As in a Dream

Lilli Maijala · Olivier Thiery · Marko Ylönen · Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra

2019 · Physical and digital · ABCD 435

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Credits

Performers: Lilli Maijala — ViolaOlivier Thiery — Double bassMarko Ylönen — CelloOstrobothnian Chamber Orchestra
Composers: Pehr Henrik Nordgren
Conductors and other contributors: Juha Kangas — Conductor

About this release

The album was released on Saturday 19 January 2019. On the same day, the 75th anniversary of the birth of KPKO's title composer, Pehr Henrik Nordgren. As in a dream for cello and 19 strings is an excellent example of the composer's early works and the idea of 'melodic polyphonic clusters'. The original version of the piece for cello and piano is from 1974, but Juha Kangas has arranged the piece for a string orchestra in 2017. The soloist is the orchestra's credited cellist, experienced Nordgren interpreter Marko Ylönen. Ylönen also works as a soloist in Nordgren's Cello Concerto No. 3, which comprises four separate, distinctly different parts. The work was created in 1992 and premiered by KPKO and Juha Kangas as soloist Steven Isserlis. The concerto for viola, double bass and chamber orchestra was premiered in 1994 at the Kaustinen Chamber Music Week. Nordgren said the following about the first performance at the time: "The concert, which is about half an hour long, is one-part and is based from start to finish on the same basic material. However, the music also contains some references to my earlier works, small riddles, and the ending is based on a theme from a piano sonata by Joseph Haydn, the authenticity of which is not proven." The soloists of the double concerto will be our country's leading violist Lilli Maijala and a French-born double bass player, e.g. Olivier Thiery, member of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. The works you can hear on the disc are the first recordings, with the exception of the Cello Concerto No. 3. Alba has released several Nordgren records within a short period of time. Last year, KPKO and Juha Kankaa published "A Finnish Elegy" (Alba ABCD 425), which is now e.g. Emma and international ICMA award nominee.

Tracks

Concerto No. 3 for Cello and String Orchestra Op. 82
1.Moderatocomp. Pehr Henrik NordgrenISRC FIABA18003045:15
2.Concerto No. 3 for Cello and String Orchestra Op. 82 - Allegrettocomp. Pehr Henrik NordgrenISRC FIABA18003055:19
3.Concerto No. 3 for Cello and String Orchestra Op. 82 - Adagiocomp. Pehr Henrik NordgrenISRC FIABA18003066:36
4.Concerto No. 3 for Cello and String Orchestra Op. 82 - Moderato - Allegrettocomp. Pehr Henrik NordgrenISRC FIABA18003078:14
Konsertto nro 3 sellolle ja jousiorkesterille
5.As in a Dream for Cello and 19 Strings Op. 20comp. Pehr Henrik NordgrenISRC FIABA180030811:26
6.Concerto for Viola, Double Bass and Chamber Orchestra Op. 87comp. Pehr Henrik NordgrenISRC FIABA180030934:39

Reviews

We’re not going to tell you what happens; everybody should have the experience of hearing this magnificent joke unprepared.
Records International · April 15, 2019
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Ein beeindruckendes Werk, das mit seiner narrativen Struktur auch ein größeres Auditorium in seinen Bann zu ziehen vermag.
Horn Magazine · Michael Kube · November 8, 2020
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Düstere Musil von Pehr Henrik Nordgren
Die CD ’As in a Dream’ enthält Orchesterwerke von Pehr Henrik Nordgrenze (1944–2008), gespielt von Marko Ylönen, Cello, Lilli Maijala, Viola, Olivier Thiery, Kontrabass und dem ’Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra’ unter Juha Kangas. Das Album der Serie umfasst das dritte Cellokonzert, das Konzert für Viola und Kontrabass sowie ’As in a Dream’. Die drei durchaus nicht einfachen Werke enthalten ehe düstere Musik für Solisten und Streichorchester, die sehr…
Melankoliaa Pohjanmaalta
MARKO YLÖSEN sello laulaa kaihoisasti Pehr-Henrik Nordgrenin musiikissa, joka ammentaa Keski-Pohjanmaan lakeuksilta ja kansansävelmistä. Parempaa tulkkia tälle sielun syövereitä luotaavalle musiikille kuin Juha Kankaan johtama Keski-Pohjanmaan kamariorkesteri tuskin voi kuvitella. Kangasta voisi melkeinpä pitää edesmenneen säveltäjän inkarnaationa.
MusicWeb International
”In the booklet note for this release, Pehr Hendrik Nordgren is considered “among the most outstanding masters of this grossly underrated generation”, that is, the generation that fell outside the avant-garde wave of famous names born in the 1920s, and those who reacted against atonality and returned to tradition and easily recognisable genres such as minimalism. Nordgren has done well in numerous recordings on the Alba label and elsewhere, BIS and Finlandia to name two, but still doesn’t…
MusicWeb International · Dominy Clements