Karita Mattila
Wild Rose · Beethoven · Schubert · Schumann · Brahms · Mahler
Karita Mattila, soprano · Ilmo Ranta, piano
Info & buy
Karita Mattila
Helsinki Recital
Duparc · Saariaho · Rachmaninov · Dvorák
Karita Mattila, soprano
Martin Katz, piano
This CD contains the première recording of Kaija Saariaho\
Track listing
22 tracks · 76:35Listen to samples on selected tracks.
- 1 Applause 0:15
Henri Duparc
- 2 L'Invitation au voyage (Invitation to a journey) (Baudelaire) 4:27
- 3 Romance de Mignon (Mignon's romance) (Wilder) 4:11
- 4 Au pays où se fait la guerre (To the land where war is being waged) (Gautier) 5:35
- 5 Chanson triste (Song of sadness) (Lahor) 3:30
- 6 Phydilé (Leconte de Lisle) 6:03
Kaija Saariaho
- Quatre Instants (Four instants) (Maalouf)
- 7 Attente (Longing) 5:10
- 8 Douleur (Torment) 6:07
- 9 Parfum de l'instant (Perfume of the instant) 3:41
- 10 Résonances (Echoes) 7:01
Sergei Rachmaninov
- 11 Ne poi, krasavitsa (Oh, do not sing to me), Op. 4/4 (Pushkin) 4:40
- 12 Sumerki (Twilight), Op. 21/3 (Guyot) 2:06
- 13 Otrïvok iz A. Myusse (Fragment from A. de Musset), Op. 21/6 (transl. Apukhtin) 2:00
- 14 Muza (The Muse), Op. 34/1 (Pushkin) 4:10
- 15 Kakoye st?astje (What happiness), Op. 34/12 (Fet) 2:22
Antonín Dvorák
- Cigánské melodie (Gipsy Songs), Op. 55 (Heyduk)
- 16 Má píseň zas mi láskou zní ( I chant my lay, a hymn of love) 2:44
- 17 Aj! Kterak trojhranec můj (Hark, how my triangle) 1:19
- 18 A les je tichý kolem kol (Silent and lone the woods around) 3:12
- 19 Struna naladěna (Tune the strings, oh gipsy) 1:19
- 20 ?iroké rukávy a ?iroké gatě (In his wide and ample, airy linen vesture) 1:32
- 21 Kdy? mne stará matka (Songs my mother taught me) 2:46
- 22 Dejte klec jestřábu (Cloudy heights of Tatra) 2:25
About this recording
This hybrid SACD contains a rare recital performance of star soprano Karita Mattila in her native Finland. In front of an electrified audience, the best-selling Finnish artist in classical music performed in sold-out concerts at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki in October 2006 ("What an evening, what a show!" - Helsingin Sanomat)
The centerpiece of the featured programme is the ecstatic song cycle Quatre Instants (Four instants), a musical setting by Karita Mattila's compatriote Kaija Saariaho of poetry by noted French writer Amin Maalouf. Described as "a quasi-operatic monologue that plunges into the erotic, extreme territory that Mattila conveys so well", Quatre Instants was written for Mattila in 2002 and premièred by her in Paris and London to international acclaim ("A sensational recital by a sensational artist" - The Guardian/UK). This recording represents the first commercial release of this piece.
The programme also includes familiar songs by composers of the late Romantic period, Henri Duparc and Sergei Rachmaninov. Another highlight is the popular song cycle Gypsy Melodies by Antonin Dvorák.
Described by Musical America as "the most electrifying singing actress of our day, the kind of performer who renews an aging art form and drives the public into frenzies" upon receiving the prestigious "Musician of the Year" award in 2005, Karita Mattila is one of today's most exciting lyric dramatic sopranos.
Karita Mattila is accompanied on piano by Martin Katz, dubbed "dean of accompanists" by The Los Angeles Times, and in 1998 recipient of Musical America's "Accompanist of the Year" award.
Features
Hybrid SACD (recorded in DXD; SACD Surround 5.0 / SACD Stereo / CD Stereo - playable on all SACD and CD players); booklet with liner notes in English, German, French, and Finnish and the song lyrics in the original language and in English
Press
Mattila is performing Rachmaninov's Kakoje stsastje with such overwhelming intensity and physical play that one almost worries about her wellbeing. (...) sublime quality of this live-recording which follows such high standards that each single nuance and colour of the voice is captured with meticulous precision and ideally balanced with the piano sound.
Christiane Bayer, klassik.com, July 11, 2006, Recommended*****
(...) one of the most interesting, exciting sopranos in the world today. (...) Nothing but praise for the soprano (...) or for her accompanist (Katz is a real listener to what his singer does).
Mike Ashman, Gramophone, August 2007, Editor's Choice
Recorded live last year, this disc captures the experience of seeing Karita Mattila in recital - glamorous, all-embracing, a personality one size bigger than most. (...) Best of all is the highly expressive Quatre Instants by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, dedicated to Mattila and showing how the singer is prepared to extend her range into new music to quite stunning effect.
Richard Fairman, The Financial Times, July 14/15, 2007
This typically adventurous 2006 Helsinki recital (...) catches her at her glorious peak. (...) No wonder the Helsinki audience went berserk.
Richard Wigmore, The Daily Telegraph, June 23, 2007, Classical CD of the Week
The many admirers of Karita Mattila will welcome this spectacular souvenir of her live shows. (...) The extremism of style and content and the explosive eroticism (in Quatre Instants) are tailor-made for Mattila. Ondine's superb multi-channel recording faithfully projects the larger-than-life effect.
David Gutman, International Record Review, June 2007
Emotional Finnish (...) One of Karita Mattila's most exciting discs yet. (..) The repertoire takes Mattila's voice into thrilling new regions; and Martin Katz's piano is the voice's equal at every turn. (...) Mattila giving her immense all (...)
Hilary Finch, BBC Music Magazine, July 2007, Choral and Song Choice
Ondine says the audience was 'electrified'; but it seems to have survived this thrilling live recital in Helsinki by Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, who needs no electronic assistance to strut her supremely stylish stuff. (...) Mattila confirms her pre-eminence.
Anthony Holden, The Observer, May 20, 2007
The (Kaija Saariaho) songs push Mattila to her expressive limits as cries of rapture curdle into shrieks of pain and spasms of rage intrude on erotic memories. Its impact on the audience can be gauged from the near hysteria that erupts at the end. (...) Her accompanist, Martin Katz, deals superbly with some of the most fearsomely difficult piano writing in the entire song repertoire.
Tim Ashley, The Guardian, May 11, 2007
The Finnish soprano Karita Mattila gives a knockout, atmospheric live Helsinki recital with the pianist Martin Katz. The Duparc selection lulls you initially into repose. Then Saariaho snaps the mood with her marvellous 2003 cycle Quatre Instants, music of volcanic force. Mattila’s histrionics peak in the six Rachmaninov songs; yet she’s always appropriate. Temperatures simmer down with Dvorák, though this singer never touches zero.
Geoff Brown, The Times, May 4, 2007
Mattila is probably at her best when she is recording live. (...) This new Ondine CD ranks at the very top of her entire discography. (...) Mattila has performed this programme together with Martin Katz so frequently that her polished interpretation demonstrates an accomplished maturity.
Harri Kuusisari, Rondo-Classica, May 2007, Recording of the Month
The artists
Karita Mattila
Winner of the first 'Singer of the World' competition in Cardiff, Karita Mattila is recognised as much for the beauty and versatility of her lyric voice as for her extraordinary stage ability. Under such conductors as Claudio Abbado, James Levine, Sir Simon Rattle and Esa-Pekka Salonen, she has sang in all the major opera houses and festivals of the world performing repertoire which encompasses Mozart, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner and Janácek. Her affinity with the dramatic side of opera has produced marvellous results when working with fine stage directors such as Luc Bondy who helped her to achieve a remarkable performance in his highly acclaimed Don Carlos, seen in Paris, London and at the Edinburgh Festival. Likewise, Lev Dodin in his productions of Elektra for the Salzburg Easter Festival and Pique Dame and Salome at the Opera Bastille, Peter Stein for his production of Simon Boccanegra in Salzburg, Robert Carsen in his production of Lohengrin at the Bastille and Jürgen Flimm for his Fidelio in New York.
Martin Katz
Martin Katz has been accompanying world-famous singers for nearly 40 years. In addition to his collaboration with Karita Mattila, he has appeared on five continents with singers such as Kiri te Kanawa, Kathleen Battle, José Carreras, Renata Tebaldi, Nicolai Gedda and Monserrat Caballé.
Also recommended
Karita Mattila
Helsinki Recital
Duparc · Saariaho · Rachmaninov · Dvorák · Karita Mattila, soprano · Martin Katz, piano · + Bonus CD (Lieder By German and Finnish composers)
Info & buy