a sort of moto perpetuo without quite fitting the definition. It ends on a very cleever downbeat pizzicato. The concerto lasts for more than half the duration of the CD. I recall hearing Jennifer Koh’s version on Bis some years ago and my recollection is that Koh’s tone is more full-lipped; I would need to get hold of a copy to check. Kauppinen is in any event a most touching and virtuosic guide. The Suite for String Orchestra (1937) is the same undemanding ‘pleasantrie’ that appears on Alba ABCD 242 recalling Rakastava at one moment and Sibelius’s more intense works the next - for example in the stormy flighted final Allegro vivo. The pellucidly scored Sérénades joyeuses is unmistakably influenced by neo-classical Stravinsky and the absurdist fantasies of Prokofiev’s Love of Three Oranges. As ever with Klami the four miniature movements are wonderfully concise and inspiration is not overstretched. Use of sharply etched percussion, hieratic trombone, edgily rhythmic cells and woodwind coloration make this a very distinctive mix. Finally we get the five movements of Scenes from a Puppet Show have the sharply defined horizon of de Falla’s Harpsichord Concerto softened by the lacy-fragile and slightly melancholy sound of Ravel’s Ma Mère l’Oye. Even the titles hint at the connection: The Chinese Merchant and Prinsessa Ruusunen - La belle au bois dormant. The final Brave General is a cheeky-cheery impudent fellow whose woodwind solo march suggest a jaunty CO of the bedroom playbox.
-- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uuno_Klami
***
http://www.sibeliuscompetition.fi/Information/jury
***
https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dima_Slobodeniouk
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