Ahmet Adnan Saygun - Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5 (Ari Rasilainen)

Information

Composer: Ahmet Adnan Saygun

1. (01) Symphony No. 3, Op. 39
2. (05) Symphony No. 5, Op. 70

Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz
Ari Rasilainen, conductor

Date: 2004
Label: cpo

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Review

Saygun's Third Symphony is a masterpiece, reflecting both the composer's roots in Turkish folk music and also a compositional sophistication that recalls Bartók (whom the composer assisted on ethno-musicological expeditions in Turkey). At 38 minutes, it's a major statement, full of evocative sonorities created by swirling strings, harps, celesta, and percussion. Both symphonies in fact reveal much the same style, largely dissonant but clearly melodic, with frequent rhythmic ostinatos propelling the music along. The Third Symphony ends boldly, the Fifth enigmatically, but there's a prevailing nocturnal quality to Saygun's music that gives it a bewitching, hypnotic sensuality quite unlike anything else you may have heard. If your taste runs toward the modernist school of Romantic nationalism, you'll find this music really marvelous.

Ari Rasilainen, always a reliable guide to the unusual, as his numerous previous outings for CPO have proven, turns in typically committed, exciting performances. The Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz plays bravely: this is very virtuosic writing, and the brass at times show the strain--but there are no major technical problems and the sonics are typically excellent. This is the second disc in CPO's ongoing series of Saygun symphonies (and hopefully other orchestral music as well). It's one of those quiet, unheralded editions that most listeners probably won't notice or think about twice, but it really does deserve your support. Saygun was a very gifted composer with the kind of personal voice that collectors look for in unfamiliar repertoire, and his evocative style consistently compels attention. If you give this a shot, you won't be sorry.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/july04/Saygun35.htm
https://classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=1979

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Ahmet Adnan Saygun (7 September 1907 – 6 January 1991) was a Turkish composer, musicologist and writer on music. One of a group of composers known as the Turkish Five who pioneered western classical music in Turkey, his works show a mastery of Western musical practice, while also incorporating traditional Turkish folk songs and culture. His extensive output includes five symphonies, five operas, two piano concertos, concertos for violin, viola and cello, and a wide range of chamber and choral works. Saygun was known not only as a composer but also as a scholar, an ethnomusicologist, and a teacher.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmet_Adnan_Saygun

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Ari Rasilainen (born 18 February 1959 in Helsinki) is a Finnish conductor. Rasilainen studied under Jorma Panula (conducting) at the Sibelius Academy, and later under Arvid Jansons (conducting) and Alexander Lobko (violin) in Berlin. He started his career as a violinist and was leader of the 2nd violins with the Helsinki Philharmonic (1980-1986). Rasilainen was Chief Conductor of the Lappeenranta City Orchestra (1984-1989), the Norwegian Radio Symphony (1994-2002), and the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (2002-2009). He has recorded More than 50 recordings for various labels.
https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ari_Rasilainen
http://www.arirasilainen.fi/

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