John Storgards , Helsinki Philharmonic - Madetoja: Symphonies No. 1 & 3; Okon Fuko Suite (2014)

×

John Storgards , Helsinki Philharmonic - Madetoja: Symphonies No. 1 & 3; Okon Fuko Suite (2014)

Close

This new release completes Ondine’s two-disc survey of Madetoja’s symphonies. Considered one of Sibelius’ finest contemporaries in Finnish orchestral music, Madetoja merges the landscape and folk songs of his native province of Ostrobothnia with a French elegance (Symphony No. 3) to create a unique voice.

John Storgårds and the Helsinki PO are widely celebrated both in live performance and recordings. Their release of Rautavaara’s Cello Concerto No. 2 (ODE 1178-2) was given the 2012 Contemporary recording prize at the 2012 Gramophone awards and the previous release in this series (Symphony No. 2) was described as being conducted with ‘sharp insight and unfaltering authority. Under Storgårds’ baton the impeccably prepared Helsinki Philharmonic exhibits their commitment to the music.’ (MusicWeb) with BBC Music Magazine awarding 4 stars for a ‘vividly performed’ recording.

This release includes the orchestral suite from the ballet pantomime Okon Fuoko. The work has clear affinities to Ravel and Prokofiev and reveals Madetoja’s modernism as a composer in the early 20th century.

Composer: Leevi Madetoja
Conductor: John Storgårds
Orchestra/Ensemble: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

Reviews: This disc completes Ondine’s cycle of Leevi Madetoja symphonies. It’s a shame he didn’t write more of them, for all three are wonderful pieces, fully comparable to those by Sibelius, Nielsen, or any other symphonist of the early 20th century, Scandinavian or not. The First is a pithy work in three movements, colorfully scored, effectively knit together by shared thematic material between movements, and with a distinctly Finnish-sounding central Lento misterioso.

The Third lays claim to being considered Madetoja’s symphonic masterpiece. Although longer than the First, it is lighter in mood, pure, pastoral, fresh, and quite unlike anyone else’s music of the period. The symphony’s longest movement is its third, a scherzo, and its opening sounds almost like Copland in its widely spaced harmonies and “open air” quality. It’s an extraordinary piece, especially given its date of composition in the mid 1920s.

Okon Fuoko is a ballet-pantomine on an exotic Japanese subject, for which Madetoja manages to provide some very exotic-sounding music that isn’t a bit Asian in character. The suite is only thirteen minutes long, but it has real substance and is great fun. The performance is excellent, with Storgards and the Helsinki Philharmonic offering a rhythmically zesty and bold account of the work, as indeed they do of both symphonies as well.

This music now enjoys multiple recordings, as it surely deserves to, but these are as fine or better than the competition, and the engineering is also excellent–clear, well-balanced, and tactile.