CPO’s new Aulis Sallinen disc opens with the dark and dramatic Shadows, where the composer’s skill at mood-setting and cinematic scene-painting, as well as creating powerful orchestral effects, grips your attention throughout its entire nine minutes. The Symphony No. 8, subtitled “Autumn Fragments”, begins with a pensive, percussion-dominated opening that leads to gripping martial passages and serene interludes, all graced by gorgeous woodwind writing reminiscent of Tchaikovsky. However, the result sounds like a series of episodes (with an indeterminate ending added by Sallinen in response to the events of September 11) rather than a cohesive whole.
Conversely, the much earlier (1968) Violin Concerto is a model of concentration and cohesion in its three brief movements. The introduction’s wistful violin solo opens into a poignant first movement, highlighted by a dramatic discourse between violin and orchestra that includes some engaging coloristic effects, particularly the use of bell tones and tuned percussion. The second movement is notable for its eerily atmospheric vibraphone and harp writing, and Jaakko Kuusisto brings the solo part to life with the just right mix of power and purposeful expressive nuance.
The program concludes with the engaging Palace Rhapsody, a richly melodic piece brilliantly scored (it frequently creates the illusion of strings) for wind ensemble. Ari Rasilainen leads convincing performances with the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz. CPO’s vivid, dynamically-true recording is top-notch.
