Magnus Lindberg
Piano Concerto · KRAFT
Magnus Lindberg, piano · Toimii Ensemble · Finnish RSO · Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
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Magnus Lindberg
GRAFFITI
Seht die Sonne
Helsinki Chamber Choir
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor
A tour de force of two recent large-scale works by Magnus Lindberg
Track listing
9 tracks · 57:08Listen to samples on selected tracks.
Magnus Lindberg
- GRAFFITI (2009)for chorus and orchestra 31:32
- 1 - 4:12
- 2 (bar 111) 4:16
- 3 (bar 232) 6:13
- 4 (bar 403) 4:41
- 5 (bar 518) 6:28
- 6 (bar 682?end) 5:37
- Seht die Sonne (2007) 25:40
- 7 First movement 12:17
- 8 Second movement 7:41
- 9 Third movement 5:43
About this recording
Download a free podcast on this release by Raymond Bisha (courtesy Naxos)
Magnus Lindberg is widely recognized as one of the top composers of our time. He currently serves as the New York Philharmonic's Composer-in-Residence. The present recording of GRAFFITI earned Lindberg a 2010 GRAMMY award nomination for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.
This recording showcases his famed skills as an orchestral composer. Seht die Sonne ("Behold the Sun"; 2007) borrows its title from the final chorus in Schoenberg's Gurrelieder; it is an ideal example of his recent, more approachable style. GRAFFITI (2009) is Magnus Lindberg's first large-scale choral work with orchestra, which earned him the 2009 Finnish Composer Society's Award. The sung texts (performed by the Helsinki Chamber Choir) are a selection of 2000-year-old Latin graffiti inscriptions from the walls of excavated Pompeii houses. Their themes cover a range of aspects of domestic, political or civic life, including even some graphic language. International performances of this vital music (with hints of Stravinsky, Britten and Orff) have been received with great public and critical acclaim.
Sakari Oramo and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra are experienced champions of their compatriot's music; their recording of Sculpture, Campana in aria and Concerto for orchestra (ODE 1124-2) was listed by the New York Times among a selection of the 22 most notable recordings of 2008. The recording of Clarinet Concerto (ODE 1038-2) won best contemporary / première recording at both the Gramophone Awards and the BBC Music Magazine Awards in 2006.
Click here for an interview by David Allenby with Magnus Lindberg on GRAFFITI, courtesy Boosey & Hawkes; for an interview with Daniel Jaffé / BBC Music Magazine May 2010 about how Pompeii inspired his composition of GRAFFITI, click here.
Features
Booklet with liner notes in English and Finnish and the sung texts in the original Latin and in English
Press
(Seht die Sonne is) a weighty but emotionally direct masterpiece (...).
Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 January 2012, 'Top 10 CDs: Last 50 years of orchestral compositions'
Antikt klotter sätts i körverket Graffiti till musik med arkaiska och senromantiska drag. Förstklassigt utförande även av det virtuosa orkesterhantverket i Seht die Sonne.
Lars Hedblad, Svenska Dagbladet, 15 december 2010, 'Musikaliska fullträffar 2010'
Packende Aufnahme (...). Herausragende Klangregie ist man von einem wie Lindberg gewohnt (...) Aber auch die Aufnahmetechnik und vor allem die Interpreten tragen zu diesem absolut überzeugenden Klangereignis bei.
Christian Schaper, Klassik.com, 23.8.2010, Klassik.com 'Empfehlung'
Graffiti is as intelligent as it is beautiful, appealing, and exciting (...). Seht die Sonne (...) is an absolutely bewitching piece of orchestral writing. (...) The performances are vivid, even thrilling, the engineering outstandingly lifelike and (...) well-balanced. Hot stuff!
David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com, June 2010, Disc of the Month, Artistic Quality 10 / Sound Quality 10
"Seht die Sonne" (...) is as massive and solidly built as anything else in Lindberg's catalog. What's different is the melodic grace of the writing and the gleaming transparency of the orchestral textures, beautifully rendered by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under conductor Sakari Oramo.
Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, May 9, 2010
The orchestra under Sakari Oramo is a treasure trove of colour.
Neil Smith, BBC Music Magazine, May 2010, Performance *, Recording
In der Tat: Magnus Lindberg ist als Komponist ein wahrer Virtuose.
Stephan Schwarz, Fono Forum, Mai 2010
Magnus Lindberg nous montre encore que l'orchestre est toujours une source d'inspiration sans commune mesure!
Pierre-Jean Tribot, ResMusica.com, 7.4.2010, La Clef ResMusica.com
Seht die Sonne on (..) jälleen yksi fantastinen retki tuntemattomaan (...). Sakari Oramo ja RSO sytyttävät Lindbergin partituurin liekkeihin kkuin orkestraalisen merkkitulen.
Antti Häyrynen, Rondo klassinen musiikkilehti, 4/2010
Oramo and his Helsinki forces give both works terrific performances.
Martin Anderson, Finnish Musical Quarterly, 1/2010
Two of Magnus Lindberg's recent works, among the most substantial that he has composed to date, make a logical pairing. Taken together they show how effective his recent style is in creating large-scale musical structures.
Andrew Clements, The Guardian, March 25, 2010
Lindberg's conviction, and technical resourcefulness, in creating this sound world can inspire rapturous enjoyment or alienated bafflement (...). The effect is always upbeat, exuberant and laid down with immense panache by the Finnish forces involved, in spectacularly vivid sound.
Arnold Whittall, Gramophone, March 2010
The artists
Helsinki Chamber Choir
The Helsinki Chamber Choir was founded in 1962 as the Finnish Radio Chamber Choir. It assumed its current name in May 2005, when the Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE, withdrew its funding. Since then, the Choir has maintained an independent presence as Finland's only choir made up of professional singers (excepting the Chorus of the Finnish National Opera) and has continued to perform the most demanding works in the contemporary choral repertoire. The Choir regularly commissions new works, mostly from Finnish composers, and its performances are still regularly broadcast by YLE.
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), and its mission is to produce and promote Finnish musical culture.
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Magnus Lindberg
Sculpture · Campana in aria · Concerto for orchestra
Esa Tapani, horn · Finnish RSO · Sakari Oramo, conductor
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Magnus Lindberg
Clarinet Concerto · Gran Duo · Chorale
Kari Kriikku, clarinet · Finnish RSO · Sakari Oramo, conductor
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