Lindberg: Sculpture, Campana in aria, Concerto for Orchestra

Today, I believe Magnus Lindberg is the most exciting living composer, and also the one I look forward to most, taking the reigns from Rautavaara, who has been somewhat redundant for the last decade or so. How far Lindberg has come, as well as the new classical base, from the dreadful sounds of the last four decades. Lindberg, like many of the young[er] generation of composers have identified and assimilated the finest traits from that period and have returned to respect tradition instead of scorning it and all those who follow it. This is a far cry from early Lindberg, which was often overbearing and overtly virtuosic. The Lindberg trademarks are still here; complete instrumental mastery and orchestral wizardry, but with a mesmerizing finish that was missing before. The mature lindberg now uses his vast orchestral powers to musical ends and the results have been remarkable and mesmerizing. I believe the Clarinet Concerto and Piano Concerto were the major pieces that began this new phase of lyricism, though those too pieces still seemed to use virtuosity, at times, for display effects. With the violin concerto, Lindberg combined his virtues to perfection, accomplishing, in my opinion, the finest modern violin concerto. This trend has continued with Seht die Sonne[BPO and SFO dual commition] and now this release.
If you havent heard magnus liindberg, get the violin concerto and this album for the perfect introduction.
We are in a great time period now. Saariaho is also making a similar change-her recent album is fantastic and Orion is one of the finest modern compositions I have heard. WHAT A TIME!!!!!!!!!

Ondine continues their generous support of the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg with this 2008 disc, featuring three of his pieces performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo. These are pieces squarely in Lindberg's mature style, each unfolding as a colourfully and powerfully orchestrated chaconne.

"Campana in aria" for horn and orchestra (1998) was written for the 40th birthday of Esa-Pekka Salonen, who studied with Magnus Lindberg at the Sibelius Academy first as a horn player before moving on to composition and ultimately conducting. "Campana in aria" isn't as much a horn concerto, a piece conceived as a sort of dialogue, as a soliloquy for horn with the orchestra backing it up. This strikes me as a very minor work and it's no big loss that it hasn't been commercially released until now.

The Concerto for Orchestra (2003), on the other hand, is something I've eagerly awaited through these years of only having the radio recording of its premiere under the BBC SO. This is one of Lindberg's mightiest works, offering his recent clearer textures and bold sense of development but without sacrificing the caffeinated exhuberance that marked his best output of the 1990s. There's a fine sense of closure when the work ends with the same horn calls as it began, against a more peaceful harmonic background. Too bad this isn't available on DVD, as it is very impressive to see every member of the orchestra exert themselves towards this very demanding writing.

"Sculpture" (2005) explores much the same soundworld as the Concerto for Orchestra, though with less virtuoso writing and a strange violin-less ensemble. There a lot of fine detail here, and even some agressive gestures which hark back to one of Lindberg's student works, "Sculpture II", composed in a radically different stylistic period.

Lindberg fans will want to pick this disc up for the Concerto for Orchestra. However, I'm not sure how it would serve as an introduction to Lindberg's work for those as yet unacquainted with it. I'd recommend instead a Sony Classical disc which is overall less satisfying, but offers a wider view of Lindberg's writing.

On a side note, Ondine needs to fire their graphic designer and hire someone new. The last couple of years have seen some amateur cover art from the label, and it's embarassing (further examples one, two and three). And yes, cover art does matter. I've talked to several classical music fans who bought Wolfgang Rihm's JAGDEN UND FORMEN because they were so impressed by DG's remarkable design. But I don't like to have a CD like this laying around when guests have come over.

It's been six years since the great Sony orchestral set from Lindberg, and I was ready for more of the neotonal synthesis he had created in his 1990s works. Bad news -- the style is the same, but the energy is gone. These more recent compositions are vapid, languid and ennui-inducing, rising to no more than pleasant background muzak at their best moments. Incredulous, I compared this disc to the earlier works that I so admired. "Aura" from the DG 20/21 disc released in 2000 still sounds fantastic. And the Sony disc Music of Magnus Lindberg too holds up well. See my reviews of both. By comparison, this newer music is totally uninspiring.

"Sculpture" was commissioned for the opening of the new Walt Disney Concert Hall of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led at the time (2005) by Lindberg's friend Esa-Pekka Salonen. Basically a fanfare with an extended coda, I can easily imagine it as pleasant ambience for a wine and cheese reception in the Frank Gehry-designed structure. "Concerto for Orchestra," the longest piece here at almost half an hour, sounds languid and Debussean, with a Glass-like sheen. It evokes an underwater court, with elegant aristocrats strolling slowly amidst the coral. Emphasis on slowly.

I suppose there are those that wish Lindberg was still a radical writing works like KRAFT -- see my review. Personally I don't think Lindberg made a good radical; I was impressed with his conservative compromise of the 1990s. It's not the style that I object to, it's the execution. Where's the energy? The passion? These pieces sound like they could have been written by Lindberg's computer program, one which was programmed for slow tempos and pretty Debussean orchestration with the ghost of Elgar rattling around inside. One unfortunate aspect of this music is a tic Lindberg has developed -- regular staccato motifs, rising here, falling there, leading nowhere. Not quite as annoying as Glass's arpeggios, but similar.

I have avoided the most recent Lindberg releases on Ondine because they looked like swindles -- the Clarinet Concerto with two short pieces and the Violin Concerto with yet another recording of the Sibelius concerto. If both concertos had been included on one disc, I would have bought it. This is the first full-length all-Lindberg disc for years, and it is a major disappointment.

I hope Magnus gets his mojo back!