Einojuhani Rautavaara
Into the Heart of Light (Canto V) for string orchestra · Balada for tenor, mixed choir and orchestra · Four songs from the opera Rasputin for mixed choir and orchestra
Gerald Finley, bass-baritone
Mika Pohjonen, tenor
Helsinki Music Centre Choir
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgårds, conductor
Listen to samples on selected tracks.
Rubáiyát (2015) is a song cycle based on the poetry of Omar Khayyam (1048–1131). The work was written for Gerald Finley who in this recording sings the solo part of the orchestral version of the work.
Balada (2014), based on texts by Lorca, is a large-scale work for tenor, mixed choir and orchestra. Tenor Mika Pohjonen sings as the soloist. This cantata was premiered in Madrid in May 2015.
Into the Heart of Light (Canto V; 2012) is the composer’s latest installment in a series of works for string orchestra that share the title Canto. Rautavaara wrote the first of his Cantos in the 1960s, and each piece in the series have represented well the latest stylistic developments by the composer.
The concluding work of the recording is Four Songs from the opera Rasputin. These dramatic songs were arranged by the composer for mixed choir and orchestra in 2012.
In the last two decades the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra - conducted in this present recording by John Storgårds - has released several award-winning recordings of the music of Einojuhani Rautavaara.
Sleeve notes in English and Finnish
Lyrics in sung original languages (Spanish in Balada), English and Finnish translations.
Grammy-award winning Canadian baritone Gerald Finley has become one of the leading singers and dramatic interpreters of his generation, with award-winning performances and recordings with major labels and performing at the world's major opera and concert venues in a wide variety of repertoire. Gerald Finley, born in Montreal, began singing as a chorister in Ottawa, Canada, and completed his musical studies in the UK at the Royal College of Music, King's College, Cambridge, and the National Opera Studio.
Finnish tenor Mika Pohjonen has enjoyed an unusually varied career as a singer ever since he was crowned “Tango King” at the Seinäjoki Tango Festival in 1992, when he was 19. During his six years as a tango singer he released no fewer than seven albums. Since 1998 he has, however, been concentrating more and more on classical singing, first in the chorus of the Finnish National Opera before making his classical breakthrough in 2002 on winning the Kangasniemi Singing Competition and third prize in the Lappeenranta Singing Competition. He has been a member of the solo ensemble of the Finnish National Opera since 2003, specialising in the heroic roles in Italian opera.
Founded in autumn 2011 on the initiative of Hannu Lintu, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and John Storgårds, the Helsinki Music Centre Choir consists of about 80 singers. It works in close partnership with the main Helsinki Music Centre occupants: the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sibelius Academy. Its Artistic Director has from the very beginning been composer Tapani Länsiö and the members are amateurs with a passion for singing.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Gerald Finley, bass-baritone · Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra · Thomas Sanderling, conductor
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Vladimir Ashkenazy · Patrick Gallois · Richard Stoltzman · et al.
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Truls Mørk, cello · Colin Currie, percussion · Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra · John Storgårds, conductor
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