FMQ - Contemporary/ClassicalReviewsAutumn2021 Articles

Accordion – boldly engaged with Magnus Lindberg

Accordion – boldly engaged with Magnus Lindberg

Accordion – boldly engaged with Magnus Lindberg

"Valkeajoki is so adept at arranging and performing this material that it seems like these nimble arabesques, continuous and expansive pillars of sound and incisive yet organic accents were always intended for keyboard and bellows."

Kare Eskola

November 30, 2021

Linking Finland and Spain in the classical guitar tradition

Linking Finland and Spain in the classical guitar tradition

Linking Finland and Spain in the classical guitar tradition

"The greatest merit of this disc is in demonstrating how natural even the oddest of musical combinations can seem if driven by genuine, experience-based musicianship."

Kare Eskola

November 30, 2021

Sonic shavings from the workbench

Sonic shavings from the workbench

Sonic shavings from the workbench

"Janne Mertanen lets the music speak for itself, though also taking the few virtuosic challenges in his stride."

Martin Anderson

November 30, 2021

Transcendence and transparency

Transcendence and transparency

Transcendence and transparency

"Take note not just of the eloquence of the cello lines but also of the transparency, the delicacy, the weightless loveliness of so much of the orchestral writing."

Martin Anderson

November 30, 2021

De-marginalising repertoire, one disc at a time

De-marginalising repertoire, one disc at a time

De-marginalising repertoire, one disc at a time

"There are gems to be discovered in this repertoire, disdained by contemporaries and marginalised by history."

Kare Eskola

November 30, 2021

Breathtaking virtuosity, frozen melancholy

Breathtaking virtuosity, frozen melancholy

Breathtaking virtuosity, frozen melancholy

"There is an encyclopaedic dimension to the compositional work of Kalevi Aho, manifest in his comprehensive series of solo concertos and solo pieces for different instruments."

Anna Pulkkis

November 30, 2021

Old tales, new sounds

Old tales, new sounds

Old tales, new sounds

"It will come as no surprise that Dima Slobodeniouk and his Lahti musicians give all four works committed and lively performances, and that the BIS team have captured them in vivid sound."

Martin Anderson

November 30, 2021

Powerful orchestral images by Fagerlund

Powerful orchestral images by Fagerlund

Powerful orchestral images by Fagerlund

"The latest BIS release with Sebastian Fagerlund’s orchestral music includes powerful performances of two works that belong to his most convincing achievements in this genre."

Anna Pulkkis

November 30, 2021

Concertante cordial

Concertante cordial

Concertante cordial

"Kalevi Aho has been one of the major concertogenists, if I may coin that word, composing no fewer than 37 since 1981."

Martin Anderson

November 30, 2021

Fagerlund’s modern impressionism works well in chamber music too

Fagerlund’s modern impressionism works well in chamber music too

Fagerlund’s modern impressionism works well in chamber music too

"Sebastian Fagerlund's chamber works are attractive, shot through with primeval energy yet shaped with a dextrous flexibility."

Kare Eskola

November 30, 2021

The groovy and lyrical saxophone

The groovy and lyrical saxophone

The groovy and lyrical saxophone

"Joonatan Rautiola’s and Marko Hilpo’s duo plays with enjoyable precision and sensitivity. The lyrical qualities of the saxophone come to the fore."

Anna Pulkkis

November 30, 2021

Brightness and darkness of the Baltic Sea in the sound of a string quartet

Brightness and darkness of the Baltic Sea in the sound of a string quartet

Brightness and darkness of the Baltic Sea in the sound of a string quartet

"The disc attunes the listener’s mind to protecting the Baltic Sea, and this in turn seems to imbue the music with even more meaning."

Kare Eskola

November 30, 2021