Jukka-Pekka Saraste

Fokus Bruckner I

Wed 06/03/2024 19:00 - 21:00
6.50€
48.00€

Esittely

A rusty bridge, a broken heart, a windswept castle, a majestic forest, a warming planet. Anna Clyne spins the meanings of the word ‘weathered’.

A rusty bridge, a broken heart, a windswept castle, a majestic forest, a warming planet. Anna Clyne spins the meanings of the word ‘weathered’. “Each part of the work explores one weathered element. It also touches on our shared experiences of the pandemic and global warming.” Anton Bruckner did not give his eighth symphony an additional title, but over the years the term ‘apocalyptic’ has been widely adopted.

Anna Clyne: Weathered

The clarinet concerto Weathered by HPO Composer-in-Residence Anna Clyne (b. 1980) was premiered in 2003 by the Concertgebouw Orchestra with Martin Fröst as the soloist. It is in five movements, each exploring a different weathered element: Metal, Heart, Stone, Wood and Earth. These weathered elements are both beautiful and poignant: a rusted bridge, a broken heart, a wind-worn castle, a majestic forest, and a warming planet. As Clyne puts it, “Weathered also touches on our collective global experiences of the COVID pandemic and the alarm of global warming.” When asked how she portrays physically weathered objects and elements in music, she replies that in Metal, she uses use a lot of metallic percussive instruments, while Wood features wooden ones. Heart explores the clarinet’s lower range, while Stone is more playful (imagining skipping stones on a lake); and Earth weaves together elements of the previous four movements, beginning with a sounding alarm. We are at a critical point.

Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 in C Minor

The music of Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) requires both time and the right attitude. His works are often likened to a walk in the mountains, sometimes hard-going but well worth the effort for the splendid scenery. He completed the first version of his Symphony No. 8 in 1887 and sent it to Hermann Levi the conductor. To his dismay, Levi replied that though he found many of the themes magnificent and direct, he could not possibly perform the symphony in its current form. Bruckner therefore revised it, and it was not premiered until 1892. Eduard Hanslick the renowned critic walked out after the third movement, but Hugo Wolf thought the symphony was wonderful. Various editions exist of the work, but tonight’s performance is of the one made by Robert Haas.

Beginning in deepest darkness, the symphony ends in blinding light. Though the music is abstract, Bruckner did hint at a ‘programme’. The first movement suggests a clock that goes on ticking after someone has just died in the room. The second is packed with energy but the lyrical section tells, said Bruckner, of his insomnia. The slow third is a battle between faith and doubt, and the finale pictures a meeting between the Austrian Emperor and the Russian Tsar. The fanfares represent the cavalry. The final bars draw the main themes from all the movements together.

Violin 1
Pekka Kauppinen
Jan Söderblom
Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä
Katariina Jämsä 
Maiju Kauppinen 
Elina Lehto 
Ilkka Lehtonen 
Jani Lehtonen 
Kalinka Pirinen 
Petri Päivärinne 
Elina Viitasaari 
Totti Hakkarainen
Angeles Salas Salas
Klaus-Peter Haav
Júlia Mušáková
Tuuli Talvitie

Violin 2
Kamran Omarli
Krista Rosenberg
Teppo Ali-Mattila
Heini Eklund 
Liam Mansfield
Siiri Rasta
Terhi Ignatius
Anna-Maria Huohvanainen
Sanna Kokko
Harry Rayner
Virpi Taskila
Johanna Koponen
Kaisa Laurila
Anna Vähälä

Viola
Torsten Tiebout
Lotta Poijärvi
Aulikki Haahti-Turunen
Kaarina Ikonen
Tiila Kangas
Ulla Knuuttila
Mariette Reefman
Hajnalka Standi-Pulakka
Liisa Orava
Aida Hadzajlic
Iina Marja-aho
Albert Papp

Cello
Tuomas Ylinen
Beata Antikainen
Basile Ausländer
Veli-Matti Iljin
Jaakko Rajamäki
Ilmo Saaristo
Fransien Paananen
Johannes Välja
Tommi Wesslund
Hans Schröck

Bass
Hugh Klüger 
Ville Väätäinen 
Adrian Rigopulos
Tuomo Matero
Paul Aksman
Eero Ignatius
Venla Lahti
Akseli Porkkala

 

Flute
Niamh Mc Kenna
Elina Raijas 
Päivi Korhonen

Oboe
Hannu Perttilä
Jussi Jaatinen
Sole Terästö

Clarinet
Veera Myllyniemi
Anna-Maija Korsimaa
Heikki Nikula

Bassoon
Markus Tuukkanen
Mikko-Pekka Svala
Ilmari Kuoppa

Horn
Mika Paajanen
Ville Hiilivirta
Miska Miettunen
Jonathan Nikkinen
Sam Parkkonen
Joonas Seppelin
Marian Strandenius
Pasi Tiitinen
Tommi Viertonen

Trumpet
Pasi Pirinen 
Thomas Bugnot 

Mika Tuomisalo
Pasqual Llopis Diago

Trombone
Matthew Herrmann 
Valtteri Malmivirta 
Jussi Vuorinen

Tuba
Ilkka Marttila

Timpani
Tomi Wikström

Percussion
Xavi Castelló Aràndiga
Mikael Sandström
Pasi Suomalainen

Harp
Stefania Saglietti
Saara Olarte

 

 

Taiteilijat

Jukka-Pekka Saraste
conductor
Martin Fröst
clarinet

Ohjelma

    19:00
    Anna Clyne
    Weathered for clarinet and orchestra (first performance in Finland)
    Intermission
    21:00
    Anton Bruckner
    Symphony No. 8 (1890, ed. Nowak)
Series I
Musiikkitalo Concert Hall
Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Martin Fröst
Anna Clyne
Weathered for clarinet and orchestra (first performance in Finland)
Intermission
Anton Bruckner
Symphony No. 8 (1890, ed. Nowak)