Scenes from the Kalevala
Leevi MADETOJA (1887-1947)
Kullervo Op. 15 (1913) [14:01]
Uuno KLAMI (1900-1961)
Kalevala Suite Op. 23 (1943) [29:15]
Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957)
Lemminkäinen in Tuonela Op. 22 No. 2 (1897 version) [15:57]
Tauno PYLKKÄNEN (1918-1980)
Kullervo Goes to War (1942) [10:24]
Lahti Symphony Orchestra/Dima Slobodeniouk
rec. September 2017, January 2018, and January 2020, Sibelius Hall, Lahti, Finland
Reviewed as download from press preview
BIS BIS-2371 SACD [70:43]
Here is that rarest of projects – the successful concept album. Concept albums live or die by their programming. Too often, creative concepts excuse rehashing repertoire staples. Not here. “Scenes from the Kalevala” could have proved another compilation of Sibelius favorites, as the Finnish national epic inspired so much of his oeuvre. Instead, BIS has turned to three lesser-known composers, including only one Sibelius selection – and a first-revision fragment of a larger work, at that – to round out the album. This is not only intelligent programming but also a brave sales choice. Leevi Madetoja, Uuno Klami, and Tauno Pylkkänen are not exactly household names. While the first two will be familiar to committed record collectors, I confess the third was unknown to me until now.
Madetoja’s music is often lyrical, even elegiac, although his Second Symphony contains a core of high drama. Madetoja’s early tone poem Kullervo is likewise passionate. It is Tchaikovskian rather than Sibelian, with churning sequences and a recurring horn call over tremolo strings. Slobodeniouk and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra play with assurance although John Storgårds and the Helsinki Philharmonic on Ondine bring more urgency (review). The BIS recording lets the listener’s ears “inside” the orchestra with incredible clarity. There are also recordings by Arvo Volmer with the Oulu Symphony Orchestra on Alba in their 5-disc set of Madetoja orchestral works, and by Leif Segerstam with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra on Finlandia, reissued in a different compilation by Warner (review). Volmer gives a more than competent performance but is saddled with a recessed, boomy sound while the Segerstam recording is older still.
Uuno Klami labored long, as the excellent liner notes cite, to “devise a completely different starting point” into the subject of the Kalevala than Sibelius. The result owes its inspiration to the Stravinsky of The Firebird and The Rite of Spring – although it is a milder primitivism than the Rite. Klami’s Kalevala Suite is a showpiece nonetheless whose orchestral color displays a debt to the Russian & French Impressionist schools of composition. There are previous recordings of this work from Ondine, BIS, Chandos, Naxos, and Finlandia. John Storgårds with the Helsinki Philharmonic on Ondine (review, review), and Osmo Vänskä with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra on BIS are the most relevant rivals. The former is another excellent effort by Storgårds while the latter is a case of self-competition between both ensemble and record label. Storgårds delivers a rhetorical performance, almost audibly proselytizing for the music. Vänskä by contrast is fleet of foot, which, while exciting in the moment, can seem at times breezy or heedless of its darker implications. Slobodeniouk takes a middle road. He does not need to convince or to stun with virtuosity although at times this ease of utterance can make the performance sound under-characterized. In compensation, the BIS sound is once again simply better even than its previous iteration.
Tauno Pylkkänen was a student of Madetoja and, like his teacher, a successful opera composer. He was crowned “the Puccini of the North” for dramas such as Mare and her Son. Kullervo Goes to War is another early work with a young man’s passion behind it. Pylkkänen shares Sibelius’ mastery of musical motion and ability to sustain the mood of epic poetry. This is a glorious work, a wonderful discovery for the curious listener. The performers’ comfort in this repertoire is a real gift here. The only readily available Pylkkänen recordings to my knowledge are an Ondine live recording of his opera Mare and her Son and a Fuga disc of songs. Here is an opportunity to bring more of Pylkkänen’s music to international attention. BIS, take heed!
A world-premiere recording provides a fresh twist on Jean Sibelius. This is the 1897 revision of Lemminkäinen in Tuonela made following the premiere of the Lemminkäinen Suite. After it received scorn from Finland’s leading critic, Sibelius withdrew the score and delayed making final changes until 1939. The aforementioned liner notes detail the minutiae of these intermediate revisions. It is for the absolute completionist – not even the 13-volume BIS Sibelius Edition includes this version. There are no other recordings for direct comparisons. The performance echoes the others on this disc: confident but without the snarling edge this piece can handle. Interest in Sibelius esoterica will be the deciding factor here
This album has value for both the curious listener and veteran collector. Approach it either as a doorway to lesser-known corners of the Scandinavian repertoire or as a way to complement your existing collection of this music. It need not replace your preferred alternatives but do not miss the chance to hear Pylkkänen’s worthy music and enjoy a successful concept well executed.
Christopher Little
