Aarre Merikanto - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 (Petri Sakari)

Information

Composer: Aarre Merikanto

• (01) Symphony No. 1 in B minor, Op. 5
• (05) Symphony No. 3

Turku Philharmonic Orchestra

Petri Sakari, conductor

Date: 2013

Label: Alba

https://alba.fi/en/product/aarre-merikanto-sinfoniat-1-3/

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Review

Symphonies from Merikanto the younger

Aarre Merikanto (1893-1958) was a natural-born symphonist, yet his output in that genre is less extensive than it should be. His First, recorded here for the first time, was composed twice over (once while a Reger student and again after orchestration lessons with Vasilenko), reached its final form in 1916, and is a garrulous, structurally ramshackle work, a tapestry of influences delightfully orchestrated with the emphasis on the atmospheric rather than the symphonic. The overlong third movement, Andante con moto, at over 17' is as long as the first two spans combined and, with the 12' finale, somewhat overbalances the whole. And yet I find myself drawn deeper into its lush, late-Romantic idiom with every hearing.

The Third (1952-53; not to be confused with the impressive single-span Fantasia of 1923 recorded by Finlandia in the 1980s – nla) is in its way just as unusual but more satisfying a design, opening with a scherzo and succeeded by a lovely slow movement and vibrant finale all in proportion. The Third sounds like a relaxation work, like Brahms’s Second or Honegger’s Fourth, coming after a Herculean struggle elsewhere, but is beguiling on its terms. The Turku Philharmonic Orchestra give superbly articulated performances of both works and Sakari clearly has the measure of Merikanto’s symphonism. Alba’s sound is recorded at rather a low level, so turn the volume up a notch or two more than normal. No 2, a War Symphony almost 30 years before Englund’s, is being recorded later this year and is keenly anticipated.

-- Guy Rickards, Gramophone

More reviews:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2012/Apr12/merikanto13_albaabcd336.htm

https://www.amazon.com/Merikanto-Symphonies-Nos-1-3/dp/B00E1W303W

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Aarre Merikanto (29 June 1893 – 28 September 1958) was a Finnish composer, the son of famous romantic composer Oskar Merikanto. He studied music in Helsinki 1911, Leipzig 1912–1914 and Moscow 1916–1917. Merikanto is considered a key figure in early Finnish modernism and several of his works, most notably the opera Juha, have obtained posthumous attention. As professor of composition in the Sibelius Academy (1951–1958) Merikanto taught several Finnish composers of the next generation, including Einojuhani Rautavaara, Usko Meriläinen, Aulis Sallinen and Paavo Heininen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aarre_Merikanto

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Petri Sakari (born 25 November 1958 in Helsinki ) is a Finnish violinist and conductor. He studied at the Tampere Conservatory and graduated from the Sibelius Academy in 1981. From 1988 to 1993 he was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, continuing as Principal Guest Conductor and returning as Chief Conductor from 1996 to 1998. From 2000 to 2004, he was Chief Conductor of the Gävle Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded all the symphonies of Leevi Madetoja and Jean Sibelius, as well as works by Hugo Alfvén, Franz Berwald, Edvard Grieg, Uuno Klami and Jón Leifs.
https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petri_Sakari
http://www.naxos.com/person/Petri_Sakari/31844.htm

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