SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Sibelius, Salonen: Anu Komsi, Cyndia Seiden, (sopranos), Esa-Pekka Salonen, (conductor), Los Angeles Philharmonic, Barbican Hall, London 1.11.2007 (AO)

Such was the magnetic force that Wagner exerted in his time that other composers, like Debussy, Mahler, Wolf and Sibelius himself, had to draw away from his orbit in order to find themselves. In Finland, Sibelius’s influence is similarly overwhelming, since the composer is so inextricably connected to the nation’s identity. It’s no surprise then that Finnish composers have often had a tricky, almost Oedipal relationship with him.  Some, like Magnus Lindberg and Kaija Saariaho, moved abroad.  Their classmate at the Sibelius Academy, Esa-Pekka Salonen, championed other Finnish composers in Los Angeles, such as Aulis Sallinen, but tried to avoid Sibelius for fear of being typecast, yet, he’s now conducting the series “Sibelius Unbound”, both in LA and London. Time and distance have given him deeper perspectives than if he’d specialised in Sibelius when he was younger and now he brings fresh, new insights from what he’s learned along the way.  If this first concert is anything to go by, Salonen’s Sibelius promises to be original and distinctive.

Appositely then, he chose to begin with Lemminkäinen’s Return, based on a legend in the Kalevala.  Lemminkäinen travels to the Land of Death, where he is dismembered, restored and made whole again, and makes a triumphant journey back to life.  It’s a good choice musically, for this early piece demonstrates how original Sibelius orchestration was to become. It grows organically from a simple motive based structure rather than following conventional development. Salonen’s pace was quick, but its muscularity seemed appropriate to the exhilarated rebirth on which the piece is based.

That sense of limitless possibilities also permeates Salonen’s own Wing on Wing.  It’s a tribute to the ideas of Frank Gehry, using images of wind, speed and water to create a relentless sense of movement.  Salonen has solved the “problem” of Sibelius by absorbing the master’s spirit, though his own music sounds individualised. Although the piece was completed only three years ago, it has been performed quite a few times and has been recorded by DG and I have  now come to appreciate it better after several hearings.  Despite its storm tossed mood, it’s a carefully structured work. The primary relationship is between two similarly pitched sopranos, cast against contrabassoon and contrabass clarinet, seated in front of the main orchestra for full effect.  Later the voices are paired with high toned xylophones. And they float, literally in the heights, when they later appear in the balcony. The piece was written for the voices of the twins Piia and Anu Komsi which blend seamlessly, but hearing Cyndia Seiden as Piia’s replacement had its own advantages.  She was the singer who made Ariel in Thomas Adès Tempest,  possible to perform after her voice had received special training. Salonen’s tessitura isn’t quite so cruel, so Sneiden's natural purity of  voice shone through.  Her perfomance was interesting too, because it offered connections between the Tempest and Wing on Wing, which approach similar subjects, but from different points of view. Salonen’s ocean undercurrents are sensuously scored, particularly for lower brass.  He also uses the recorded sound of a kind of fish found in Californian waters, which uses noise as a navigation aid, to keep the school in formation.  What’s particularly good is that the sound blends in subtly so it’s not too obvious, but provides instead a low, half submerged pulse.

A short while ago, Neeme Järvi conducted Mahler’s first Symphony as a “young man’s symphony”, where the protagonist was so full of himself that there was no room for substance or depth.  In similarly youthful Sibelius, Salonen finds more gravitas:   Sibelius’ Second Symphony is also spring-like and optimistic, but Salonen brings out the tight structure which underpins the overall flow.   Though the symphony was played with gusto, the underlying musical logic was scrupulously thought through.

Sibelius used to complain about “distorted” performances of his work, so his friend, the conductor Simon Parmet, wrote a book about the symphonies, and many of his ideas are still valid today. “Many conductors seem unwilling to allow their impulsive playing to be disturbed by intellectual considerations and sober musical thinking”, he wrote, “A conductor can acquire an authoritative position in relation to a composer’s work equal to that of the composer himself if he possesses an exact knowledge of his logic, a knowledge which must be extracted from the text of the composer’s work.  Then, and only then, can he feel sure of keeping faith with the intentions of the composer. (Only) then will he be entitled to let his own subconscious take over and guide him through those difficult passages which no degree of intellectual effort could help him master”.

Luckily for Leonard Bernstein, neither Sibelius nor Parmet lived to hear his Sibelius cycle!  Certainly Bernstein wasn't the only "interventionist" - all conductors have to intervene to tun notes into sound. Nor was Bernstein necessarily wrong.  But certain approaches have become so entrenched in public expectations thatthey've become the standard by which performances are often judged.Salonen's Sibelius is unusual and might come as a surprise to anyone
expecting lush Tchailkovsky sentiment, for example. As Parmet points out, each composer is unique and should be interpreted on his own terms, with interpretation based on intimate knowledge of how and why the score works. It’s easy to respond to rambunctious performances, but in the longer term, those that are well-informed and composer-centred probably have most to offer.  This is precisely why conductors who don’t follow the pack are so important.  They restore the balance towards music.

Salonen’s approach to Sibelius seems to be built on an intuitive understanding of the way the composers music operates to express his fundamental nature. It’s instinctive, something that cannot easily be expressed. Having come back to Sibelius in his maturity, and after a background in contemporary music, Salonen approaches the composer from a very different perspective.  He’s been able to come to terms with the powerful avatar that is Sibelius,  all the better because he’s been able to develop his own identity as an artist.   His approach is passionately intense in its own way, reflecting a deep commitment to what he’s learned from life and from composer equally.

The title of the encore was mumbled inaudibly, but was immediately identifiable by its time signature.  It was Valse Triste, the potboiler “hit tune” that Sibelius dismissed as fluff, even though it was the work that brought him international popularity.  In some ways, he spent decades trying to live it down: success is often a double-edged sword.  Here it wasn’t played with irony, but presented as just plain fun.  I’m glad it was chosen here for it adds a valid comment on how Sibelius’s music has been received.

Fortunately for us in London, we’ll be hearing more of Salonen when he takes over as chief conductor at the Philharmonia in 2008/9.  He has worked a lot with the Philharmonia over the last 20 years, and they respond to him well, as their recent performance of Mahler’s Third Symphony demonstrated.  Salonen does seem to be entering a new phase in his work, returning to his roots in his maturity, which often presages deeper and more intensely original work.  From what we heard tonight, it seems that   Salonen will be heading in interesting directions.

Anne Ozorio  

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