Salonen's Complete Sony Recordings, part 4

This part will cover discs 40 through 49 in the box.

• Sergei Prokofiev: Concertos for Violin and Orchestra nos. 1 and 2; Stravinsky, Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra This is a 1992 recording with Cho-Liang Lin and the LA Philharmonic. Compared to his piano concertos, Prokofiev's concertos with violin are surprisingly lyrical. He sees the violin as a strictly melodic instrument and the piano as, partly, a percussion instrument. One thing for sure, the melody of the second movement of the second concerto is remarkably lovely, something one rarely finds oneself saying about a 20th century piece! Crisp and clean performance of the Stravinsky who treats the violin almost like a percussion instrument.
• Sergei Rachmaninoff: Concertos for Piano and Orchestra nos. 2 and 3 Recorded in 1990 with Yefim Bronfman and the Philharmonia Orchestra. I'm very glad to listen to this because, just as a matter of policy, I tend to avoid Rachmaninoff, which means I am probably a bad person. But it still sounds to me like a greatbrownfloodofharmonicclichésthatgoonforaverylongtime... I can't help recalling that great cartoon of a young boy of perhaps twelve years old, in formal evening wear, standing onstage beside a piano and announcing to the audience: "And now, God help us all, Rach Two." 
• Silvestre Revueltas: Sensemayá, Ocho por radio, La noche de los Mayas, Homenaje a Federico García Lorca, Ventanas, First Little Serious Piece, Second Little Serious Piece Salonen's tenure in Los Angeles led not only to his exposure to and advocacy of film music, but also of music from Latin America, in this case, Mexico. The list of important Mexican composers is a short one, but most certainly includes Silvestre Revueltas. The only two others that you might know are Carlos Chávez and Manuel Ponce (who wrote a great deal of music for guitar). Sensemayá and La noche de los Mayas are considered the most important works by Revueltas. They date from the last two years before he died in 1940. Despite it being based on a poem by Cuban Nicolás Gullién invoking an Afro-cuban religious ritual, the music of Sensemayá might remind you a bit of the Rite of Spring by Stravinsky. Ventanas (1931) is another important piece.
• Kaija Saariaho: Grall Théâtre, Château de l'âme, Amers This disc and the next were ones that particularly attracted me to the collection. I have wanted to become more familiar with the music of Kaija Saariaho for some time. Born in Finland she studied there, but moved to France and studied with some of the important figures in post-WWII modernism including Klaus Huber and Brian Fernyhough. She found this approach too stifling and was attracted to the French spectralist school. She did a lot of work with computers and electronics combined with live instruments. The three works on this disc were recorded between 1996 and 2000 and each features a soloist: Gidon Kremer, violin, Dawn Upshaw, soprano and Anssi Karttunen, cello.
• Esa-Pekka Salonen: LA Variations, Five Images after Sappho, Giro, Mania, Gambit Salonen's LA Variations was his return to composition after a long pause in which he was extremely occupied with conducting. Another reason he was not composing was that he found some of the strictures of modernism--against melody, for example--very oppressing. Living in Los Angeles was a freeing experience and led to a revival of his composing. The works on this disc were recorded in 2000. The first, and continuing, impression is one of absolutely remarkable orchestral sounds: rich, clangorous and transparent.
• Arnold Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, String Quartet No. 2 (both works in the versions for string orchestra) Recorded 1996 with the Stockholm Chamber Orchestra. Verklärte Nacht is Schoenberg's early sextet notorious for being chamber music with a program and for using a minor ninth chord in last inversion. Beethoven had already done that in one of the op. 59 quartets. Verklärte Nacht is likely Schoenberg's most popular piece. It is lovely and intensely expressive. The Quartet (in the arrangement by the composer) is the very famous one with a soprano singing a text from Stefan George with the line "a breath of air from another planet" used to announce the introduction of atonality into music. The soprano is Faye Robinson. Both works transfer easily to the chamber orchestra instrumentation with strings only and benefit from Salonen's typical rhythmic clarity
• Dmitri Shostakovich: Concertos nos. 1 and 2 for Piano and Orchestra, Quintet for Piano and String Quartet The Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Trumpet and Orchestra actually started out as a trumpet concerto but Shostakovich added a piano, which eventually took over and became the prominent instrument. Dating from 1933 when the composer was only twenty-seven, the piece has been called an "irreverent hodgepodge of styles" but a delightful one. The Concerto No. 2, written in 1957, was composed for the composer's son Maxim, then completing his final year at the Central Music School. The Piano Quintet, composed in 1940, was from the beginning one of his most successful works, the second movement fugue, with its strange meandering subject, showing his fascination with the polyphony of Bach. The soloist is Yefim Bronfman with the LA Philharmonic. The Julliard Quartet play in the quintet. The recordings were made in 1998 and 99. These two almost casually written piano concertos I find much more enjoyable to listen to than those two tired warhorses of Rachmaninoff.
• Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Pohjola's Daughter The 1986 recording of the Symphony No. 5 with the Philharmonia Orchestra is the only numbered Sibelius symphony in this collection--the other orchestral works on the next few discs are symphonic poems. Except for this one symphony, Salonen avoided the usually performed Sibelius works (excepting the Violin Concerto, of which we have two versions). The Fifth is a terrific piece, often called more conventional than the Fourth, but we might just see it as more subtle. One of my favorite clips on YouTube is Salonen conducting the last movement with a Verbier Festival youth orchestra. Salonen gives it clarity through a very articulated performance, by which I mean he lets in light by observing the rests closely and articulating the phrases well. The disc is filled out with the symphonic fantasy Pohjola's Daughter.
• Jean Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Legends, En Saga The Lemminkäinen Legends (or Suite as it is often called) consist of four legends from the Kalevala, one movement of which, the very popular Swan of Tuonela, is often played separately. The Kalevala, a collection of legends and folklore first published in 1835, is the foundation of Finnish literature. This suite, along with the earlier Kullervo, is usually considered the foundation of the Finnish national character in music. The original version dates from 1896 though the movements were later revised. The filler is the tone poem En Saga. This is a 1991 recording with the LA Philharmonic. Colorful and evocative.
• Jean Sibelius: Kullervo is a symphonic poem for mezzo, baritone, male chorus and orchestra dating from 1891-2. The folk tale, with its reminiscences of Oedipus, along with a special trip he took to hear a Karelian runic singer, inspired Sibelius to create a powerful work of Finnish character and the premiere was a great success. The recording was make in 1992 with the LA Philharmonic and the Helsinki University Chorus with Marianne Rørholm and Jorma Hynninen, vocal soloists.

The next will be the last post on this collection, which I have found particularly enjoyable, not least for the selection of repertoire. For an envoi here is Lemminkäinen's Return from the four legends in a performance with the LA Philharmonic.