Kalevi AHO (b. 1949)
Double Concerto for cor anglais, harp and orchestra (2014) [27:54]
Triple Concerto for violin, cello, piano and chamber orchestra (2018) [30:29]
Dimitri Mestdag (cor anglais), Anneleen Lenaerts (harp), Storioni Trio, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra/Olari Elts
rec. June 2019, Elisabethzaal, Antwerp, Belgium
BIS BIS-2426 SACD [59:11]
The Finnish composer Kalevi Aho is amazingly prolific. Not only are there, so far, seventeen symphonies and five operas, but also no fewer than thirty-seven concertos. On the concerto tally this leaves Martinů panting in the dusty rear and makes one wonder whether Aho is in fact today’s equivalent of Vivaldi. Not only has he written a concerto for every instrument you have thought of, and several you haven’t, such as the contrabassoon, bass clarinet, timpani and theremin, but also multiple concertos, often for surprising combinations, such as for viola and percussion and for a whole saxophone quartet. The wonder is that, those of these which I have heard, are all beautifully crafted, written idiomatically for the instruments they feature and easy and enjoyable to listen to.
Here we have two of them. Aho thinks the Double Concerto for cor anglais and harp may be the first written for this particular combination and he may well be right, though I do remember Lutosławski’s Double Concerto for the very similar combination of oboe and harp. The cor anglais is a sonorous and beautiful instrument – I have heard it called the most glamorous of the woodwind extra instruments – but it is rarely called on to be very agile. The harp can also be lovely but it cannot play very loudly and orchestral writing has to allow for this. This concerto begins very quietly, so quietly in fact that at first I thought there was something wrong with my player while sounds like background noises started emerging. However, the two solo instruments do enter and gradually the work gathers definition and then rhythmic bite. There is a cadenza for the two instruments before the music subsides. This first movement is as long as the remaining three together. The second movement is a short cadenza for the harp alone, a most attractive passage, which leads into a brisk and exciting allegro. The finale is again short and quiet and we return to something like the mood of the beginning.
The Triple Concerto for violin, cello and piano is a more traditional combination, and the listener will at once think of Beethoven’s concerto for the same combination. Aho is obviously aware of this and does something quite different. For a start he uses a chamber orchestra, with strings and just two wind instruments. He rarely employs his soloists as a group together, but writes more in the concerto grosso kind of idiom, with a good deal of interplay between the soloists and the orchestra. If this sounds rather like Martinů, this is deliberate, and I was several times reminded of the Czech master in hearing this work. It is based on a lullaby he wrote for his granddaughter Matilda, which used the musical letters in her name. This comes several times in the dreamy and atmospheric first movement. This is followed by an energetic Presto, then another mysterious slow movement and a finale which starts slowly but soon speeds up.
The performers here are a mainly Belgian team, and they were all involved in the premieres apart from the conductor, who on those occasions was Martyn Brabbins, who has had quite a close association with Aho’s music. For whatever reason, he is not the conductor here, and that role is taken by the Estonian Olari Elts. He does a good job and secures confident performances. The sleevenote, in four languages is helpful. This is a SACD but I was listening in ordinary two channel stereo, in which the sound was immaculate. BIS has been supporting Aho for a long time and this latest issue is a worthy addition to their series. Aho’s fans need not hesitate, and those curious about trying this composer could well dip a toe in here.
Stephen Barber
