The Music of Magnus Lindberg

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Four premier recordings add up to a generous dose of Magnus Lindberg's orchestral mastery, served up in lovingly prepared, magnificently engineered performances by the composer's friend and longtime champion Esa-Pekka Salonen. Within just a few minutes into Cantigas, you're swept up by swirling pools of color chords, ticklish brass flurries both muted and open, and chattering, petulant rhythmic figures that bounce off a pliable canvas of dense sonorities. Imagine Respighi's Pines of Rome Swiss-cheesed through a kaleidoscope, and you'll get the idea. Parada reveals a more austere side of Lindberg's protean talents, while the more sparely scored Cello Concerto showcases Anssi Karttunen's virtuosity. He deftly tosses off Lindberg's zigzagging melodic lines (which the orchestral members quickly answer or comment upon) and sails through a cadenza jam-packed with twitchy pizzicato pellets, buzz saw low notes, and suspenseful silences. Lastly, Fresco is a mega-study about loud and soft, laid out in huge sound blocks that effortlessly glide from gentle to aggressive. Booklet notes include clear, insightful, and informative composer comments. --Jed Distler

Product Description

The 20th century produced a large classical repertoire for a number of previously under-used instruments, the accordion among them. This stellar disc presents the Finnish accordion virtuoso, Mikko Luoma, in a group of pieces that demonstrate the fascinating expressive range of this often maligned instrument. Jukka Tiensuu holds a unique place among composers that have written for the accordion. Mikko Luoma writes that "he gave a well needed push for accordionists with his Aufschwung, and 25 years later with Zolo defined the accordion from a totally new perspective. The young Sampo Haapamäki's piece Power sets the accordion fearlessly into motion with its spinning sonorities. The Finn Magnus Lindberg studied in the early 80's with the French composer, Gérard Grisey. Both played the accordion in their youth. Grisey's early piece (given its premiere recording here) is very different from Lindberg's, which uses a spectral approach to harmony. Magnus Lindberg writes that "The exceptionally large dynamic and tonal spectrum of the accordion, its "virtuoso potential" arising from the way the manuals are constructed, its harmonic and polyphonic scope and characteristics of bellows handling, compared to the bowing of a string instrument, make this an utterly fascinating instrument for me." Salvatore Sciarrino's Vagabonde blu is a quietly intense piece which creates a magical atmosphere through its use of the accordion's 'stradella-bass'-- pre-set major, minor, seventh and diminished chords in the instrument's left manual. Vladimir Zubitsky's wonderful Carpathian Suite is perhaps the most traditional music on this disc, utilizing the sounds of Ukranian folklore and folk instruments. Mikko Luoma is a senior lecturer at Turku Music Academy in Finland, and has lectured and given master classes at the Juilliard School, Columbia University, the Hochschule für Musik in Lübeck and the Musik Akademie Franz Liszt in Weimar.

Average customer rating:

His first great work combined with an impressive view of the "current Lindberg"
somewhat better Lindberg here
before and after Lindberg's stylistic shift
The well-tempered" piano concerto followed by a lot of KRAFT

Magnus Lindberg: Piano Concerto; KRAFT
Magnus Lindberg , Toimii Ensemble , Esa-Pekka Salonen , and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: Ondine
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Music of Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Lindberg: Clarinet Concerto; Gran Duo; Chorale
Unsuk Chin: Akrostichon-Wortspiel
Lindberg: Feria/Corrente II/Arena
Kaija Saariaho: Du Cristal...À la Fumée; Sept Papillons, Nymphéa

ASIN: B00020HEQG
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Tracks:

Customer Reviews:

His first great work combined with an impressive view of the "current Lindberg".......2005-09-02

This Ondine disc contains two pieces by Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg, representing both the avant-garde style of his youth ("KRAFT") and the more restrained style to which he turned in the late 1980s and continues with today ("Piano Concerto"). They are performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra with Toimii, a Finnish new-music ensemble with which Lindberg has long been associated, conducted by the composer's old school chum Esa-Pekka Salonen. Lindberg himself performs piano in "Kraft" and in the soloist's role in the concerto.

"KRAFT" (1983-1985), ironically comissioned as a mere piano concerto, is the monster of a piece that really brought Lindberg to fame. It was written for the Toimii Ensemble and orchestra and premiered at the Helsinki Festival in 1985 where it created a sensation. Lindberg's fascinations at this point were rhythm and rough blocks of sound, as well as massive proportions: the score is over a meter tall and there are harmonies with as many as 72 notes. This is futuristic music in some ways: the soloists of the Toimii Ensemble are amplified, and many facets of the music were written with the help of computer software. However, it also looks to primal music or the music of impoverish peoples with its agressive percussion, some of which is performed on scrap metal. Although Lindberg found inspiration in schools that would normally alienate the public--most notably Darmstadt and punk rock--"KRAFT" is a fun and truly entertaining work.

After "KRAFT", Lindberg remained mostly silent for three years while he reconsidered his technique. His comeback occurred in 1989-1990 with the trilogy "Kinetics"-"Marea"-"Joy" (available on an earlier Ondine disc well worth obtaining), where he was more amassing well-ordered harmonies and exploring the orchestra as a whole. It is in this vein that he wrote his "Piano Concerto" (1991-1993), which takes as its major inspiration Ravel's G-major concerto. The first two moments seem to make this a somewhat traditional concerto. In the dynamic first movement, piano and orchestra are intertwined in the investigation of lines of harmony and orchestral colour. In the second movement, the piano begins as part of a concerto grosso-like team of small instrumental groups before breaking free as a soloist. The cadenza that forms the second half of the second movement is one of the finest parts of the work; the piano is entirely alone here, but exploits the piano's unique ability to harmonize with itself to continue his usual interest in rich harmonies. However, the third movement is unexpected, for instead of recapitulating the first, Lindberg takes off in a brand new direction. Seemingly faster than the first two movements, the music of the third movement is of great agility and expansion, where the piano and the orchestra compete here and cooperate there. It reaches a climax where the entire harmonic register is filled, and Lindberg throws in two exquisite glissandi.

While the music here is immensely enjoyable--and these pieces are landmarks in Lindberg's career, I don't think they form the best introduction to his work. Try the earlier disc on Ondine with "Feria", "Corrente II", and "Arena". But if you already enjoy Lindberg's work, you'll certainly want the uber-important "KRAFT" in your collection and you'll find pleasure in the concerto as well.

somewhat better Lindberg here.......2005-04-08

this is actually the first piece I liked by Lindberg, and I'm a sucker for brilliant orchestration,if it has content like Boulez or Hughes Dufourt,Peter Eotvos,Wolfgang Rihm and Helmut Lachenmann to mention a few, but Lindberg has that aggressive demeanor he brings to his music, but the music ideas the linear ideas are always kept on a short leash,not wanting them to wander too far from an emotive focus I suspect, here the :Piano Concerto: is finely conceived, 'Momente form' somewhat is the structure, where the music seems to drift and unfold from moment to moment,the structural idea however is where the creator is suppose to introduce new materials, startling timbres in each moment, (sometimes each measure of music introduces new timbres,a hammer blow or wind flourish for example)As the"concerto" continues however(with Lindberg himself as pianist) it seems it doesn't draw strength from itself but gets confused within its own materials, so the ideas become tamer,more domesticated as we progress, and then with "marking time" like ideas,1 and 2 and 3 and 4 an,fast, well this is not interesting, Lindberg does however laways get a brilliant sound from the orchestra, the playing is extraordinary Esa=Pekka has a marvelous sense for these threadbare works,luminous timbres floating durations of filigree melodic ideas,like late serial Stavinsky of the "Septet or more interesting the "Movements for Piano and Orchestra"

:Kraft: however is another matter, like we are seeing the other deeper more disturbed side of Lindberg's psychology, I can gloss over the "special effects" orchestration for again I'm a sucker for timbre,but lots of percussion deaden things here, stops the music from flowing,like the four horse riders in"Lord of the Rings" bringing tyranny and death, Lindberg speaks in an original voice here, allowing the dense orchestral situations simply dissipate into simple violoncello tones,menacing, eeeery sul ponticello, with scraps on a guiro,fine particles of sound, and again all this is exquisitely played, all that fine intertistial weavings of timbre, with clarinet glissani,dull thudding bongoes, and cellos solo double stops. But again I don't think Lindberg knows where he is going for we simply drift, which sometimes you want to drift, but come on now! we lived through modernity, and we have too many so-called commissioned composers who also drift from style to trend to fad to cultural "Buzz", Magnus I suspect is in a different creative class for we can tell he loves timbre, the 'mysteries', the power, the paradigm of timbre, what it does, what it can do, and how it should nurtured.Incredible sounds however in "Kraft" also orchestral piano with steel drums, and large spring coils, lots of congas, and bass trombone blats, wonderful stuff.,log drums are here to to really punctuate things, nice safe violence to take our minds off the state of the globe under global warmongers.Something we all learned from Stravinsky is that in order for pure timbre to excite us it needs direction, direction of momentum, of speed, or planning,like hiding behind a corner, you can never telescope where you are going, and Lindberg does do that some of the time, at least enough of the time, where his marvelously power timbres dissipate, so what is left is"abbatoir"like grpahics, here he saves it for the Bb Contra Bass Clarinet, a hideous instrument (of beauty) but here not at all,more like one of Gardner's safe monsters,"Grendel", the monster speaks then non-syllable non-sense, here is another example of not knowing where one is going, so you simply introduce new items into the mix, like ice cream merchants who simply introduce new flavors, as 'tea' flavors, of 'kidney bean' flavors to spark to try to arrest something that is ill-conceived.The"monster" simply drifts further upwards this time to the timbral heavens of piccolo, and crotales, tremoli in the strings, harmonics,and tinckling of the piano,some melos comes to the surface however. but where were we to begin with, I lost it man, we are too far from home now.

before and after Lindberg's stylistic shift.......2005-03-21

What's a modern composer to do in the wide-open world after serialism, still after tonality, with no dominant style? Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg has recently generated one of the most compelling responses to the conundrum, with a series of powerful works for orchestra that take Lutoslawski as the most obvious point of departure (THE MUSIC OF MAGNUS LINDBERG, Sony/2002, see my 9/27/02 review). The two works on this Ondine disc juxtapose Lindberg's earlier style, smack in the middle of the post-serialist avant-garde ("Kraft"), and his "mature" style of the 1990s, which is marked by a synthesis of post-serialism and neoromanticism ("Piano Concerto").

Both works are highly evocative -- cinematic even. The "Piano Concerto" is a light work, reminiscent of Ravel and Debussy. Lindberg himself plays the piano, and it is easy on the ears, nothing hinting at the frightening constructivism of a Boulez. Unlike the recent orchestral works, there is no sense of dynamically unfolding structure, but rather a fanciful impressionism. For me, it evokes moonlight on an ocean coast. I'm not sure why Lindberg chose to present the "Piano Concerto" alongside "Kraft," one of the culminating pieces from his earlier heaven-storming avant period. It is certainly a striking contrast.

"Kraft" opens with a full-orchestral cacophony, punctuated by percussion and snarling brass. My first reaction was that it was a parody of the avant-garde. This reaction is strengthened when the chaos eventually subsides at the end of the first movement, leaving only percussion and a sort of wordless scat-singing vocal, which evokes the music of the Ituri Forest. At this point my sense that Lindberg's tongue was firmly in cheek was reinforced, and I thought "he must have heard the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and perhaps Pierre Dorge as well." At the same time, despite the tomfoolery, I was struck with an image from a great old anthropological documentary called "The Fire and the Flame" -- the opening dissonance could be Modern Civilization, and then we zoom away and down into the simple life of the Foragers. (Lindberg's reference to the "primitive" in the liner notes is a clue that this is not just a wild flight of fancy.)

As the second movement begins, the percussion is gradually joined by the piano, then the clarinet, then the other instruments of the Toimee Ensemble. This rather ghostly music is eventually joined by orchestral forces, leading to a passage of glissandos (very Xenakis-like) which intensifies like the "trip" scene in 2001 (very Ligeti-like), until the piece ends with a series of apocalyptic percussion crashes, as surely a tragic denouement as the ending of Mahler's 6th Symphony, which it echoes. Sticking with my film sketch, this could represent a failed series of metamorphoses or transmogrifications, and the ultimate impossibility of reconciling our evolved nature (as simple egalitarian foragers) with large complex Modern Social Structure. Or not.

For modern music afficionados, this is certainly music worth hearing. But it's not Lindberg's best, and if that's what you want, I would recommend the Sony disc from 2002 instead. This one is best seen as a holding action while we wait for more of the Mature Lindberg to come rolling off of Benjamin's Mechanical Reproduction assembly line.

The well-tempered" piano concerto followed by a lot of KRAFT.......2004-10-04

Did really nobody before me review this album?

Anyway, the piano concerto is brilliant, both in its form and its aspiration. Spherical piano-soundbites occur, sometimes nervous, then again calmed down, only to give way to the orchestra engaging in a kind of slowly building thunderstorm, which later gives way to spiralling, but well tempered piano figures. A relationship to Bach is evident here, and i have I never heard that in Lindbergs music before. This work is the most lyrical I know from Lindberg. I find his piano concerto actually a-typical of him; often his music appears either to nervous or too powerful to me, which is of course a very subjective, personal way of hearing things, and which brings me to the second part of this review:
Power = KRAFT! What a mountain of music! Here, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Finnish RSO show the absolute mastering of their stuff, and maintain a tension even through the quiter passages which is nothing else but highly laudable. The piece itself burst into one's ear, only to slowly fade away, but with a burleskism, and with screaming riffs of phrases instead of elegance (like in the piano concerto). But this doesn't mean it isn't original or interesting: The horns and post-horns, accompanied by drums and cimbali, but most notably the interesting contributions of the Tomii ensemble (which consists of seven members including cellist Anssi Kartunen, and Lindberg and Salonen themselves!). Later I hear parallels in the use of lush cimbali and drums comparable to LA Variations from Salonen himself, but soon we are back into Linbergs powerplays (or call macho-ism?).

In summary: This is highly original music, ranging from the tempered elagance of the piano concerto to the sound explosions and explorations of KRAFT.

A must for fans of contemporary music and sounds.

I wonder how this would have sounded had the LA Phil recorded this piece in their new concert hall...! When do they make their next recording anyway???

Average customer rating:

Mano a mano

Manufacturer: Ondine
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000NI3FQ0
Release Date: 2007-04-10

Tracks:

Mano A Mano
I. Wainscot Pond
II. Rosedale
III. Muir Woods
I. Gloucester
II. Romeo And Juliet
III. Ariel
IV. Ophelia
V. Touchstone, Audrey And William
VI. Oberon

Average customer rating:

Three works at the heart of Lindberg's oeuvre and a great introduction
grand orchestrations little on content or none
90s Classics

Lindberg: Feria/Corrente II/Arena

Manufacturer: Ondine
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Magnus Lindberg: Piano Concerto; KRAFT
Music of Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Lindberg: Kinetics (1988-89) / Marea (1989-90) / Joy (1989-90) - Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Magnus Lindberg: Clarinet Concerto; Gran Duo; Chorale
Unsuk Chin: Akrostichon-Wortspiel

ASIN: B000007NG1
Release Date: 1998-06-16

Tracks:

Feria
Corrente II
Arena

Customer Reviews:

Three works at the heart of Lindberg's oeuvre and a great introduction.......2005-08-17

This Ondine disc contains three orchestral pieces by Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The style of Lindberg's youth was thoroughly avant-garde, and concerned with unusual instrumentation and rhythms, culminating with the massive "Kraft" for avant-garde ensemble and orchestra in 1985. After a three year hiatus, Lindberg returned in at the turn of the 90's with the trilogy "Kinetics"-"Marea"-"Joy" (also available on Ondine) where his main interest was now building up giant yet well-organised harmonies within the limits of traditional instrumentation. The three works here, "Feria", "Corrente II", and "Arena", continue this line of investigation.

"Feria" (1997) takes its title from the Spanish word for an outdoor festival or fair and, says Lindberg, the festive nature and exhuberance of the piece is meant to "herald a lively public spectacle." It is composed of two busy sections and between them a slower-paced (but little is truly slow with Linderg) section that contains a chord progression from Monteverdi's "Lasciatemi morire (Lament of Arianna)", as well as some lovely pizzicato playing. The listener is awed by the immense orchestral forces constantly at play; ironically, the work had its genesis in a chamber piece, but Lindberg was too tempted to involve an entire symphony orchestra, which Lindberg calls his "favourite instrument". It should be noted that this piece forms a "symphonic triptych" with "Parada" (2001) and "Cantigas" (1997-1999), both available on a must-have Sony disc and the latter of which is possibly Lindberg's finest work to date.

"Corrente II" for symphony orchestra (1992) is an expanded version of "Corrente" (available on an earlier Ondine disc) for ensemble of 16 instruments (1991), and Lindberg says that the new orchestration is like viewing an object from afar instead of up close, since many details are lost but the general structure of the work is clearer. One new element that is immediately recognisable is the great role of percussion in the beginning. The fragment of Purcell which gave such an usual touch to the original appears more often here.

"Arena" (1995) was written for the Jean Sibelius International Conducting Competition, and is therefore full of challenging changes in tempo and multiple layers of sound. Like "Feria", much of the music is based on toying with a brief motif and frequent trumpet fanfares (perhaps explaining the piece's title), compelling engine-like moments first on low instruments and later on high winds, and even elements of true melody (which are rare in his later ouput). This is the strongest piece on the disc, and one of Lindberg's all-time standouts.

Though Lindberg's most accessible piece is probably "Cantigas", the rest of the material on that Sony disc is sub-par, and so I think this Ondine disc is probably the single best introduction to the work of this Finnish genius, and I recommend it without hestitate to any fan of contemporary music.

grand orchestrations little on content or none.......2005-04-02

you at first are overwhelmed by Lindberg's orchestrations, but then he keeps his timbres on a short leash, allowing rhythms snappy kinds of gestures to direct things and push things around. Sometimes Lindberg pounces on quite powerful moments but it seems as a listener we pay for them by sitting through more relatively light weight stuff. "Feria" is a Fest idea for those who work they get one day off, as I guess some of us still do, others to make the dream come true continue to work for surplus profit. I would think if you think of orchestrations on a grand scale it should be closer to nature,timbre is equivalent to materials,to impounded steel, copper, zinc, or wood, natural elements, and you see magnificent shapes as Serra's "torqued ellipsis" and say, "why can't the orchestra play like that!", well Lindberg seems to be not too many miles away from this, he needs to get more serious I suspect. Stravinsky taught all of us how to orchestrate and we are still learning,only we get stuck on the facile certainly American orchestrators as Adams and Kernis,Glass can't live without the facile in their work to help direct it around,and make the listening experience more pleasurable, "tell them what they want to hear,please",like scholars today speaking about the Middle East. Lindberg also tells us what we want to hear, instead music should cross borders to be art.conceptual ones,Border crossings occurred in Stravinsky as did Schoenberg, for a time,(until he came to America) Berg,etcetra etcetra.

90s Classics.......1999-12-02

Feria is the most satisfying of the three accomplished works on this disc. It's not difficult to see why this is one of Lindberg's most popular pieces, and in 20 years' time I wouldn't be surprised if this was seen as one of the seminal works of the 1990s. The opening fanfare is thrilling, and pulls you into a riveting twenty minutes' listening. It's one of Lindberg's best-conceived pieces, structurally speaking, and the orchestration is really magnificent, full of interesting textures.

Corrente II is a sort of rhythmic study, overlaying different ostinatos in a manner resembling Steve Reich, but rather more sophisticated; and Arena is a virtuosic orchestral toccata which certainly bears repeated hearing. This is a great disc for listeners new to Lindberg's music, as it gives an accurate picture of the composer at his most orchestrally inventive. Performance and recording are excellent.

Music of Magnus Lindberg
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Fantastic Cello Playing!

Two of Lindberg's best pieces together with two not so successful

Stunners from Lindberg et al.

stunning neoromanticism

Thrilling Revelations

Music of Magnus Lindberg
Salonen , and Pco
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Similar Items:

Magnus Lindberg: Piano Concerto; KRAFT

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Lindberg: Feria/Corrente II/Arena

ASIN: B000066SKA
Release Date: 2002-06-04

Amazon.com

Four premier recordings add up to a generous dose of Magnus Lindberg's orchestral mastery, served up in lovingly prepared, magnificently engineered performances by the composer's friend and longtime champion Esa-Pekka Salonen. Within just a few minutes into Cantigas, you're swept up by swirling pools of color chords, ticklish brass flurries both muted and open, and chattering, petulant rhythmic figures that bounce off a pliable canvas of dense sonorities. Imagine Respighi's Pines of Rome Swiss-cheesed through a kaleidoscope, and you'll get the idea. Parada reveals a more austere side of Lindberg's protean talents, while the more sparely scored Cello Concerto showcases Anssi Karttunen's virtuosity. He deftly tosses off Lindberg's zigzagging melodic lines (which the orchestral members quickly answer or comment upon) and sails through a cadenza jam-packed with twitchy pizzicato pellets, buzz saw low notes, and suspenseful silences. Lastly, Fresco is a mega-study about loud and soft, laid out in huge sound blocks that effortlessly glide from gentle to aggressive. Booklet notes include clear, insightful, and informative composer comments. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic Cello Playing!.......2007-04-25

Enough has been written in the other reviews, particularly the succinct editorial review, to give you an idea of this music,yet nobody seems to have said explicitly that you will ENJOY it, so I will. The Cello Concerto is deeply layered with compositional ideas, worth hearing many times, but it's also transparent and highly colored with virtuosic cello passages. To me this seems like "the best of both worlds" -- a composition that's musically profound but not pedantic, flashy but not trite.

Two of Lindberg's best pieces together with two not so successful.......2005-09-06

THE MUSIC OF MAGNUS LINDBERG is a Sony collection of four pieces by this great contemporary Finnish composer performed by the orchestra Philharmonia with Lindberg's old school chum Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting. Though Lindberg is still concerned with harmonies as he has been since the late 1980s, the pieces here inaugrate new techniques that set them apart from most of these earlier harmonic works. Two of the pieces here are thrilling, while the other two are fairly disappointed, so I am of mixed opinions about this disc.

"Cantigas" (1999) might be the finest piece Lindberg has written to date. While not a concerto, it gives an important role to the oboe, performed here by Christopher O'Neal. Based around the simple interval of a fifth, the piece marks a new phase in Lindberg's composition where pieces are more clearly broken into sections than before, allowing some room to breathe among the dense harmonies that Lindberg is known for. The five sections of "Cantigas" are cycles of increasing and decreasing tempos, and the music is very energetic and rhythmically compelling; Anssi Kartunnen writes that the room in which Lindberg composed the piece was littered with "empty instant espresso bags, energy drink cans, vitamin pill jars..." which explains a lot. I should note that "Cantigas" is a part of a "symphonic triptych" with "Feria" (1997) and "Fresco".

The "Cello Concerto" (1997-1999) was written for Anssi Karttunen, who performs here. Like "Cantigas", this piece is part of Lindberg's new technique of sectioning, and it is in five movements played without a break, each one of them divided into smaller sections. The concerto is similar to his early piece for cello and orchestra "Zona" in the use of a chaconne technique of continual variations. In each movement, the various sections have the same harmonic structure, which is reworked over the course of the movement. Overall, the piece makes a transition from the avant-garde to romanticism, with the cadenza serving as the bridge. The piece is representative of how Lindberg uses the concerto genre: harmonic material for the orchestra is created from ideas generated by the soloist, as when the minor third stated by the cello at the beginning comes to permeate the entire orchestra. This is a very entertaining piece, and ranks with "Cantigas" at the top of his work so far.

"Parada" (2001) came from an attempt to write a genuinely slow piece, since so much of Lindberg's oeuvre is made up of blazingly fast music. It consists of two layers of thematic material, one being a normal melodic line, and the other very, very slow-moving sounds, that don't meet each other. "Fresco" (1997) is similar in its exploration of non-intersecting contrasts, in this case inspired by the Balinese gamelan's "loud" outdoor and "soft" indoor styles of playing, but is much longer and sectioned. While theoretically interesting, the two pieces fail to excite like almost everything else Lindberg has written.

This disc is exquisitely engineered--the sound of the percussion in "Cantigas" is especially splendid. The liner notes contain a fine interview with Lindberg that helps to grasp the structure of the works. It is a pity that the material here is not entirely captivating. If you've never heard Lindberg's work before, try the more consistent Ondine disc with "Feria", "Corrente II", and "Arena" as an introduction. Fans of the composer will nonetheless want to pick this one up sooner or later since "Cantigas" and "Cello Concerto" are very worth hearing.

Stunners from Lindberg et al........2004-10-18

Sony Classical's recent release highlights three talented Finns: composer Magnus Lindberg, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, and cellist Anssi Kartunnen. The disc confirms Lindberg's place among those few composers who successfully combine innovation and communication, drawing the audience in to new sounds and techniques that other composers just aren't able to combine in as immediately attractive a way.

Production on the disc is excellent. The liner notes feature an informative, somewhat technical interview with the composer that touches upon important structural aspects of each work. Martin Anderson nails Lindberg's style when he writes: "...this surface busy-ness and longer-term harmonic evolution seem to exist as two parallel worlds - almost as if you have to look underneath the exterior of the music to see what's really going on." The fact that Lindberg creates such a gorgeous exterior out of such rigorous and intellectual planning is stunning. Sound quality is demonstration-worthy, the loudest, most complex counterpoint springing vibrantly to life (this is also, no doubt, due to the virtuosity of the Philharmonia and the dedication and ability of Salonen in music like this).

The first work on the disc, "Cantigas", was composed for the Cleveland Orchestra. The tempo relationships, intervallic content (focusing upon that very "tonal" interval, the perfect fifth) and "fundamental, open function of the bass" combine to make the piece instantly accessible. The piece is typically busy, in Lindberg's style from Corrente and other works from the 90s, and several listens reveal fascinating details and interconnections. It's amazing how virtuosic some of the writing is, and the wind and brass of the Philharmonia have a heyday. My jaw dropped several times. The fantastic oboe soloist, Christopher O'Neal, is justly credited on the album cover, and his solos that introduce the "A" material at the beginning and return a little over halfway through the work would serve as excellent introductory guide posts to someone uninitiated to contemporary music. Similarly, when the oboe's opening, perfect fifth idea returns in the brass (after having been skewed throughout) at around 15:50, one feels a wonderful sense of harmonic arrival, similar to the feeling one gets at the recapitulation of a sonata-allegro movement. From 17:00 on, it's a roller-coaster ride, the brass punctuating wild bell-like chords, the woodwinds chattering away, and the bass line slowly prodding the entire ensemble to resolve on a gorgeously managed major triad, an arrival which the composer compares to the modulation at the end of Ravel's Bolero. The quiet ending is, admittedly, a bit of a let-down--I would have liked more time for the music to unwind.

The Cello Concerto begins with a catalogue of technique--bow pressure, harmonics, pizzicati, glissandi, etc. The orchestra gradually picks up on the harmonies implied by the soloist and the one-movement work is off. The melodic and harmonic material seems a bit harder to grasp than the very basic building blocks of "Cantigas", but the way the orchestra tends to follow and imitate the material the cello just introduced is easy to discern. The bulk of the opening of the work is gestural, with material introduced by the soloist and then developed by the orchestra beneath new material. A stratspheric interaction between high orchestral instruments, metallic percussion and celloharmonics (around 10:00) initiates a crazy sequence of events that evaporates into the bizarre cadenza. Beginning with fragmentedgestures, the cellist is joined by the orchestra in violent outbursts and the closing third of the work returns to the opening activity level, adding a beautiful lyrical melody here and there. The falling gestures that dominate the final 5 minutes of the work develop into downward glissandi from the soloist that close the work. Kartunnen's large, dark tone and flawless technique are shown in every light throughout the work. The recording balance is very natural, with the cello receding from the spotlight when necessary.

"Parada", the briefest work on the disc (12:38) is also the least "busy". Lindberg says that he tried to "make a genuinely slow-moving thing", and the harmonic motion is definitely slowed down compared to the other works on the disc, but busy-ness seems to be native to his style, and it remains here. The opening minutes of the work feature fairly anonymous chorale-like writing, but after a morph to the quick, busy second half, we are back in familiar territory. The activity subsides after a few minutes and we return to the chorale-like material. The less busy moments seemed very self-conscious and out of Lindberg's idiom to me, especially in the second half of the work where he seems to try to make up for his characteristic filigree with percussion activity. The work is the least original on the disc, but still has its interesting moments.

"Fresco" sticks to one idea throughout, "strong contrasts and clashes between chamber-like or lighter-textured music and almost harsh pillars of sound-blocks." These two musical worlds combine in every imaginable way throughout the 21 minute work and again put the orchestra to a very virtuosic test. Lindberg writesthat "there is basically no solution between these contrasts", and this may prove troublesome to some listeners, as there is no traditional conflict-resolution relationship to the work. It's definitely the hardest nut to crack on the disc, harkening back to the uncompromising world of "Kraft". One can't help but marvel at the athletics the orchestra goes through, but it would take many attentive listenings to really "figure out" this piece.

stunning neoromanticism.......2002-09-28

This is an outstanding recording, a great major label showcase for Lindberg's forceful orchestral style, taking everything he learned as part of the avant-garde and applying it to works that are mainly tonal, with complex harmonies and internal development as rigorous as Beethoven. My first impression of this music was that it was a sort of "generic modernism," but with repeated listening I realized that what led to this impression was the blending of romantic with modern elements. Apparently Lutoslawski was an influence, which is interesting because the Polish composer incorporated modern influences into his more traditional approach, whereas with Lindberg it is the opposite, incorporating tonality into his modernism. Elliot Carter seems to me to be an influence as well, as there is a muscular and dynamic progression in every piece, and Sibelius is no doubt a factor as well. Lindberg began as a resolutely avant composer with his first works of the early 1980s. After a retreat in the late '80s, he returned with a new sound, one he has pursued ever since. Some may lament this as a turn to the past, but the avant-garde is way out ahead of most listeners, and Lindberg is now meeting them more than half-way with music that is still complex and challenging.

Absolutely brilliant! One of the best classical recordings of the year, and a composer for our time.

Thrilling Revelations.......2002-09-01

To hear the music of Magnus Lindberg performed live, in a good concert hall, call be overwhelming - in the best sense of the word. His works contain such brilliance of ideas, pairing of orchestral choirs, sudden contrasts and evolving rhythms and colors of sound that grasping them intellectually would at first appear to be an insurmountable task. But give yourself over to the sensualist side of your brain and the experience becomes luxurious. These four works here recorded in beautifully rich sonics are all premiere recodings, and it will be a long time before anyone will match Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia results. One may wish he had at hand his own LA Phil which has demonstrated an affinity for this composer's work, but the recording is successful all the same. At this point, for this listener, the all orchestral pieces work more successfully than the cello concerto, but that is quibbling. The incredible conversations between loud and soft in the 'Fresco', the endless spinning out of fresh thoughts in the 'Cantigas', and the multilayered beauties of 'Parada' all beg repeated hearings. All this from a composer born in 1958! Kudos to all concerned.

Magnus Lindberg: Clarinet Concerto; Gran Duo; Chorale

Average customer rating:

Two pieces here are okay, but Lindberg's getting a little too mellow
Fine Music, Astonishing Performance
Amazing Genius, Mind Blowing Virtuosity

Magnus Lindberg: Clarinet Concerto; Gran Duo; Chorale
Composer: Magnus Lindberg , Performer: Kari Karikku , Conductor: Sakari Oramo , and Performer: Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: Ondine
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000ARHNHG
Release Date: 2005-10-18

Tracks:

Clarinet Concerto
Gran Duo
Chorale

Customer Reviews:

Two pieces here are okay, but Lindberg's getting a little too mellow.......2006-06-15

This Ondine disc contains three recent works by great Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo. Listening to this disc, one can tell that Lindberg's style has slightly changed, and I have mixed emotions about the material here.

The "Clarinet Concerto" (2002) was written for clarinetist Kari Kriiku, a friend of the composer since their school days and a player in many important Lindberg premiers through the last two decades. While only a single movement, the concerto is clearly divided into various sections, signalled by the recapitulation of a seven-note figure. The orchestra very much takes a backseat to the soloist, for the concerto was written with an obsession with the virtuoso features of the clarinet, and Kriiku does everything possible with the instrument. Since so much of the concerto is played by the slightest orchestra forces and single clarinet, it has a very restrained soundworld, and often the clarinet gives slow, wistful tones. It is for very this reason that I find the concerto does not stack up to what Lindberg has done elsewhere. What I've found best about Magnus Lindberg's music are the incredibly frenetic nature and thick textures of such pieces of "Kinetics", "Engine", and "Cantigas". Anssi Karttunen once said that a room in which Lindberg wrote was covered with vitamin bottles, empty energy drink cans, and cigar stubs, while others have talked of how Lindberg rarely slept during festivals. Perhaps I come from a generation with too short an attention span, but I really enjoy music that's often fast and packed with detail, so Lindberg's has unusually been highly entertaining.

The same problem of slow tempo is held by the latter two works on the disc, but they are rather more satisfying. "Gran Duo" for thirteen wind and eleven brass instruments (2000), in spite of its lack of strings, has a very full and continous sound through the skillful combination of myriad small details. The progression of the form is similar to "Cantigas", but with notably different timbres, which makes this piece interesting as a contrast to the earlier one. "Chorale" (2001-2002), though at six minutes the shortest piece here, is the most striking. Based on the Bach chorale "Es ist genug", known to many fans of modern-classical music from Berg's use of it in his violin concerto, it sounds as if it contains two layers. One is the banal tonality of something from the classical era, while the second, just underneath, is a rich expansion of the chorale and its transformation into something new on Lindberg's terms. The disc at least ends on a very pleasurable note.

I wouldn't want to say that Lindberg is finished. The "Concerto for Orchestra" of 2003 and "Ottoni" for brass ensemble premiered last year are very exciting works that show he is still capable of great music. And if anything, the material here is innocent enough to win him a new set of fans who are used to traditional repertoire, witness the CD's winning numerous awards from such conservative bastions as BBC Music Magazine, the New York Times, and Gramophone. This set, however, will probably let down anyone used to more substantial writings; the "Clarinet Concerto" is frankly dull. Try anything at all of earlier discs with his music, they are sure to satisfy.

Fine Music, Astonishing Performance.......2006-04-15

The highlight of this CD is Lindberg's wonderful Clarinet Concerto (2002), but the other selections are worthwhile too. The Gran Duo (2000) was written for the same forces as Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments, although its enormous vitality, expressed in ceaseless contrapuntal swirls of sound, sets it apart from the much cooler aesthetic of Stravinsky's sound world. The Chorale (2001-02) is based on Bach's setting of "Es ist genug" from Cantata 20 -- the same chorale Berg quotes in his Violin Concerto.

Still, it's mainly for Kari Kriikku's phenomenal performance of the Clarinet Concerto that most people will return to this recording. Kriikku has worked closely with the composer on a number of pieces, and this must surely be their finest joint effort. It is both great music and a breathtaking opportunity for technical display. Kriikku is asked to do all manner of things, including extremely high notes, multiphonics, growls and glissandos, and the vanishingly quiet tones that only the clarinet can produce. The orchestral fabric supports him with a variety of gestures that approach the virtuosity of the solo part; I am particularly fond of the bird-like twitters and passaggi that keep the music aloft for minutes at a stretch.

Uniting the disparate thematic material of the Concerto -- the notes speak of "eight core characters [as] in a play" -- is a gentle but ultimately soaring theme that may be an homage to Debussy (think of the midpoint of the Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un Faune rather than the Clarinet Rhapsody however).

This is the best new-music disc I have heard so far in 2006. Beautifully recorded and balanced. One's enjoyment only deepens with repeated listening.

Amazing Genius, Mind Blowing Virtuosity.......2005-10-25

I am blown away by this recording. Kari Kriikku has proven in this album that he is the epitome of the modern day virtuoso. His interpretation of Lindberg's Concerto (which was written for him) is fresh and vibrant. I was especially blown away when Krikku hit a high concert b-flat an octave above the five ledger line b-flat above the staff! It sounds like a violin harmonic! Lindberg's concerto is exceptional, and full of lush colors. I would recommend this CD to everyone, I think anyone would enjoy it.

Average customer rating:

Occassionally ECM teaches me some humility...

Looking on Darkness

Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006ZTCS
Release Date: 2003-11-25

Tracks:

Looking on Darkness
Bombastic Sonosofisms
Gagaku Variations
Jeux d'Anches
Lament

Customer Reviews:

Occassionally ECM teaches me some humility..........2005-10-02

...which, Lord knows, I could use. I tend to disdain the ECM label as devoted to Eicher's beloved chamber jazz which I find to generally be beautifully boring. But everyonce in a while he throws me a delightful curve (Trygve Siem, Zehetmair playing Ysaye, etc.). This recording of contemporary classical music for accordian is one of those humbling delights.
This CD is a recital by Frode Haltli on the accordian. There are four pieces for solo accordian and Gagaku Variations (by Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje) for Haltli and the Vertavo String Quartet. In order of the listings above, the other compositions are by Sent Sørensen, PerMagnus Lindborg, Magnus Lindberg and Asbjørn Schaathum. So, in effect, this program also serves as an intro to the contemporary Nordic classical music scene.
Haltli is remarkable. I have never heard accordian played quite like this. The liner notes by Erland Kiøsterud are entitled "Honoring every note" which is very apropos of Haltli.
He approaches every note with great care and with far greater variety of articulation then I have ever heard from his instrument. When have you ever found an accordian to be quietly haunting or disturbing in its eerie note bending? All accordian players should listen to this CD.
As for the compositions, they are all intriquing but I particularly enjoy the Ratkje piece. I know of only one other piece for string quartet and accordian (Matthias Pintscher's Figura series has some sections for this combination-I promise a review soon but I haven't fully absorbed that piece yet). Ratkje makes full use of the possibilities of her instrumental palette.
There are many pleasures to this piece including a delightful odd yet melodic duet (duel?) between the viola and the accordian toward the end of the piece. Gagaku is an ancient style of Japanese music whose written characters can be translated as "elegant music". Ratkje's piece fits this desciption perfectly and serves to introduce the listener to a composer that is very much worth following.
Of the solo pieces, I will only mention Jeux d'anches by Lindberg. The is a fascinating piece that seems random but is, in fact, carefully thought out. Perhaps excessive is the right word. In any case, Haltli plays it with wonderful verve.
All in all, a very auspicious solo recital debut. My thanks to Manfred Eicher for giving me yet another chance to realize just how much bigger the world of music is than I could ever imagine.