REVIEW from scandinavia, a new release on the french label Montaigne Auvidis

KLASSIKNET

Music From The Midnight Sun
by Per F. Broman

STOCKHOLM - from scandinavia, a new release on the french label Montaigne Auvidis, has a completely misleading title. Three out of four pieces on this recording are Finnish and Finland is not by definition part of Scandinavia. Still, this CD gives a remarkable overview of and insight into recent Northern European contemporary musical trends, lacking only a work representative of postmodern tendencies.

The composers, Magnus Lindberg (b. 1958), Bent Sørensen (b.1958), Kaija Saariaho (b. 1952), and Jukka Tiensuu (b.1948), are all well established internationally and represent different aesthetic ideals. Because of musical development in Finland, it is particularly interesting to consider the Finnish works presented here, from Tiensuu's historically oriented neo-classic/avant-garde style to Saariaho's spectral harmony and Lindberg's rhythmic complexity.

Magnus Lindberg's single movement Clarinet Quintet (1992) is the most interesting piece on this recording. Lindberg used the computer early as a compositional tool in order to make smooth rhythmic and harmonic mutations where one section or event gradually transforms into another. This technique is clearly audible in the quintet, a virtuoso and playful work with several simultaneous rhythmic layers under a distinct modal harmony. The Finnish clarinetist Kari Kriikku gives a brilliant performance.

Kaija Saariaho has lived in Paris for many years. She is best known for her works for string instruments and electronics, though in recent years, she has focused on orchestral music. Nymphea (Jardin Secret III) (1987) takes the listener on a fascinating journey through different and sometimes viciously distorted harmonic spectra. While this work features live-electronics, the technique never dominates the string sound and the electronicequipment is used to improve the acoustics.

Jukka Tiensuu's Arsenic and Old Lace for harpsichord and string quartet (1990) features an almost forgotten technique -- a micro-tuned keyboard instrument. The harpsichord, played on this recording by the composer, is divided into twenty-four unequal parts and functions as a well-articulated solo instrument in a rhythmic dialogue with the strings. This piece probably requires more than one listening to get accustomed to the tuning.

By winning the Nordic Council's music prize in 1996 for his Violin Concerto, the Danish composer Bent Sørensen has achieved considerable recognition. Angels' Music (1987-88) explores the timbral properties of the string quartet. The formal development is articulated through timbre -- from high-pitched glissandi and harmonics through brutal scratching sounds, though there are also rhythmical Bartok-inspired sections and contemplative contrapuntal structures. Thanks to Sørensen's exquisite sensitivity to harmony and harmonic development, the piece never turns into a catalogue of effects or stylistic idioms.

The Arditti Quartet's achievements in promoting the twentieth-century repertoire is nothing less than astonishing. The ensemble has probably premiered more works than any other string quartet and this recording further attests to their quest for technical perfection in contemporary music performance.

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