Erkki Melartin's symphonies on Ondine CDs
Ray Tuttle (Dept. of Psychiatry)
Leonid Grin conducting the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra; Pia
Freund, soprano (1); Lilli Paasikivi, mezzo-soprano (1); Laura Nykanen,
contralto (1).
--- Ondine ODE 822-2 [DDD] (69:51)
Finnish composers Jean Sibelius and Erkki Melartin were almost the
same age (Sibelius was ten years older), but they went down very
different creative paths after shaking off the influence of
Tchaikovsky. Sibelius was more of an innovator (although
paradoxically, most of his best-known works are the ones that are the
least innovative), whereas Melartin, like the Swede Hugh Alfven, was
primarily a traditionalist soaking up the musical influences from the
rest of the European continent. Erkki Salmenhaara's notes claim that
Melartin's symphonic output was influenced by Mahler, and also by the
Impressionists and the Expressionists, but I find his music so
"normal," in the best sense of the word, that I hear the influence of
Richard Strauss and Edward Elgar even more strongly. Considering his
peripatetic nature, Melartin probably had more than a passing
familiarity with their music too. (Also, he was the first man to
conduct Mahler's music in any Scandinavian country.)
It would be hard to imagine anyone not responding to Melartin's
healthy, optimistic writing in these two symphonies. The Second is
an obliquely programmatic single-movement work with nationalistic
overtones, but with the classical four-movement structure preserved
within. Strong, memorable melodies are as frequent as
robin-sightings in May. The Fourth, Melartin's most popular symphony,
is even more pastoral, and just as prodigal with tunes. The work is
crowned with a luscious 14-minute Andante that includes vocalises
for the three female soloists, alone and together. The parallel
between this and the second movement of Carl Nielsen's "Espansiva"
Symphony (Symphony No. 3), written just one year earlier, is hard to
miss. Neither mystical (a la Delius) not stark (a la Sibelius),
Melartin's musical landscape painting reveals him to be a man whose
practicality and sensitivity were equally strong.
Record companies like Ondine and BIS show us that Scandinavia is full
of good orchestras, and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra is no
exception. The TPO plays these symphonies as if they were its bread
and butter. Grin, a Ukrainian-born protege of Leonard Bernstein, has
been their artistic director since 1990, and he conducts them with
charisma. Listeners responding positively to this disc (and I think
many will) may want to check out its predecessor, Ondine ODE 799-2,
which contains the composer's Fifth and Sixth Symphonies played by
the same forces.
Excellent sound. Most enthusiastically recommended.
Raymond S. Tuttle
Reviewer for _Fanfare_
Eric Schissel
would say the influence of Mahler is noticeable there. I might
complain that the works are not 100% distinctive 100% of the time;
but I enjoy them tremendously each time I put them on, they're still
.rather. original, and that's what I want in a CD. Hopefully I'll
soon get the other two Melartin CDs (sym. 2&4, piano music) and maybe
even those vocal collections that have a song or two of Melartin's on
them-Eric Schissel
--
1.The most common mistake of young thieves is stealing complimentary copies.
2.Read misc.activism.progressive. (Std disc).
es...@crux2.cit.cornell.edu Eric Schissel, at least once in a while.