performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under the composer’s baton If music were a part of man’s everyday life, as it should be, there would certainly be less aggression and much more equality and love on Earth; for music is a … Continue reading Hans Werner Henze: Symphony no. 1
performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under Leif Segerstam, or below by the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky While composing the symphony for four years, I simultaneously worked on the music to M. Romm‘s film I Believe…. … Continue reading Schnittke Symphony no. 1
performed by the Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic Orchestra under Ari Rasilainen (cover image by Teodor Drobota) Aulis Heikki Sallinen was born on April 9, 1935 in Salmi, in the Republic of Karelia, a federal subject of Russia. His family moved around a number … Continue reading Aulis Sallinen: Symphony no. 1, op. 24
performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Jussi Jalas (No YouTube, but you can watch a performance here under Hannu Lintu. Click the video for the piece and it should load.) (cover image by Teddy Kelley) When a good … Continue reading Helvi Leiviskä: Symphony no. 3
performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä (no YouTube video here either, but I also strongly suggest getting a recording of this work and of Aho’s first. Maybe start with the first, and see what you think. I love … Continue reading Revisit: Aho Symphony no. 2
performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä (This work is so unfortunately not available for convenient sharing on YouTube, but I strongly suggest, if you like Shostakovich or any good, bleak 20th century symphony, to go purchase this … Continue reading Aho Symphony no. 1
performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Berglund (cover image by Cassie Boca) Kokkonen’s work, even in the early piece we discussed last weekend, seems to have an inherent power that derives from its brevity, a concentration and … Continue reading Kokkonen Symphony no. 3
performed by the Helsinki Philharmonic under Ulf Söderblom (Oh, this one also isn’t on YouTube, but I’m sure you can stream it or preview it or find it somewhere if it interests you.) (cover image by Daniel Posthuma) Paavo Heininen … Continue reading Paavo Heininen: Symphony no. 2, op. 9 ‘Petite symphonie joyeuse’
performed by the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra under Max Pommer (in what I believe is the world premiere recording, maybe) second, third and fourth movements (cover image by Emma Francis) (I featured this piece in a series of articles recently … Continue reading Rautavaara Symphony no. 3
performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä (Oh. There’s no video for this, but I’d recommend purchasing this one [from iTunes or Chandos] or wherever you get your music. It’s an interesting work. You can also learn more about the … Continue reading Tauno Marttinen: Symphony no. 1, op. 2
performed by the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra under Petri Sakari, or below by the Finlandia Orchestra under Tauno Hannikainen (cover image by Andreea Chidu) Aare Merikanto was born on June 29, 1893 in Helsinki, the son of Oskar Merikanto, himself a composer. … Continue reading Aarre Merikanto: Symphony No. 3
performed by the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra under Pertti Pekkanen (cover image by Vincent Guth) (this piece is featured on a list of pieces I heartily recommend to music directors for inclusion on their season programs. Check out the article here.) This … Continue reading Einar Englund: Symphony no. 1, ‘The War Symphony’
performed by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra under Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen (cover image by Aarón Blanco Tejedor) Uuno Kalervo Klami was born on September 20, 1900 in Virolahti, in the very southeast of Finland. He studied in Helsinki with Melartin, and later … Continue reading Uuno Klami: Symphony no. 1
performed by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra under Paavo Rautio, or below with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under John Storgards (cover image by Vincent Guth) I received a telegram from Viipuri yesterday that made my blood run cold: “Yjrö fell on … Continue reading Leevi Madetoja: Symphony no. 2 in E-flat, op. 35
performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä, or below with the Helsinki Philharmonic under Leif Segerstam Det är synd om människorna (One feels pity for human beings). August Strindberg (cover image by Radek Grzybowski) Well, we saw Sibelius a … Continue reading Sibelius Symphony no. 4 in Am, op. 63
performed by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra under Leonid Grin (cover image by Hannu Keski Hakuni) Erik “Erkki” Gustaf Oskarsson Melartin was born on February 7, 1875 in Käkisalmi (or Kexholm in Swedish), which since 1948 is known as Priozersk (Приозе́рск) in Russia. He … Continue reading Erkki Melartin: Symphony no. 1 in Cm, op. 30
performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo (cover image by Chris Brignola) Ernst Mielck was born on October 24, 1877 in Vyborg. He began taking piano lessons at the age of 10 and in 1891 moved to … Continue reading Ernst Mielck: Symphony in Fm, op. 4
(cover image by Pasi Jormalainen) The final feature of the year, the Finnish symphony series, finally! It’s a contrast to the two English-speaking symphony series we did this year, and I guess kind of a callback to the end of … Continue reading The Finnish Symphony
performed by Sinfonia Varsovia under Ian Hobson More and more, I realize the power of music—the power of the interval, of rhythm, of being exact in what I put down as what I meant to hear. George Walker, Strings Magazine … Continue reading George Walker: Sinfonia no. 3
performed by the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra (commissioner of the work) under Dennis Russel Davies second, third and fourth movements (cover photo by John Price) Here we are today with Glass’s first symphonic work to appear on the blog, the first … Continue reading Glass Symphony no. 3
performed by The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra under John Nelson third movement here (second movement seems not to be on YouTube. Just go buy the album!) Throughout the entire Symphony, the melodic and harmonic implications of the first fifteen bars of … Continue reading Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Three Movements for Orchestra (Symphony no. 1)