Kalevi Aho (b. 1949)
Concerto for guitar and chamber orchestra (2018)
Quintet for horn and string quartet (2019)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Contrapunctus XIV for string orchestra (from Die Kunst der Fuge) (completed Aho 2011)
Ismo Eskelinen (guitar), Ilkka Puputti (horn), Lapland Chamber Orchestra/John Storgårds
rec. 2023, Korundi House of Culture, Rovaniemi, Finland
BIS BIS-2666 SACD [65]
I think this is the 36th BIS disc exclusively devoted to Kalevi Aho – there are several others which feature single Aho concertos with other composers as well as compilations on the label which include smaller pieces by him. So steadfast and generous has Robert von Bahr’s commitment to Aho been over the last 35 years that in all honesty I’ve lost count. What matters is that in common with so many of von Bahr’s ‘gambles’, back in the late 1980s he took the plunge with a gifted young composer who was more or less completely unknown outside Scandinavia and decades later the relationship continues to bear extraordinary fruit. By now Aho is in his mid-seventies, his productivity shows little sign to the outside world of slowing, yet while other composers are possibly equally or even more prolific, the characteristic which enables Aho’s music to stand out from the crowd is the remarkable consistency in its quality. And as we know in the main he makes big serious pieces, in the big serious forms, mostly with big serious orchestras. I’m genuinely not unduly gushing when I state that I really can’t recall hearing a single Aho work I didn’t like or admire in some way, or even one towards which I felt slightly indifferent. I can’t even say that about Robert Simpson! He is one of a handful of living composers whose music I feel compelled to acquire. In a crowded field of recent masters in Finland (in no particular order and completely off the top of my head I’m talking Lindberg, Salonen, Sallinen, Saariaho, Pohjola, Nordgren, Rautavaara, Kokkonen etc etc) Aho’s imposing catalogue remains for me at least top of the pile. I often wonder why so little of his music turns up on other labels – I’ve always put it down to the frankly unbeatable standard of the BIS discs. It would be fascinating to hear a non-Scandinavian take on this music. It will, I’m certain happen at some point in the future.
This recent entrant to the Aho discography offers an unusual yet meaty trilogy, a concerto, a chamber work, and a substantial completion/arrangement of arguably the most feted ‘unfinished’ masterwork in all of classical music. The splendid Lapland Chamber Orchestra (and a horn quintet drawn from their number) and their indefatigable artistic director John Storgårds are the performers here. The sonics (both in stereo and especially in surround) are terrific even by BIS standards.
Whilst the composer refers to the challenges faced by the non-guitarist in composing for the instrument in his note, he does have previous form in this regard – no IX in his sequence of Solo pieces was written for the guitar and recorded by Ismo Eskelinen on his mixed recital disc Kromos (BIS 2395). Whilst this fine ten minute diptych sounds challenging to play it is without question idiomatically and confidently conceived for the instrument. Eskelinen is the dedicatee of the concerto and offers a confident, riveting account here. Like several of Aho’s concertos its form is unconventional – there are seven movements played without a break. In the slow introduction the soloist presents a careful motif built upon repeated chords over sustained high strings, an opening gambit which provides a big clue to innocent listeners as to the nationality of its author. The motif is gradually developed as the scene shifts to a more extended Allegro molto, featuring tangy and rapid figurations with little percussive breaks on the body of the guitar. There is a lightness to the writing but Aho’s characteristic depth of utterance is never far from the surface in the orchestral accompaniment. A brief interlude acts as an elaborated recapitulation of the introduction before it dissipates into the soulful centre of the work, a gloriously lyrical Andante cantabile. This builds to a delightful passage featuring guitar and solo flute and in due course to the ethereal Misterioso movement to which it yields and whose solo content relies entirely upon Eskelinen’s delicate harmonics which emerge from silvery string chords. The way this section winds right down is masterful – with the strings still shimmering until a tiny hiatus allows a brief respite. At this point Aho’s more virtuosic side comes to the fore in a Presto which blends Eskelinen’s lithe fingerwork with more sophisticated percussive techniques. Aho’s thrilling wild ride orchestration provides a brilliant foil. Whilst the composer refers to this as the work’s ‘dynamic climax’ an emotional resolution is only sought, if not necessarily achieved in the haunting, nocturnal Epilogue which constitutes the concerto’s slow fade out. Repeated listens reveal a remarkably coherent, quintessentially Nordic work of elegance and detail. Eskelinen’s appreciation and instinctive grasp of his compatriot’s music shines through in his eloquent reading. The detail and good taste of Aho’s splendid orchestral writing truly comes to life in BIS’s surround iteration.
A horn quintet might on paper seem to be something of an unexpected, even awkward coupling for a guitar concerto but Aho’s readily identifiable blend of fluency and rigour easily renders any such thoughts redundant. Another similarity to the concerto is that just like Ismo Eskelinen, the Lapland Chamber Orchestra’s principal horn Ilkka Puputti had previously premiered Aho’s Solo piece for his instrument, Solo X; according to the composer’s note the production of this quintet came about as a direct consequence of that performance. The work comprises four movements. An assertive B flat from the horn signals a tentative response from the quartet: subsequent repetitions of the B flat act as triggers for increasingly detailed responses for the strings. As this Misterioso introduction proceeds the textures thicken and the mood darkens. The horn material, curt and declamatory is clearly primus inter pares in the quintet as the material dovetails into a busy, agile Con moto whose momentum and style intermittently recalls the string writing of Tippett. As ever the evidence of the clarity and purpose of Aho’s argument is abundant. The flow dissipates rapidly as the panel concludes. A substantial Adagio third movement constitutes the substantive pivot of the quintet as taut, intertwining threads of string melody provide a commentary for Puputti’s volatile horn calls. This adagio essentially consists of two phases of argument which each intensify and recede before the movement’s abrupt conclusion. The call which heralds the Vivace finale could have escaped from Benjamin Britten’s immortal Serenade. But the subsequent material is both propulsive and almost domineering before it calms in the central section. A forceful five note motif from the horn eventually stifles any residual tension before the work concludes on something of an ambiguous note. Ilkka Puputti conjures a profusion of colour and variety of tone from his demanding part, whilst his accompanists, whom one imagines are effectively a scratch quartet, play this difficult music with the fluency and commitment of a long established group.
Aho’s string orchestra arrangement of his completion of Bach’s final Contrapunctus XIV from the Art of Fugue provides a weighty and noble conclusion for this fine disc. The original arrangement was created for the Finnish organist Jan Lehtola’s performance of Bach’s entire sequence at Altenburg in 2012. Lehtola’s account features on another BIS disc of Aho’s organ music – review– and I have to admit that I do prefer that magnificent recording and the organ arrangement itself. Having said that in the context of this disc the version for strings works really well, on the one hand as a challenging workout for the Laplanders ( and the BIS engineers) but mainly as unimpeachable evidence of Aho’s flair with musical flow and logic. As a completion in either guise it is impossible not to be impressed by its seamlessness. As far as this disc is concerned it amounts to far more than a filler.
So this is yet another five star Aho package. A literate and concise booklet note by the composer, performances of style and palpable engagement from all parties and the standard de-luxe BIS sonics in stereo and surround configurations. Aho devotees will already have the disc by now; potential converts are enthusiastically encouraged to take the plunge. But maybe try a symphony first…..No 7, the ‘Insect’ symphony is a fantastic piece with which to start your Aho journey!
Richard Hanlon
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