http://www.alba.fi/en/shop/products/4906 (http://www.alba.fi/en/shop/products/4906)
Turun filharmoninen orkesteri/Petri Sakari, kapellimestari:
Merikanto, Aarre (1893-1958):
Sinfonia nro 1 h-molli Op. 5 (1914-1916):
1 I Allegro 9:31
2 II Scherzo fantastique: Vivace 8:06
3 III Andante con moto 17:27
4 IV Allegro vivace 12:47
Sinfonia nro 3 (1952-1953):
5 I Scherzo: Vivace 10:08
6 II Andante 7:17
7 III Allegro 4:40
70:17
Excellent news! My order's already in!
These symphonies are at the beginning and end of Merikanto's career. The 1st is quite fiery and romantic. The 3rd is simple and direct. They bookcase his more "modern" scores of the 20's. Both are fine works and like so much music from his generation, have been totally submerged by Sibelius. It's past time to look beyond the great master and enjoy the fine music of many of his younger Finnish colleagues.
What great news! As far as I know, only the 3rd of Merikanto's symphonies has been recorded before (a long time ago as well).
I hope this also means that Alba will record the 2nd. Do we know a release date for the new disc?
Morten
Quote from: Tapiola on Friday 02 December 2011, 13:42
These symphonies are at the beginning and end of Merikanto's career. The 1st is quite fiery and romantic. The 3rd is simple and direct. They bookcase his more "modern" scores of the 20's. Both are fine works and like so much music from his generation, have been totally submerged by Sibelius. It's past time to look beyond the great master and enjoy the fine music of many of his younger Finnish colleagues.
I very much agree about the need to enjoy the music of the generation that followed Sibelius :) I have always been very keen on composrs like Melartin, Klami, Englund, Kokkonen and Sallinen. Now there is more opportunity to study Merikanto, The two symphonies just issued are in the Downloads section here but these are, of course, much more modern recordings.
Thanks for the information :)
Two other composers represented in the Downloads section are Ernest Pingoud and Väinö Raitio. I would very much like to see commercial recordings of those symphonies as well. But this is hopefully a good start from Alba!
Morten
If you order it directly from Alba now, they will ship within the next two weeks or sooner.
Quote from: M. Henriksen on Friday 02 December 2011, 14:43
Two other composers represented in the Downloads section are Ernest Pingoud and Väinö Raitio. I would very much like to see commercial recordings of those symphonies as well. But this is hopefully a good start from Alba!
Morten
Agreed :)
Finland totally shuts down for Christmas around Dec. 15th, so I'm sure it will ship before that. Alba does have plans to record more of that generation, but they are expecting some government funding first.
But 22 Euros guys! What an insane price..... :-[
Alba will be releasing the 2nd Symphony in 2012.
Brilliant! Does the 2nd Symphony fill an entire disc itself, or can we expect some additional works?
Morten
The second, written in memory of his brother killed in the civil war (Merikanto himself was imprisoned by the Reds) lasts over 40 minutes, but I suspect there will other premieres included.
Excellent news indeed!
Well done to Alba :) :)
I'm just listening to the 1st Symphony - very enjoyable, colourful, gorgeously orchestrated late-Romantic stuff. More when I've had time to listen further...
BTW the playing and recording are very fine indeed.
Well, Symphony No.1 is indeed a gorgeous listen. You can play 'spot the influence', of course - and you'll certainly hear Wagner, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, etc. - but in the final anaysis you'll just enjoy a knock-out piece by a 20 year-old composer who's obviously thoroughly enjoying meeting the challenge of writing a symphony. Don't miss this one...
Another drain on my bank balance :o
Quote from: Tapiola on Wednesday 14 December 2011, 13:15
The second, written in memory of his brother killed in the civil war (Merikanto himself was imprisoned by the Reds) lasts over 40 minutes, but I suspect there will other premieres included.
Interesting that Madetoja's excellent Symphony No 2 was also written in memory of his brother killed in the Finnish Civil War. I am enjoying the new Alba CD very much. It took a few listens to really appreciate the music. I found the chorale-like section in the middle of the last movement of Symphony No 1 to be very moving. I shall enjoy discovering Symphony No 2 when it is released.
Quote from: vandermolen on Wednesday 04 January 2012, 21:50
Quote from: Tapiola on Wednesday 14 December 2011, 13:15
The second, written in memory of his brother killed in the civil war (Merikanto himself was imprisoned by the Reds) lasts over 40 minutes, but I suspect there will other premieres included.
Interesting that Madetoja's excellent Symphony No 2 was also written in memory of his brother killed in the Finnish Civil War. I am enjoying the new Alba CD very much. It took a few listens to really appreciate the music. I found the chorale-like section in the middle of the last movement of Symphony No 1 to be very moving. I shall enjoy discovering Symphony No 2 when it is released.
Did you order this cd directly from the comnpany, Jeffrey? I want to buy the cd (and will do so ;D) but it seems to be very expensive :(
MDT should have it in February's releases. It cost me approx.$40.00 from Alba directly.
Quote from: Dundonnell on Wednesday 04 January 2012, 21:57
Quote from: vandermolen on Wednesday 04 January 2012, 21:50
Quote from: Tapiola on Wednesday 14 December 2011, 13:15
The second, written in memory of his brother killed in the civil war (Merikanto himself was imprisoned by the Reds) lasts over 40 minutes, but I suspect there will other premieres included.
Interesting that Madetoja's excellent Symphony No 2 was also written in memory of his brother killed in the Finnish Civil War. I am enjoying the new Alba CD very much. It took a few listens to really appreciate the music. I found the chorale-like section in the middle of the last movement of Symphony No 1 to be very moving. I shall enjoy discovering Symphony No 2 when it is released.
Did you order this cd directly from the comnpany, Jeffrey? I want to buy the cd (and will do so ;D) but it seems to be very expensive :(
Hancock and Monks via Amazon UK Colin. Yes, was expensive £14.99+pp but expect you'd enjoy it. It came with a 10% discount voucher from H and M for any subsequent purchase over £10.00 in the near future. No big deal but better than nothing I guess.
I read this thread with interest and then downloaded both symphonies from the Downloads section.I very much liked what I heard, especially symphony no 3. I have consequently ordered the Alba disc directly from Alba and look forward to receiving it. The cost of ordering direct is a little high but I was very impressed by their professionalism - they confirmed despatch of the CD the day after I placed my order. Now it's just a question of how long it takes to reach me by post!
Dennis
Alba is very efficient. It reaches me in the USA within a week or less.
Further to my previous post, I received my cd direct from Alba within days of placing my order. I am very impressed with their efficiency. Re-the music itself, I am quite taken with Merikanto and enjoyed listening to both symphonies. I am particularly keen on the 3rd symphony, especially for the weight given to the woodwinds in this work. Both symphonies have lovely melodies and are very well orchestrated.
Cheers
Dennis
That's very good to hear :)
It is really astonishing that Merikanto's symphonies have taken so long to be recorded commercially, in contrast with those by composers like Madetoja, Melartin, Klami, let alone the younger Englund, Kokkonen, Rautavaara, Sallinen and Aho.
Maybe someone will now record the Ernest Pingoud and, of course, the Merikanto 2nd :)
Alba will do the 2nd this year.
Quote from: Tapiola on Sunday 22 January 2012, 23:26
Alba will do the 2nd this year.
Oh..that's very good news :) Thanks for that info' :)
And the Merikanto 1+3 CD will become available on classiconline.com ( MP3) and Albany US in spring : save your bucks for a beer or two.
Quote from: Dundonnell on Sunday 22 January 2012, 23:34
Quote from: Tapiola on Sunday 22 January 2012, 23:26
Alba will do the 2nd this year.
Oh..that's very good news :) Thanks for that info' :)
Oh..that's very good news :) Thanks for that info' :)
....'info I now realise you had provided already last month ::) My apologies for a (relatively rare) memory lapse on my part ;D
This disc is now on general release at the mdt.co.uk website at a more reasonable price than when ordering from Finland.
Wow ;D ;D
Thank you very much indeed for pointing this out. I would, almost certainly, have missed the fact that it is available from MDT. I had been planning to order the disc next month from Finland.
You have saved me a good deal of money :) :)
It's on amazon.co.uk as well I just found out, but with a slightly later release date.