Tālivaldis Ķeniņš - Symphonies Nos. 2, 3 & 7 (Andris Poga)

Information

Composer: Tālivaldis Ķeniņš

• Symphony No. 2 "Sinfonia concertante"
• Symphony No. 3
• Symphony No. 7

Latvian National Symphony Orchestra

Andris Poga, conductor

Date: 2022

Label: Ondine

https://www.ondine.net/index.php?lid=en&cid=2.2&oid=6878

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Review

This release concludes Ondine’s edition of the symphonies by Tālivaldis Ķeniņš (1919-2008) who, born in Latvia and educated in Paris, spent his final 57 years in Canada, where his music was well received if without attracting much attention in the United States or Western Europe.

The terse outer movements of the Second Symphony (1967) allow flute, oboe and clarinet in this Sinfonia concertante to shine, but only in the central variations does this music assume real pathos as Ķeniņš puts a wistful theme (associated with the Mi’kmaq of Eastern Canada) through its paces en route to a heartfelt close. That he completed his Third Symphony (1970) soon after turning 50 endows it with a ‘middle of life’ aspect evident in the initial Allegro’s ambivalent musing and more so in the central Lento’s progress towards a fatalistic remoteness. It remains for the finale to instil an unequivocal resolve as to end with a measure of defiance.

The Seventh (1980) is subtitled ‘Symphony in the form of a Passacaglia’, a saturnine instance of which is the second of these four continuous sections; framed by an Intrada of cumulative intensity and an Allegro of ominous import. A setting of Atis Ķeniņš (the composer’s father), the final Aria transcends these conflicting emotions so that the possibility of hope might at least be acted upon before time has run its course. Zanda Švēde is an always eloquent soloist.

Andrew Mellor offered a warm recommendation to previous releases in this series (7/21, 2/22), and the expertise of the Latvian National Symphony’s contribution under Andris Poga plus the quality of sound make for a distinctive overview of a composer worth encountering.

-- Richard Whitehouse, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/Classrev/2022/Oct/Kenins-sys-ODE14012.htm

http://www.musicweb-international.com/Classrev/2022/Nov/Kenins-sys-ODE14012.htm

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Tālivaldis Ķeniņš (April 22, 1919 in Liepāja – January 20, 2008 in Toronto) was a Canadian composer. He studied under Jāzeps Vītols in Riga, then at the Paris Conservatory under Tony Aubin and Olivier Messiaen. Ķeniņš moved to Canada in 1951 and began teaching at the University of Toronto, where he taught for 32 years. Canadian musicologist Paul Rapoport has credited Ķeniņš with introducing many European idioms to Canadian art music in an era when many of its composers remained solidly influenced by British models. His works include 8 Symphonies, 12 Concertos, as well as chamber, piano and vocal music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tālivaldis Ķeniņš

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Andris Poga (born 29 June 1980 in in Riga) is a Latvian orchestral conductor. Poga is a graduate of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, where he studied trumpet and conducting. He also studied conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Poga was artistic director and principal conductor of the Professional Symphonic Band Rīga (2007-10), then assistant conductor to Paavo Järvi at Orchestre de Paris (2011-14). He became music director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra in 2013, and is currently chief conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra.

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

https://www.andrispoga.com/

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