Erkki Melartin (1875-1937)
Symphony No. 5 in A minor, Op.90 ‘Sinfonia brevis’ (1915)
Symphony No. 6, Op.100 (1925)
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra/Ari Rasilainen
rec. 2022, Turku Concert Hall, Finland
cpo 555 558-2 [67]
It cannot have been easy for Finnish composers in the early 20th century (and indeed those in later years) to deal with the huge shadow cast by Jean Sibelius. Erkki Melartin, ten years younger than Sibelius, created his own voice, which on the evidence of these two works (and some research), has only a passing connection with his countryman’s. If you aren’t familiar with his music, it is certainly late-Romantic, but at the less angst-ridden end of the spectrum. Having said that, there are some hints of Wagner and Mahler in places. Indeed, Melartin conducted the first performance of Mahler’s music in Finland.
Melartin’s Fifth Symphony was written the year after Sibelius wrote his own Fifth, one of the greatest works ever written. While Melartin wrote this in wartime (Finland was neutral but still part of Russia until 1917), there is not really any sense of the chaos descending on much of Europe. The title of the symphony is rather misleading, as it is certainly not brief or slight in any way. The substantial and thematically rich first movement includes several themes which will be used in the final movement. It is continually on the move, passing the lead from one section of the orchestra to another. Mahler’s First Symphony, especially the opening movement, seems to have been an influence here. The middle movements are the shorter ones: the second features a gloriously lush melody for the strings, and birdlike trills from the flute. These continue into the delightful Intermezzo, which contains some dance music that Tchaikovsky would have been proud to call his own. The final movement is a complex structure, culminating in a quadruple fugue, but there is no sense of it simply being an academic exercise to simply demonstrate his contrapuntal skill. It is glorious music with a wonderfully stirring climax, reminiscent of some of the great 20th century orchestrations of Bach’s music.
The Sixth Symphony, ten years on from the Fifth, was written after the Finnish Civil War and the scars of that conflict are very evident in much of the music. The work opens ominously in the low strings and brass, and the movement is wracked by conflict throughout its thirteen minutes. Again Mahler comes to mind, but also rather curiously, mature Shostakovich). The middle movements are again shorter than the outer ones: the second seems to be trying to claw its way out of the stormclouds of the first, though not entirely successfully. There is a Japanese-flavoured theme sprinkled through the third, which is attractive, but I did find it hard to understand how it fitted in to the work as a whole. In the final movement, joy and optimism emerge triumphant, and the closing pages are as close to Sibelius as Melartin would come (in these two works, at least).
Melartin’s writing is very lyrical, though his melodies probably won’t stay in your memory. However, he does have a considerable gift for orchestral colour and texture, which give these two symphonies so much interest and appeal. If you already have the Ondine set of six symphonies conducted by Leonid Grin, you may be wondering whether you need to open the purse strings for this new release. Some sampling of the Ondine performances via a streaming service, indicates the sound of the cpo recording is definitely better, less constricted; for example, I could hear the fugue voices of the Fifth’s finale more obviously with Rasilainen than Grin. I also hear a little more character and interesting phrasing with Rasilainen, but it is a matter of degrees. The booklet notes are very informative, an ideal blend of the historical and musicological, not something one can always say about this label.
Ari Rasilainen established his credentials in this type of repertoire with his marvellous Kurt Atterberg symphony cycle on cpo more than a decade ago. I very much hope that this is the start of a Melartin cycle with this team.
David Barker
Buying this recording via the link below generates revenue for MWI, which helps the site remain free
Previous review: Jonathan Woolf (August 2025)
