Kalevi Aho’s endlessly fascinating œuvre
has given me great pleasure and spurred my interest in Finnish
music. Einojuhani Rautavaara is another find, albeit one in
its early stages, and I’ve come to admire the organ works
of Oskar Merikanto and others of his ilk via Kalevi Kiviniemi’s
superb Fuga recordings. As far as ensembles go, the Lahti and
Finnish Radio orchestras and the YLE and Tapiola choirs are
all first-class groups that need no introduction. The Finns
also have two top-notch recording companies - Fuga and Alba
- who produce the best SACDs in the business.
If the only Pohjola you know is the one in the Sibelius tone
poem, then prepare to add another to your list. Seppo, who comes
from a most distinguished musical family - his late father Erkki
founded the Tapiola Choir, and the conductor Sakari Oramo is
his uncle - started musical life as a horn player, becoming
a freelance composer in 1995. Tragically he lost his older siblings,
cellist Matti and flautist Olli, to whom the first symphony
is dedicated. He has since composed two more, the second in
2006 and the third in 2011. Pohjola’s also written a number
of works in other genres; I notice Rob Barnett welcomed an Alba
disc of his chamber pieces back in 2004 (review).
In a musical landscape overshadowed by the towering, granitic
presence of Sibelius attempting one’s maiden symphony
must be quite a challenge. Happily Pohjola has come up with
a work of remarkable freshness and vitality. Given the sad context
of this music - that long, muted introduction is surely a lament
of sorts - one might expect a more sombre piece. Instead, what
we get is music of sinew and spirit, lit by sudden flares of
energy and spurred on by tight and varied rhythms. The latter
seem to combine the propulsive qualities of Shostakovich - sans
the hysterical edge - with the loose-limbed exhilaration of
Bernstein at his best.
Despite such broad comparisons - offered as a rough idea of
character, nothing more - this is writing of quality and purpose;
it’s also very well played and recorded. There are heartfelt
moments of quietude that are simply gorgeous, and in the first
movement listeners will easily pick up on the Ode to Joy
quotation from Beethoven’s Ninth. I daresay there are
other references, but that doesn’t make this a faltering
or derivative work. I particularly admire Pohjola’s use
of unusual colours and textures, and his deft handling of those
almost Ivesian cross-rhythms in the fourth movement; the latter
are thrillingly caught in this recording, which combines fine
detail with spectacular range and bite.
After all those high jinks - what a glorious and triumphant
tribute this is - the muted start to the Second Symphony might
signal a change of mood. I was struck first by the variety and
confidence of Pohjola’s writing - that growing, animated
twitter over a grumbling bass - and second by the ravishing,
harp-led passages that follow. There’s also a glitter
and clarity here - hints of Ravel, perhaps - but it’s
the sophisticated rhythms in the second movement that really
tweak one’s ear. As for the orchestra, they play with
a potent mix of gusto and precision; despite the atavistic thrills
on display - goodness, that tam-tam and bass deum - Oramo stops
it all from sliding into a bacchanalian frenzy.
There’s humour and a surprising lightness of touch as
well; just sample the laid-back, almost jaunty, tunes that perk
up the second movement. Then the music descends, almost imperceptibly,
into the cinematic things-that-go-bump-in-the-night weirdness
of the third. It’s back to big and very bold in the fourth
- just listen to the delicious rasp of lower brass and that
ferocious, Nielsen-like fusillade on the timps at the very end.
It’s high-octane stuff, best played at high volume when
the neighbours - and those of a nervous disposition - aren’t
in earshot.
These are extremely accomplished and engaging symphonies that,
being broadly tonal, will appeal to those who might otherwise
feel intimidated by contemporary orchestral pieces. Moreover
there’s a Puckish glee in much of Pohjola’s writing
that really appeals to me; it’s certainly whetted my appetite
for his other works, some of which have the most intriguing
titles. I daresay Alba - buoyed by what I hope will be universally
positive responses to this disc - will give us more. Lots more.
Cracking pieces, superbly played; a demonstration disc too.
Dan Morgan
http://twitter.com/mahlerei
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo 
[60:49] 