# Joonas Kokkonen: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 · Opus sonorum

> Joonas Kokkonen: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 · Opus sonorum – Finnish RSO, Sakari Oramo. Ondine ODE 1129-2, CD, released January 2009.

Source: https://ondine.eyelabel.com/catalogue/ode-1129-2

- **Composer:** Joonas Kokkonen
- **Work(s):** Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 · Opus sonorum
- **Performers:** Finnish RSO; Sakari Oramo, conductor
- **Label:** Ondine
- **Catalogue no.:** ODE 1129-2
- **Format:** CD
- **Release date:** 1 January 2009
- **EAN / UPC:** 0761195112922
- **Tracks:** 9, total 51:32
- **Genres:** Orchestral, Finnish contemporary
- **Awards:** Pizzicato 'Supersonic Award'

## Track listing

**Joonas Kokkonen**

- *Symphony No. 1 (1960)*
1. I. Moderato (7:00)
2. II. Allegretto (4:09)
3. III. Allegro - (4:09)
4. IV. Adagio (5:47)
- *Symphony No. 2 (1961)*
5. I. Adagio non troppo - (5:32)
6. II. Allegro (4:43)
7. III. Andante - (7:28)
8. IV. Allegro vivace (3:26)
- *Opus sonorum (1964)*
9. I. Moderato - II. Adagio non troppo - III. Allegro non troppo (9:18)

## About this recording

...second volume to the complete symphonies of one of the 20th century\

Joonas Kokkonen is considered "Finland's most significant composer after Sibelius" (American Record Guide). However, he still awaits discovery among many lovers of accessible contemporary music. Sakari Oramo and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, unrivaled champions of Finnish late 20th-century music, have taken up this task with a complete Kokkonen symphonies cycle: The benchmark first volume ([ODE 1098-2](https://ondine.eyelabel.com/catalogue/ode-1098-2)) was unanimously hailed by the press as a "must-have disc". On this new release, they perform the first two symphonies, coupled with Opus sonorum for orchestra. Written in the years following Sibelius's death in 1957, these masterpieces reveal Kokkonen's affinity with the music of J.S. Bach and his full exploration of expressive tonal colours.

## Features

Booklet with liner notes in English, German, French and Finnish

## Press

Oramo und sein wunderschönes Orchester lassen Kokkonens Musik ebenso transparent wie effektvoll aufleuchten, so dass der Hörer einen wirklichen und spannenden Einblick in diese spröde und doch immer fasinierende Musik erhält.

Alain Steffen, Pizzicato, April 2009, Supersonic Award

For Finnish conductor, Sakari Oramo, a man with a yen for reviving neglected composers, Joonas Kokkonen is an important figure. He's the 'missing link' between the great Jan Sibelius and a new generation of Finnish composers such as Magnus Lindberg.

Ivan Hewett, The Daily Telegraph, February 11, 2009

Oramo gets playing of real bite and energy (...).

David Fanning, Gramophone, February 2009

It was the works Joonas Kokkonen composed in the early 1960s that established his international reputation and made him one of the most significant composers Finland produced in the decades after the second world war.

Andrew Clements, The Guardian, January 2, 2009

As with its superb predecessor, this disc offers outstanding performance.

David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com, January 2009, Artistic Quality 9 / Sound Quality 10

## Buy or stream

- [Buy](https://Ondine.lnk.to/ODE11292OW)

## Related pages

- [Joonas Kokkonen (1921-1996)](https://ondine.eyelabel.com/composers/kokkonen-joonas.md)

## Also recommended

- [Joonas Kokkonen: "... durch einen Spiegel..." · Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4](https://ondine.eyelabel.com/catalogue/ode-860-2.md): Finnish RSO · Paavo Berglund, conductor (ODE 860-2, 1996)
- [Joonas Kokkonen: Cello Concerto · Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4](https://ondine.eyelabel.com/catalogue/ode-1098-2.md): Marko Ylönen, cello · Finnish RSO · Sakari Oramo, conductor (ODE 1098-2, 2007)