HIGHLIGHTSN E W S L E T T E R F R O M G E H R M A N S M U S I K F Ö R L A G & F E N N I C A G E H R M A N

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Puumala’s opera premiere

More about Albert Schnelzer

HIGHLIGHTS No. 1/2008 • Newsletter from Gehrmans Musikförlag & Fennica GehrmanCover photos: Marcus Schulte (Puumala), Teppo Järvinen (Helena Juntunen in Puumala’s opera Anna Liisa), Hans Lindén (Schnelzer)Editors: Henna Salmela and Kristina FryklöfTranslations: Susan Sinisalo, Robert CarrollDesign: Pirkko Huttunen • ISSN 1239-6850

This edition of Highlights has a new look, following comments from

you, our readers. From now onwards it will be published four times a year, and be more compact than before. This will allow us to report topical news and performances more effec-tively than ever.

Should your interest be aroused in a composer or work featured in Highlights, try listening to a sound sample on our website www.gehrmans.se/highlights or www.fennicagehrman.fi/high-lights. You will also find other materi-al there about items in the magazine.

NEWS

Agreement with Jyrki Linjama

Fennica Gehrman has signed a publishing agreement with Jyrki

Linjama (born 1962). The agree-ment covers six works composed by him between 1994 and 2007: his Pas de deux for orchestra, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 3, Liturgical Concerto for Organ and Strings, Partita for guitar and string quartet, Tango for cello and accordion and Three Sketches for organ. Pas de deux was commissioned by the Finnish Broad-casting Company (YLE) and can be heard in its entirety at yle.fi/elavaarkisto.

Celebrating Rautavaara

Many musical events this year are focusing on Eino­juhani Rautavaara. Choral, vocal and piano music by

him was heard at the Kirkko Soikoon Church Music Festi-val in April. The Kampin Laulu chamber choir dedicated a concert to his choral works on 27 April. In June he will be the theme composer of the Korsholm Music Festival, where the programme will include such works as Canto III, Ada-gio celeste and Hommage à Kodály Zoltàn for string orchestra along with chamber music by him. Rautavaara will be 80 on 9 October, 2008.

Tubin news

Estonian conductors perform Eduard Tubin’s orchestral music with major orchestras

around the world this spring: Symphony No. 6 (BBC Philharmonic and Adelaide SO/Arvo Volmer), Estonian Dance Suite (Orchestre Na-tional de Lyon and Bern SO/Anu Tali) and Symphony No. 4 (Berlin Radio SO/Kristjan Järvi).

Staern at Suntory Festival

Benjamin Staern’s tuba concer-to Sacrificio has been selected

to be played at the Suntory Music Festival “Music Today 21” in Tokyo in August. The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra will play under the di-rection of Kazuyoshi Akiyama with Shinya Hashimoto as the tuba soloist.

Works by Armas Järnefelt come to light

In March the Lahti Symphony Orchestra gave a whole con-cert of works by Armas Järnefelt never previously pub-

lished. According to Jaakko Kuusisto, the conductor that night, the Järnefelt scores were one of the last major finds in the history of Finnish music. The items on the programme were his Pastorale, Suite for Small Orchestra, Serenade, Little Suite and Symphonic Fantasia, of which Fennica Gehrman has produced new orchestral materials.

International Colourstrings Forum

The 19th International Colourstrings Fo-rum for string teachers will be held at the

East Helsinki Music Institute on 3–10 August. The founders of the Colourstrings method, Géza Szilvay (violin) and Csaba Szilvay (cel-lo), will lead this course together with a team of other teachers. The symposium will consist of workshops covering the Colourstrings rep-ertoire and be supplemented with additional material, e.g. new volumes of the Violin School published by Fennica Gehrman. Read more at www.colourstrings.fi

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Mikko Heiniö turns 60

The 60th birthday of Mikko Heiniö on 18 May will be celebrated at concerts

that month. The Turku Philharmonic Or-chestra premiered his Violin Concerto Alla madre on 15 May (sol. Kurt Nikkanen, cond. Petri Sakari) and the Sibelius Acade-

my will hold a portrait concert on 19 May

presenting chamber music by Heiniö (incl. Treno della notte, the Piano Quintet, the Piano

Quartet “The Voice of the Tree” and the

Sextet).

Högberg in the limelight in Norway

Fredrik Högberg is in the lime-light in Norway right now. In

April the ensemble BIT20 played his Déjà vu in Bergen, and two new works are scheduled for the autumn. The clarinet-film concerto The Korridor, written for Martin Fröst and the Trondheim Solo-ists – a project unlike any ordinary concerto combining e.g. film, ani-mation and choreography – will be premiered during the Trondheim Chamber Music Festival in Sep-tember. Högberg has also written a concerto for double bass “Hitting the First Base” for the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and bassist Dan Styffe, to be premiered at the Ultima Festival in Oslo on 7 Oc-tober.

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Premieres spring-summer 2008OLLI KORTEKANGAS: The Way to the Woods Syracuse Vocal Ensemble, cond. R. Cowles, 1 March, Syracuse, USA

DANIEL BöRTz: Goya’s Face L. Winland, cello, J. Stern, cello, H. Pålsson, piano, J. Olsson, piano, Lisa Ford, horn 2 March, Gothenburg, Sweden

SvEN-DAvID SANDSTRöM: A Desolate Wind – A Flighty Moment Malmö SO, cond. V. Sinaisky, sol. Martin Fröst 13 March, Malmö, Sweden

EINOJuHANI RAuTAvAARA: Tapestry of Life New Zealand SO, cond. P. Inkinen 5 April, Auckland, New Zealand

PASI LyyTIKäINEN: Symphony Kuopio SO, cond. E. Ollikainen 10 April, Kuopio, Finland

KIMMO HAKOLA: Guitar Concerto Helsinki PO, cond. F. Ollu, sol. Timo Korhonen10 April, Helsinki, Finland

KALEvI AHO: Oboe Concerto Royal Flemish Philharmonic, cond. E. Aadland, sol. Piet Van Bockstal 11 April, Antwerpen, Belgium

SvEN-DAvID SANDSTRöM: 5 Pieces for string trio Zilliacus, Persson, Raitinen21 April, Stockholm, Sweden

ALBERT SCHNELzER: A Freak in BurbankSNYKO Chamber Orchestra, cond. M. Rondin 11 May, Stockholm, Sweden

MIKKO HEINIö: violin Concerto ”Alla madre” Turku Filharmonia, cond. P. Sakari, sol. Kurt Nikkanen 15 May, Turku, Finland

BENJAMIN STAERN:Celebrate; fanfare for symphony orchestra Malmö Opera Orchestra, cond. N. Moldoveanu 24 May, Malmö, Sweden

DANIEL BöRTz: Magnus Gabriel, operaLäckö Castle Opera, cond. S. Phipps, sol. A. Landin, E. Sigelius, K. Giotas etc. 12 July, Läckö Castle, Sweden

PEHR HENRIK NORDGREN: String Quartet No. 11 Tempera Quartet 25 July, Kuhmo, Finland

vELI-MATTI PuuMALA: Anna Liisa, opera Tapiola Sinfonietta, cond. J. Söderblom, Music Theatre Kapsäkki, sol. Helena Juntunen etc. 18 August, Helsinki, Finland

OLLI KORTEKANGAS: Silta (The Bridge) Candomino, Dominante & Tapiola Chamber Choir, cond. Kallio, Murto, Norjanen 27 August, Espoo, Finland

This year we celebrate the centenary of Gunnar de

Frumerie ’s birth. Gehrmans honours him by publishing his Collected Songs in cooperation with the Judith and Gunnar de Frumerie Foundation. The edi-tion is a musical treasure-trove for singers and pianists and it is scheduled for publication during late summer 2008.

De Frumerie wrote over 100 songs. They have been created congenially with fervent and in-tense lyric poetry – many are set to texts by Pär Lagerkvist – and the music is in itself also palpa-bly lyrical. Many of the songs are now being published for the first time, others already belong to the standard repertoire among lov-ers of the art song. Some of the songs have also been translated into German.

BBC Singers sing Swedish works

The BBC Singers devoted a whole concert to Swedish choral music on 4 April in St. Paul’s Knightsbridge in London. On the program

were Ingvar Lidholm’s De profundis and Laudi, Jan Sandström’s Surge aquilo and Thomas Jennefelt’s Vinamintra elitavi. The concert was re-corded for future broadcasts.

Lars-Erik Larsson’s centenary

This year Larsson’s music is being played like never before. During the

spring alone there have been some hundred performances of his orchestral music. Besides in Sweden, Larsson’s music has been performed in Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Slovenia, England, Scotland, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Spain and the USA. The most frequently performed works include God in Disguise, Pastoral Suite, Concertino for Trombone and Strings and the Saxophone Concerto.

Opera premiere at Läckö Castle

On 12 July the premiere of Daniel Börtz’s and librettist Iwar Bergkvist’s historical

opera Magnus Gabriel will take place at Läckö Castle. The opera depicts the life of Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie, a seventeenth-century Swedish count and Queen Christina’s special favourite. In all there will be 13 performances throughout the summer up to 2 August.

STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL COMPOSER FESTIvAL 2008

featuring KIMMO HAKOLA ROLF MARTINSSON

Stockholm Concert Hall 6 – 15 November 2008

32 Works 2 World Premieres

From the programme:

KIMMO HAKOLA Maro • Piano Concerto • Clarinet Concerto ROLF MARTINSSON Fairlight – Trombone Concerto • Bridge – Trumpet Concerto • A. S. in Memoriam

ORCHESTRAS Royal Stockholm PO • Norrköping SO • Gävle SO • Avanti • SNYKO CONDuCTORS Sakari Oramo • Eva Ollikainen • Thomas Søndergård

SOLOISTS Håkan Hardenberger • Kari Kriikku • Christian Lindberg

De Frumerie’s Collected Songs

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Inquisitive visionary composes a full-length opera

In speaking of Veli­Matti Puumala (b. 1965) people usually tend to mention his modern-

istic attitude to composition. Yet it would pay to approach his music with a more open mind than the various shades of meaning implied by the word “modernist” would suggest. His core opus to date is no doubt his Chain series that is one, but by no means the only demonstration of his varied yet difficult-to-define quality as a composer. It is, however, true to say that Puu-mala has a strictly modernist approach to music

drawing on post-serial trends. But time and again it is possible to find elements inspired by a wide range of sources in his music.

Puumala’s own roots are in “the capital of Finnish folk music”, Kaustinen – some-thing that has perhaps been reflected in the scoring of some of his works and his occa-sional interest in mo-

dality. The best-known example of this type is Soira (1996), one of the Chain set, for accordion and chamber orchestra. Representing a different approach is the second movement of the piano concerto Seeds of Time (2004) that earned him the Teosto Prize, for this comes closer to the free jazz world of the sixties.

To avoid giving too one-sided a picture of Puumala’s stylistic repertoire, it is only fair to add that his more recent works also bear allu-sions to the history of modernism. The cadenza in the double-bass concerto Taon (1998–2000)

comes close to experimentalism in a beautiful and highly symbolistic way. Then again the cello sextet Umstrichen vom Schreienden (1997-98) hints at dodecaphony and expressionism.

“The sextet was a sort of musical cleansing rite after the Chains,” says Puumala. “I used a row in it, and the gesture world therefore point-ed to expressionism. Row technique has since featured in some of my more recent works, and as one of the materials for my opera Anna Liisa.”

Apostrophe, composed in 2005, is based on music from the prayer scene in Anna Liisa. One of the materials is a slightly modified hymn tune creating a link with tradition. It blends with Puumala’s idiom via the experimental tim-bres craning their necks at the other extreme of tradition. It must also be remembered that a thorough and fully digested training in compo-sition is audible in the music of Puumala.

“In my day, at the Sibelius Academy, the com-position students went to every single course there was on new music. We might even take the course several times; we had such a thirst for knowledge.”

Puumala has himself been teaching at the Sibelius Academy for nearly two decades now, despite being only in his early-forties. He began by lecturing on music theory, and in 1997 com-position. In 2005 he was appointed Professor of composition.

Eagerly-awaited opera The full-length opera Anna Liisa is to be pre-miered at the Alexander Theatre in Helsinki on 18 August 2008. Based on the play of the same name by Minna Canth written in 1895, it is a co-production by the Kapsäkki Music Theatre and the Tapiola Sinfonietta in collaboration

with the Helsinki Festival. The stage director is Erik Söderblom and the con-ductor Jan Söderblom. The illustrious cast of soloists includes Helena Juntunen, Jorma Hynninen, Ville Ru­sanen, Sanna Kurki­Suonio and Reetta Ristimäki.

Anna Liisa is the tragic story of a secret infanticide and

the consequences of the crime for the leading characters and their community. There were, according to Puumala, many reasons why this story found its way onto his desk.

“I came across it in 1994. The strong tensions between the characters and the action convinced me that the story was well suited to the opera stage. In time, other major themes also emerged from it, such as reflection on the choices and responsibilities of the individual and society.”

The basic dramatic setup influenced the opera’s musical solutions. The story is carried along both by the soloists and by the orchestra.

“The orchestra is, as it were, assigned the role of narrator. It often describes the psychological tension behind the text.”

The vocal parts were affected by Puumala’s respect for his text and they call for an ability in the singers to grasp challenging rhythmic pat-terns.

“The music and texts go hand in hand. Some of the vocal rhythms may seem complicated, but my aim was to make them come closer to the stresses in spoken Finnish. This meant break-ing away from the conventional, straightforward approach.”

The opera was slow to take shape. The first version of the libretto, also including new texts by Tiina Käkelä­Puumala, was written in 1998 and Puumala began the music for it in 2001. In between he wrote some other works, and in the past few years composing has naturally had to compete with his Professorship. Once the opera is finished, a commission from the Ensemble Intercontemporain awaits.

PASI LYYTIKÄINEN

Veli-Matti Puumala’s music acquires a

new dimension with the premiere of his

full-length opera Anna Liisa. Though

Puumala’s music often has links with tradition,

it also reaches out in the opposite direction with bold experiments

with timbres.

Puumala with the Anna Liisa team (Photo: Marcus Schulte)

Photo: Fimic/Saara Vuorjoki

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ALBERT SCHNELZER – from Joseph Haydn to Salman Rushdie

I don’t want to write music to prove any thesis or for the drawer. The more people I reach out to, the better, says the Swedish composer Albert Schnelzer. He is now in the limelight with the new orchestral work A Freak in Burbank and has just signed an agreement with Gehrmans.

Albert Schnelzer (born 1972) is a busy compos-er. Ever since his breakthrough in 2004 he has

received commissions on a regular basis. His works have been performed in many countries around Europe as well as in the USA and Australia, and he has represented Sweden at numerous festivals. A number of his works have been recorded on ma-jor Swedish labels and a portrait CD on the label Daphne will be released in the near future.

Albert Schnelzer graduated from the Academy of Music in 2000 after six years of compositional studies in Malmö and a year at the Royal College of Music in London. He has worked full time as a composer ever since.

you work in an enormously disciplined manner. Can you tell us what a typical work day is like?I rent a studio at the Swedish Musicians’ Union, where I work Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. It is fine with me to work like this. I am at my most creative in the mornings and it is also a good environment to sit in. Working as a composer can be very solitary, though here I always have colleagues around me. But music should never be just a job. Enjoyment is vital. I live with music the whole time and often sit at the piano and the computer at home as well, playing around and re-laxing.

How do you go about composing?When I compose nine times out of ten it is a commissioned work. This means that from the beginning I have definite limits to relate to when it comes to duration and instrumentation. Then comes an initial phase when I take in impressions. Somehow I have to put myself into a state in which my brain is idling; then the ideas will emerge soon-er or later. After that you have to start using your compositional know-how to work on the ideas and build larger forms to put them in. Sometimes it is as if the material gets a life of its own, an inher-ent direction that one cannot control. When the puzzle-pieces are finally in place you feel that there never really was any alternative; this is how it was meant to be.

your music has been described as energetic, dramatic, sensitive, accessible and very personal. The melodies and the driving rhythmic force are frequently mentioned. How would you yourself characterise your music? The dancing and melodic elements are the basic components of my musical language, but this is not something that I consciously think about when I

compose. I think rather in broader terms such as form, direction, energy and character. Rhythm and melody come automatically.

Over the last few years I have composed a great deal of orchestral music, something that suits my musical temperament. My music often demands considerable expressiveness, with room for drama as well as the emotional and the fragile, and then there is a greater scope in the sound of the orches-tra. Also characteristic of my music is the orches-tration, which is very clear and transparent.

your musical influences come from widely differing styles, for example Haydn, Stravinsky, hard rock, folk music, etc. But you also have sources of inspiration from outside of music.Yes indeed, I am inspired by literature, for instance. My First Symphony, with the title Azraeel (2007)

, was inspired by Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses; perhaps not primarily by the narrative but by Rushdie’s way of using the language. His meth-od of orchestrating his prose is extremely fascinat-ing. He creates a magic room, where the magical and the real exist side by side. In my symphony I want to convey the same feeling. It is exciting to find sources of inspiration outside of music. It was an enormous help for me when I was composing, and then there is also something for the listener to relate to.

The bassoon concerto Auroral Dances ,was given standing ovations in the uSA. In February the concerto had its European premiere for an equally enthusiastic audience. you have been inspired here by the northern-lights phenomenon “Aurora Borealis”. Yes, it is perhaps above all in the second, slow movement that one experiences the northern-lights feeling the strongest. Moreover, in Helsingborg they chose to intensify the feeling with the help of lighting, which naturally gave yet another dimen-sion to the experience.

On 11 May your new orchestral work A Freak in Burbank will have its premiere in Stockholm. It is a light and playful work in sharp contrast to the first symphony, which is a great deal more dramatic. Can you say a few words about the work?It is a commission from the chamber orchestra SNYKO within the framework of the project Then! Now?. The project was initiated by Esa­Pekka Salonen. His idea is to do Joseph Haydn’s symphonies together with a newly-written work that relates to Haydn’s music in an optional way.

KRISTINA FRYKLÖF

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REVIEWSI have chosen to concentrate primarily on Haydn’s orchestration but also on the charac-ter of his music, the light, the playful and the burlesque. While composing this work, I read a biography of the director Tim Burton. There is a bit of the same qualities in his films, but at the same time, as in Haydn’s music, there is depth under the pleasant surface. This unites those two artists over the centuries.

The biography depicts Burton’s childhood in Burbank, a very ordinary middle-class environ-ment where he went around with straggly hair in the pastel-coloured suburb and was the odd-ball of the block, “A Freak in Burbank”. These were interesting images to have in my head while I was composing. I tried to imagine how it would be if one placed Haydn in this Ameri-can suburb. Would he survive?

The work is a perfect concert-opener, about ten minutes long.

What are your plans for the immediate future?I have just prepared a suite for wind ensemble from my First Symphony on commission from the Gothenburg Wind Orchestra. I call it the Azraeel Suite, and it consists of three of the symphony’s six movements. Then there are two new commissions in the pipeline. Concerts Sweden has placed an order for a 20-minute work for string quartet and electronics for the Weber Quartet, and after that I will write an oboe concerto for the French oboist Francois Leleux. It was commissioned by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.

What has been your major experience thus far as a composer?The premiere of my piano trio Predatory Danc-es, (a work commissioned by Radio France), at the Présences Festival in Paris in 2004. It is a rather violent piece with some delicate passag-es. Not exactly easy listening but it was a direct hit, many people were touched. A thousand persons in Salle Olivier Messiaen applauded for 5 minutes and shouted bravo after the per-formance. It was terrific to get such a response. The concert was broadcast also in large parts of Europe via EBU, so it was something of an international breakthrough for me.

Finally, what do you want to convey with your music?That varies from piece to piece. What I strive for is to convey the feeling of stepping into a new world that one gets completely absorbed in, when everything round about ceases to ex-ist.

I don’t want to write music to prove any the-sis or for the drawer. If my music reaches out to listeners and they are moved, it is fantastic – and the more persons I reach, the better. For a composer to have any other aim would no doubt be odd.

Tuomela in Turku

Tapio Tuomela is one of the leading contempo-rary Finnish composers… His audience-friend-

liness goes hand in hand with sound musician-ship, player-friendliness… The Pierrot Quintet is a good example of Tuomela’s keen sense of humour.Helsingin Sanomat 17.1. / Hannu-Ilari LampilaTuomela: Juoigga, Mosaic for piano, Pierrot Quintet etc.NYTT Ensemble, cond. Tuomela, 15.1.2008, Turku (Aboa Nova Festival), Finland

Astoundingly well orchestrated

Nuorvala has gone his own way and has recently turned to electronic club music,

but I was surprised how good he sounded in his “conventional” period, too. Pinta ja säe (Sur-face and Phrase, 1991) …is a work orchestrated with astounding skill.Hufvudstadsbladet 20.4. /Mats Liljeroos

Excruciatingly beautiful music by Aho

A contemporary composer may be famous in two ways. Either by being an iconoclast…

or by writing music that arouses interest or that captivates a considerable band of people. Aho prefers the latter alternative. …His artistic vi-sion is above all of an aesthetical nature… For the most part excruciatingly […] but above all incredibly beautiful music.Knack 2.4. / Rudy Tambuyser (Pre-concert article)Kalevi Aho: Oboe ConcertoWorld Premiere: Royal Flemish Philharmonic, cond. Eivind Aadland, sol. Piet Van Bockstal, 11.4.2008, Antwerpen, Belgium

Strange charm and mysterious enchantment

The music of Pekka Jalkanen has a strange charm and mysterious enchantment. His idiom

is rich in nuance and, maybe somewhat surpris-ingly, calls to mind both ambient and such names as Arvo Pärt and Michael Nyman.Kaleva 17.3. / Risto HaapsamoPekka Jalkanen: The Trip to Panama(musical fable)Children’s concert, 16.3.2008, Oulu, Finland

Lyrical National-Romantic

Beautiful, lyrical music…The mood-evoking Serenade may well be regarded as the best

Finnish representative of its genre… Helsingin Sanomat 8.3. / Hannu-Ilari LampilaWorks by Armas JärnefeltLahti Symphony Orchestra, cond. Jaakko Kuusisto, 6.3.2008, Lahti, Finland

Musical rollercoaster from Hakola

Hakola provokes by challenging the modern conventions of classical music on home

ground, as it were, with studied finesse and a de-liberate twinkle in his eye…Hufvudstadsbladet 12.4. / Mats LiljeroosKimmo Hakola: Guitar ConcertoWorld Premiere: Helsinki PO, sol. Timo Korhonen, cond. Franck Ollu, 10.4.2008, Helsinki, Finland

Superlative recordings

Kokkonen’s three finest orchestral scores in superlative recordings... With its glittering

palette, the Third [Symphony] is the nearest Kok-konen came to an orchestral concerto, and the clarity and presence of Ondine’s new release make every sonority count…Gramophone April 2008 / Guy RickardsJoonas Kokkonen: Cello Concerto, Symphonies 3 and 4CD: Finnish RSO, cond. Sakari Oramo, sol. Marko Ylönen (Ondine ODE 1098-2)

Eivind Aadland and Kalevi Aho (Photo: Miel Pieters)

Rautavaaraon CD

The [third] symphony – one of the finest of

the post-war period, serially organized within a vibrant tonal framework…Gramophone May 2008 / Guy RickardsEinojuhani Rautavaara: Symphony No. 3, Manhattan TrilogyCD: Helsinki PO, cond. Leif Segerstam (Ondine ODE 1090-5)

Juhani Nuorvala: Surface and PhraseFinnish Premiere: Tampere Philharmonic, cond. E. M. Izquierdo, 17.4.2008, Tampere Biennale, Finland

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Exciting Schnelzer

As a whole Auroral Dances was a most pleasur-able acquaintance which bids well for the

future… Helsingborgs Dagblad 1.3. / Henrik HalvorsonAlbert Schnelzer: Bassoon Concerto No. 1– Auroral DancesEuropean Premiere: Helsingborg SO, cond. Thomas Søndergård, sol. Magnus Nilsson, 28.2.2008, Helsingborg, Sweden

…This exciting, complex composition – both easy- and hard listening – has a remark-

able energy, winding, adventurous tutti passages, elegant and massive wind attacks (almost in the spirit of Korngold and Weill!), and a very fine sense of orchestration. Dalademokraten 8.10. / Björn GustavssonAlbert Schnelzer: Symphony No. 1 – AzraeelWorld Premiere: DalaSinfoniettan, cond. David Björkman, 6.10.2007, Falun, Sweden

Pacey symphony

Pasi Lyytikäinen’s symphony has tone

and edge. Musical events replace one another with an element of surprise in this pacey work…Iisalmen Sanomat 12.4. / Pertti MalinenPasi Lyytikäinen: SymphonyKuopio SO, cond. Eeva Ollikainen, 10.4.2008, Kuopio, Finland

Swinging concerto by Staern

In a three-movement composition that he calls Ballo he lets the natural trumpet sound against a

shimmering background of strings, and the overall impression was very enjoyable…the syncopated chromaticism really swings. Uppsala Nya Tidning 5.4. / Gunnar TibellBenjamin Staern: BalloUppsala Chamber Orchestra, cond. Paul Mägi, sol. Pierre Thorwald, natural trumpet, 6.4.2008, Uppsala, Sweden

Pierre Thorwald and Benjamin Staern

Pettersson’sviolin Concerto

– best classical CD 2007“Unique, personal and deeply moving.”

“Having heard it on the radio I was quite capti-vated, and the music has not left me alone since. “

“This work makes an impact on the listener, as does also the recording. This music is born

anew. A great Swedish work!!!”Swedish Radio P 2 January 2008

(comments by the jury)Allan Pettersson: violin Concerto No. 2

CD: Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, cond. Thomas Dausgaard,

sol. Isabelle van Keulen, violin (CPO 777 199-2)

A Swedish Passion of St. Mark

The work offers considerable musical enjoyment for both singers and listeners. We hope that

church musicians of the future will take “A Swedish St. Mark Passion” under their wing. Piteå-Tidningen 14.3. / Ida FahlFredrik Sixten: A Swedish St. Mark PassionCD: Maria Magdalena Motet Choir and Chamber Ensemble, cond. Ragnar Bohlin and soloists (CAP 21803)

Excellent Börtz

The well-structured Parodos has every chance even in the future to hold its own in the reper-

toire as one of the best Swedish orchestral works from the last twenty years. Svenska Dagbladet 19.1. / Lars HedbladDaniel Börtz: ParodosRoyal Stockholm PO, cond. Alan Gilbert, 17.1.2008, Stockholm, Sweden

This is great and mighty, narrative music com-posed with melodies, consistency and structure

that few Swedish composers other than Daniel Börtz are capable of. Norra Västerbotten 8.1. / Mikael BengtssonDaniel Börtz: His Name was Orestes, A Joker’s TalesCD: Royal Stockholm PO, cond. Alan Gilbert and soloists(BIS-CD-1653/54)

Homage to Buxtehude

It was a playful homage. With a humorous vari-ant of the stylus phantasticus, which Buxtehude

cultivated, the composer bandied gaily with his predecessor’s music. Helsingborgs Dagblad 1.12. / Henrik HalvarssonRolf Martinsson: variations for OrchestraWorld Premiere: Helsingborg SO, cond. John Axelrod, 30.11.2007, Helsingborg, Sweden

KaLEVI aHoThree Tangos Modern Tango Quintet & Kim SjogrenCowbell Music CD 32

FREDRIK HÖGBERGTrolltubaSwedish Wind Ensemble, cond. Christian Lindberg, sol. Öystein Baadsvik, tubaBIS-CD 1625

NILS LINDBERGom kärlek och plommon / about Love and PlumsNya Vokalensemblen, Damkören Cantamus, cond. Roland Östblom,sol. Nils Lindberg, pianoBJUR 001

Bo LINDE orchestral Works, Vol. 2a Merry overture, Musica Concertante, Suite Variée, Suite BoulogneGävle SO, cond. Petter SundkvistSwedish Society SSACD 1132

RoLF MaRTINSSoNSymbiosisDuo Gelland (Cecilia and Martin Gelland, violins)Nosag CD 152

NEW CDsEINojuHaNI RauTaVaaRaSymphony No. 3, Manhattan TrilogyHelsinki PO, cond. Leif SegerstamOndine ODE 1090-5

Symphony No. 8 ‘The journey’, Manhattan Trilogy, apotheosisNew Zealand PO, cond. Pietari InkinenNaxos 8.570069

aLBERT SCHNELZERSpheresNils-Erik Sparf, violinDavid Härenstam, guitarDaphne 1027

FREDRIK SIXTENMarkuspassionen/Passion of S:t MarkMaria Magdalena Motet Choir and Chamber Ensemble, cond. Ragnar Bohlin, sol. Jeanette Köhn, Jesper Taube, Gunnar Andersson, Balcarras Craaford, Christoffer Holgersson and Mia Lundell CAP 21803

TaPIo TuoMELaMothers and Daughters, opera in three actsFinnish National Opera Orchestra, cond. John Storgårds, sol. Jaakko Kortekangas, Pia Freund, Ritva Auvinen, Piia Komsi, Riikka Rantanen etc.Aulos CD AUL 66156

HaRRI VuoRISymphonies Nos 1 and 2Hyvinkää Orchestra, cond. Tuomas PiriläTOCC 0087

After the feverish dreams, the devilish sounds and the resonances of war, the concerto ends in a new sort of life-intensity. In an achingly beautiful

lullaby… An in-depth comforting musical magic that also completely enrap-tured the Malmö audience. Dagens Nyheter 15.3. / Martin NyströmSven-David Sandström: A desolate wind… A flighty momentWorld Premiere: Malmö SO, cond. Vassily Sinaisky, sol. Martin Fröst, clarinet, 13.3.2008, Malmö, Sweden

Fascinating concerto by Sandström

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NEW PuBLICaTIoNS

VELJO TORMISSampo cuditur (Forging the Sampo) Version for men’s chorusText: from the Kalevala (Latin)FG 55009-515-1

Tombtuul (Crosswind) for male choirText: Henrik Visnapuu (Estonian and English)FG 55009-517-5

Sinikan laulu (Sinikka’s Song) for mixed choir and soprano soloText: Eino Leino (Finnish)FG 55009-516-8

CARL UNANDER-SCHARINAndliga övningar/Spiritual exercisesMotet No. 3 for mixed choir a cappellaText: St. John of the Cross (Swedish/English)GE 10924 (Swedish version)GE 11126 (English version)

To the unknown GodMotet No. 4for mixed choir (in three groups) and organText: Bishop Brynolf Algotsson, 13th century (Latin) and Acts 17:23–24 (English)GE 11063

JAN YNGWERamaskri / vox In Ramafor mixed choir SATB (divisi) a cappellaText in LatinGE 10991

Gehrmans Musikförlag ABBox 42026, SE-126 12 Stockholm, SwedenTel. +46 8 610 06 00 • Fax +46 8 610 06 27www.gehrmans.se • info@gehrmans.sehire@gehrmans.se • sales@gehrmans.se

For further information about our works or representatives worldwide check our web sites or contact us at:

Fennica Gehrman Oy AbPO Box 158, FI-00121 Helsinki, FinlandTel. +358 10 3871 220 • Fax +358 10 3871 221www.fennicagehrman.fi • info@fennicagehrman.fihire@fennicagehrman.fi • sales@sulasol.fi

CHORAL

MIkkO HEINIöPikavuaro Turkku(Turku Express)for mixed choir (Chorus 121)Text: Heli Laaksonen (Finnish)FG 55009-519-9

OLLI kORTEkANGASThree Piae Cantiones Songs for mixed choir (Latin)1. Tempus adest floridum 2. Personent hodie 3. Jesus Christus nostra salusFG 55009-518-2

ROLF MARTINSSONNattviolfor male choir TTBB (divisi) a cappellaText: Carl Snoilsky (Swedish)GE 10998

GEORG RIEDELFame Is a Beefor solo or upper voice, SATB adlib, pianoA setting on ten poems by Emily Dickinson (English)GE 11084

FREDRIk SIXTENPie Jesufor mixed choir SATB and piano Text: from Requiem and by Bengt Pohjanen (Latin/Swedish)GE 11155

Crucifixusfor mixed choir SATB (divisi) a cappellaText: from the Mass combined with O sacred Head, sore, wounded (Latin/Swedish/German/English)GE 11154

BOOKS

HERMAN RECHbERGERThe Rhythm in African Music FG 55009-520-5 (book + CD)

STRINGS

TARMO RIUTTAGroove Jazz violin 7 easy jazz pieces (violin & piano) FG 55009-533-5 (book + CD)

ORCHESTRAL

DANIEL böRTZOrpheus’ SongConcerto for cello and percussion ensembleGE 10684 (score)

PEkkA JALkANENRussian Concerto /venäläinen konserttofor chamber orchestra FG 55009-537-3 (score)

ANDERS SOLDH / HANS EkPopular Arrangements forSymphony OrchestraBarfotavisan (Mats Paulson)GE 11091 (score) • GE 11092 (parts)Det gåtfulla folket (Olle Adolphson)GE 11093 (score) • GE 11094 (parts)Visa vid vindens ängar (Mats Paulson)GE 11095 (score) • GE 11096 (parts)Bellmanpotpurri (C. M. Bellman)GE 11097 (score) • GE 11098 (parts)Änglamark (Evert Taube)GE 11163 (score) • GE 11164 (parts)

CHAMBER MuSIC

FREDRIk HöGbERGDéjà vufor chamber ensembleGE 10578 (score) • GE 10579 (parts)

SVEN-DAVID SANDSTRöM5 Pieces for string trioGE 11145 (score and parts)

vOCAL

TANELI kUUSISTO (Arr.)Solo Songs 2 – Lieder 2 – yksinlauluja 2Folk song arrangements Texts in FinnishFG 55009-510-6