Magnus Lindberg: Piano Concerto; KRAFT
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Edition: Music CDCD Release Date: 2004-06-29
Music Label: Ondine
Soundtracks:
- I
- II
- III
- I
- II
Free Music Notes for Magnus Lindberg: Piano Concerto; KRAFT
Free Music Review: His first great work combined with an impressive view of the "current Lindberg"
Hit: 4 Stars
This Ondine disc contains two pieces by Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg, representing both the avant-garde style of his youth ("KRAFT") and the more restrained style to which he turned in the late 1980s and continues with today ("Piano Concerto"). They are performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra with Toimii, a Finnish new-music ensemble with which Lindberg has long been associated, conducted by the composer's old school chum Esa-Pekka Salonen. Lindberg himself performs piano in "Kraft" and in the soloist's role in the concerto.
"KRAFT" (1983-1985), ironically comissioned as a mere piano concerto, is the monster of a piece that really brought Lindberg to fame. It was written for the Toimii Ensemble and orchestra and premiered at the Helsinki Festival in 1985 where it created a sensation. Lindberg's fascinations at this point were rhythm and rough blocks of sound, as well as massive proportions: the score is over a meter tall and there are harmonies with as many as 72 notes. This is futuristic music in some ways: the soloists of the Toimii Ensemble are amplified, and many facets of the music were written with the help of computer software. However, it also looks to primal music or the music of impoverish peoples with its agressive percussion, some of which is performed on scrap metal. Although Lindberg found inspiration in schools that would normally alienate the public--most notably Darmstadt and punk rock--"KRAFT" is a fun and truly entertaining work.
After "KRAFT", Lindberg remained mostly silent for three years while he reconsidered his technique. His comeback occurred in 1989-1990 with the trilogy "Kinetics"-"Marea"-"Joy" (available on an earlier Ondine disc well worth obtaining), where he was more amassing well-ordered harmonies and exploring the orchestra as a whole. It is in this vein that he wrote his "Piano Concerto" (1991-1993), which takes as its major inspiration Ravel's G-major concerto. The first two moments seem to make this a somewhat traditional concerto. In the dynamic first movement, piano and orchestra are intertwined in the investigation of lines of harmony and orchestral colour. In the second movement, the piano begins as part of a concerto grosso-like team of small instrumental groups before breaking free as a soloist. The cadenza that forms the second half of the second movement is one of the finest parts of the work; the piano is entirely alone here, but exploits the piano's unique ability to harmonize with itself to continue his usual interest in rich harmonies. However, the third movement is unexpected, for instead of recapitulating the first, Lindberg takes off in a brand new direction. Seemingly faster than the first two movements, the music of the third movement is of great agility and expansion, where the piano and the orchestra compete here and cooperate there. It reaches a climax where the entire harmonic register is filled, and Lindberg throws in two exquisite glissandi.
While the music here is immensely enjoyable--and these pieces are landmarks in Lindberg's career, I don't think they form the best introduction to his work. Try the earlier disc on Ondine with "Feria", "Corrente II", and "Arena". But if you already enjoy Lindberg's work, you'll certainly want the uber-important "KRAFT" in your collection and you'll find pleasure in the concerto as well.
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