Melartin Symphonies 5 & 6 (cpo)

[Alan Howe]

...forthcoming from cpo, with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra (Finland) conducted by Ari Rasilainen:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9778002--erkki-melartin-symphonies-5-6

[Ilja]

Great news! There is a decent recording of the sixth by Jussi Jalas with the Finnish RSO, but it's ancient at this point (sound's not bad, however), and the Grin is little more than adequate. But it's quite different from his earlier symphonies and might not entirely be suitable for this forum – a bit in the same way that Braga Santos' last two symphonies stylistically depart from the style of his first four. 

The 5th is closer to being conventionally "romantic" (but certainly not in the eyes of everyone), and here Grin's more in his element. I also have a performance with Klaus Mäkelä and the Turku Phil, but for the life of me don't remember where I got it.

[Alan Howe]

I'll be purchasing the CD as soon as it becomes available. I really rate Melartin: I find this music enormously exciting.

[Ilja]

Oh, so do I, the more so because you can see a very clear development in his style, and the music grows from crypto-Sibelius (The Wedding in Pohjola, 1902) to ever more individual forms of expression. It is rarely what I'd call confident, though, and always seems to be searching. A good example, and possibly my favorite of his works, is the Third Symphony (F major, 1907). There is a terrific performance of it by the Finnish RSO under Sakari Oramo.

[Mark Thomas]

I don't listen to Melartin that frequently, but that's an uplifting and powerful performance of Melartin's Third by Oramo, Ilja, thanks for the link. I suppose comparisons between Melartin and Sibelius are both inevitable and not particularly helpful but, only knowing his symphonies from Grin's cycle for Ondine, I've always found them attractive, but rather diffuse and unfocussed works, compared with Sibelius'. This performance by Oramo is so much more persuasive, so is Grin's cycle as a whole doing Melartin a disservice? I see you describe his performance of the Third in it as "barely adequate", Ilja. 

[Mark Thomas]

The notes appended to the Oramo recording shed some light on what has been going on with editions of Melartin's symphonies and perhaps explain Grin's inadequacies:

"The Melartin Society's new performing edition of the Third Symphony differs remarkably from the version adopted by Leonid Grin for his well-known and much loved 1990's recording with the Tampere Philharmonic. It's around ten minutes longer, much of the new material seemingly in the first movement. Throughout the work instrumentation is more detailed, complex, sophisticated, ambitious, original. There are points in the "Grin Version" that seemed curiously weak or disjointed ~ now they are complete as originally intended, they make perfect sense, raising the symphony to an even higher level. Apparently the Third Symphony needed rather less reconstruction work than the others, suggesting other symphonies are going to sound very different indeed!

"MELARTIN SOCIETY NEW EDITIONS....
In 2006, the Erkki Melartin Society launched an editing and clean-copying project for Melartin's symphonies. The aim was to promote their performing, and help them become a living part of the music culture in Finland. Besides the works of Jean Sibelius, the public of today should be given a possibility of hearing the more lyrical symphonic music of Melartin, which has been more influenced by the Finnish folk songs, the Finnish scenery, and the idyll of summer.

"The editing and clean-copying project has also the objective of facilitating the work of symphony orchestras, since the autograph scores and handwritten orchestral parts have mistakes, incoherencies and interpretation problems. Until now, orchestras and conductors have made a considerable effort in turning the contents of sometimes unreadable photocopies of Melartin's scores into performable shape. In addition, the works have sometimes been radically shortened in recordings and historical radio broadcasts. Therefore, it has been considered important to produce the orchestral materials in the forms in which the composer has originally written them".

This old post here at UC also refers to Oramo's performance and the planned new edition of Melartin's symphonies.

[Ilja]

I always think of the Grin recordings in the same vein as the Shestakov recordings of the Bendix symphonies. To be honest, that doesn't do justice to them; they aren't that awful. However, they do suffer from lackluster playing, muddy sound and balance issues (the brass section all but disappears at times) and what appears to be a general lack of vision on the part of the conductor. Listen to the Grin and the Oramo recordings of the 3rd symphony in sequence, and it's as if a veil is lifted: structures become clearer, the sonics are suddenly transparent and full, and there's a real sense of direction. I have high expectations for these new recordings, and hopefully we can expect new recordings of nos. 1, 2 and 4 in due time.

[Alan Howe]

I don't know of any set as poor as Bendix/Shestakov, but Ilja's right - we certainly need a better complete cycle of the Melartin Symphonies. Maybe we'll get them from Rasilainen, although there's no current indication that Nos.5 & 6 constitute volume 1.

[eschiss1]

Back in 20/09/2024 britishcomposer posted here that a 2nd volume was intended also (or perhaps has already been recorded) with symphony #3 and the Lyric Suite. (And perhaps more to come, but at least that volume...)

[Alan Howe]

The CD's out (in Germany) on 19th June:
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/erkki-melartin-symphonien-nr-5-6/hnum/11165038