György Ligeti
Violin Concerto · Lontano · Atmosphères · San Francisco Polyphony
Benjamin Schmid, violin · Finnish RSO · Hannu Lintu, conductor
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Luciano Berio
Quattro versioni originali della Ritirata Notturna di Madrid di L. Boccherini (1975)
Calmo for mezzo-soprano and 22 instruments (1974/1989) · Sinfonia for 8 voices and orchestra (1968-69)
Virpi Räisänen, mezzo-soprano
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, conductor
Track listing
7 tracks · 53:37Listen to samples on selected tracks.
Luciano Berio
- 1 Quattro versioni originali della Ritirata Notturna di Madrid di L. Boccherini 6:26
- 2 Calmo for mezzo-soprano and 22 instruments 14:05
- Sinfonia for 8 voices and orchestra 33:06
- 3 I 6:08
- 4 O King 5:11
- 5 III In ruhig fliessender Bewegung 11:47
- 6 IV 3:14
- 7 V 6:46
About this recording
Ondine continues its exciting releases focusing on 20th century masterpieces together with conductor Hannu Lintu and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. After successful Ligeti (ODE 1213-2; Gramophone Editor's Choice) and Messiaen (ODE 1251-5) recordings a new album is released which is dedicated to orchestral works by the pioneer of Italian modernism, Luciano Berio (1925-2003).
A highlight of this disc is Berio's iconic 5-movement Sinfonia, undoubtedly his most well-known work, written for the New York Philharmonic and dedicated to Leonard Bernstein. It has become one of the key works and principal musical manifestations of the 1960s bringing together collage technique and modernism.
The recording begins with Berio's orchestral adaptation of Luigi Boccherini's popular Ritirata Notturna di Madrid. This disc also includes Calmo for mezzo-soprano and 22 instruments written by Berio after the death of a fellow composer and a friend Bruno Maderna. The work is sung here by mezzo-soprano Virpi Räisänen, a singer acclaimed for his performances of 20th century music and whose solo debut recording can be found on Ondine (ODE 1208-2).
Features
Hybrid SACD (recorded in DSD; SACD Surround 5.0 / SACD Stereo / CD Stereo - playable on all SACD and CD players); booklet with liner notes in English and Finnish. Lyrics of Sinfonia included, Calmo with English translation.
Press
In Hannu Lintu's marvellous new recording I hear and admire a rediscovery of the impatience and invention that drove Berio to write it, in the forward, piano-led instrumental balance and the unapologetic grandeur of the finale's climax.
Peter Quantrill, Gramophone, January 2015, 'Editor's Choice'
The 5.0 surround experience is truly remarkable, and at times genuinely overwhelming. The performance is tremendously idiomatic and convincing. This production is an allround winner from beginning to end.
MusicWeb International, December 2014, 'Recording of the Month'
(...)The loudest, most pinpoint radio orchestra on earth, conducted by Hannu Lintu and produced by Laura Heikinheimo. If you want to hear every note of Berio's Sinfonia, you couldn't find a better reference point.
Norman Lebrecht, Sinfini Music, 'Album of the Week'
The artists
Virpi Räisänen
Mezzo-soprano Virpi Räisänen completed her vocal studies at the Utrecht and Amsterdam Conservatoires with the highest distinction under Eugenie Ditewig and Udo Reinemann. Afterwards she has been coached by Margreet Honig. After her career change from a successful violinist to a concert and opera singer in 2009, she has appeared on the stages such as Milano La Scala, Salzburger Festspiele, Radio France’s Festival Présences, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Musashino Recital Hall in Tokyo, the Helsinki Music Centre, the Staatsoper Berlin, the Netherlands Opera and the Händel Festival Halle, Savonlinna Opera Festival and Finnish National Opera.
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.
Hannu Lintu
Hannu Lintu is one of Finland's most sought-after conductors and is rapidly creating a major international career. He has been Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra 2009-2013, and also Principal Guest Conductor of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin. Before assuming the new role of Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2013 to 2021, he was the orchestra's Chief Guest Conductor in 2012. Hannu Lintu was previously Chief Conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular guest conductor with the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra in Finland and was Artistic Director of the orchestra's Summer Sounds festival in 2005. In November 2022, the Gulbenkian Orchestra announced the appointment of Lintu as its next chief conductor.
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Olivier Messiaen
Turangalîla Symphonie
Angela Hewitt, piano · Valérie Hartmann-Claverie, ondes Martenot · Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra · Hannu Lintu, conductor
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