Kalevi Aho has written concertos for so many instruments that it
was only a matter of time before he alighted on the theremin. Named
after its inventor Léon Theremin, who patented the device in
1928, it's controlled not by touch but by the position of the player’s
hands in the ether above it. As you can imagine it’s a fiendishly
difficult thing to play, as a short promotional video for this recording
confirms. After that the horn should be a cakewalk, but then Aho is
known for the demands he makes on his soloists; in other words, expect
the unexpected.
Which is precisely how I approached the first concerto, written for
and premiered by the horn player Annu Salminen and the Lappeenranta
City Orchestra. In a single span containing five linked sections it’s
a dark and turbulent work that requires the soloist to move around
the orchestra. Salminen is first heard off-stage, which means there’s
a disconcerting degree of ambient noise at the outset. The on-stage
percussion is quiet but terrifying - a gathering storm à
la Berlioz, perhaps – before we are plunged into a maelstrom
of strange sonorities and, for the soloist, taxing microtones.
If you’ve been keeping abreast of the composer’s output
– all of it assiduously reviewed on this site – you may
be surprised at the stark, uncompromising character of this new work.
It requires a degree of concentration in order to track its evolving
ideas/patterns and competing rhythms, but such diligence always pays
off where Aho is concerned. It’s passionately argued and played
and, paradoxically for a piece that appears so impenetrable, it’s
actually quite accessible. Salminen – who ends where she began,
off-stage - is a remarkable artist; flexible and firm of tone, even
under duress, she’s a player I’d be happy to hear in other
rep as well.
For me and, I suspect, others the real curiosity is the Theremin
Concerto; its subtitle refers to the Sami people of Lapland,
whose year is divided not into four seasons but eight. The work was
written for Carolina Eyck and commissioned by the Lapland Chamber
Orchestra, the latter no strangers to Aho’s work. The quietly
expectant Harvest soon gives rise to the sinuous song of
the theremin. Given that this is an instrument with so much comic
potential – Sheldon Cooper’s dolorous doodles in the hit
US TV series The Big Bang Theory comes to mind – it’s
artfully integrated into the orchestra at this point. The swirl of
Autumn Colours is highly evocative, and the theremin’s
downward swoops are managed with style and a commendably straight
face.
This is pictorial writing of some originality; the flurries of Black
Snow are interspersed with desolate calls from the soloist, while
Christmas Darkness has a palpable, breathing presence that’s
apt to raise a goose-bump or three. Winter Frost finds Eyck
and Aho at their most excitable and off-the-wall. What a peculiar
noise the theremon makes here; indeed, I can imagine some listeners
will find it risible at times. The piece is rescued from all-out ridicule
by the haunting beauty of Crusted Snow – what extraordinary
skill and patience it must take to control the theremin in this way
– and the elemental crack and thud of the orchestra in Breaking
Ice. Most eloquent, though, is Midnight Sun, which brings
with it a powerful sense of immensity - past and present - that has
echoes of Aho’s monumental Twelfth Symphony 'Luosto'.
The Theremin Concerto isn't the best of Aho’s oeuvre
- not by a long chalk - and I'm tempted to think the composer chose
the instrument for the same reason that mountaineers aspire to Everest;
because it's there. Mildly entertaining, but mainly incongruous, this
isn't a piece I'd wish to hear often; goodness, that's the very first
time I've felt this way about any of Aho's output. Don't be tempted
to write him off though, for the Horn Concerto is a work
of astonishing clarity and focus. Indeed, the more I listened to it
the more I was struck by the level of inspiration here. The admirable
John Storgårds holds it all together very well and the Lapland
orchestra play with great enthusiasmand energy throughout. The recording
is full, warm and very atmospheric, especially in the first concerto.
Now for some observations about downloads in general and this one
in partcular. I use a number of media players on my Mac - Songbird,
VLC and Audirvana - and I'm surprised to find that some attacca
movements don't play seamlessly. Perhaps I've just been lucky but
I haven't had this problem with the 150 or so high-res downloads in
my library. Coincidentally, perhaps, I've now encountered fractional
dropouts in two recent BIS releases. To be fair the issue only arises
with VLC and not with Songbird or Audirvana. It isn't a big deal,
I suppose, but it could be if VLC is your player of choice.
Aho's Horn Concerto is a deeply impressive construct; though
clever, the Theremin Concerto is comparatively lightweight.
Dan Morgan
http://twitter.com/mahlerei
