A trip to Sweden with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

Torleif Thedéen and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra should be commended for performing this rarely-performed work by a major composer.

Of the two major professional orchestras in Helsinki, the artistic profile of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (HKO) is generally focused on the established classics when compared with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, which regularly performs and commissions new music. This evening's program–works by two established American composers and a cello concerto by a Swedish composer–could be considered as somewhat unusual for a HKO subscription concert.

Joan Tower's Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman opened this evening's program. The title of this work is of course a play on Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man. Tower's Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman consists of a series of six short compositions, the first of which was performed on this concert.

Scored for the same instrumentation and inspired by Copland's Fanfare, Tower's work acknowledges the Copland influence while clearly taking both a different and interesting direction. Copland's work could be described as possessing an assertive nobility; Tower is somewhat restless but also propulsive and determined, with spicier harmonies and more virtuosic use of percussion.

Copland's Symphony No. 3 is arguably the most popular American symphony, perhaps surpassed only by Samuel Barber's First Symphony in terms of performance frequency. Although sounds suggesting the open spaces of the American landscape can be heard in the opening of Copland's work, the Symphony No. 3 is for the most part a serious utterance without any obvious influence of jazz and popular music, musical styles which inform Copland's popular reputation.

The first two movement's of this evening's performance were the most successful. Conductor Simon Crawford-Phillips took care to ensure that the lyrical line of the first movement maintained sufficient presence to link the different sections together. Under Crawford-Phillips' direction, Copland's brass writing, which can sometimes border on strident, was burnished and warm. The second movement was great fun in its playful stuttering. The third movement, which perhaps meanders somewhat, had just enough forward movement. The famous fanfare in the final movement was both rousing and exciting.

Coming between these two works by American composers was the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra by the Swedish composer Sven-David Sandström. In his opening remarks before the performance, Crawford-Phillips described this piece as a « stream of consciousness », which is an entirely apt description. Cast in a single extended movement with clear sections, the musical aesthetic of this piece consisted in part of sweeping romantic gestures executed with 20th-century orchestral techniques.

The work opened with an almost (Richard) Straussian flourish from the orchestra, which receded to make way for a long lyrical line from the soloist. The work then traveled through a dizzying array of moods and landscapes, marked with some striking orchestral effects and combinations (such as solo cello and trombone, flutes and false harmonics in strings).

Although the composer's endless invention and Thedéen's unflashy but assured virtuosity were clear highlights of this performance, overall the piece did not feel particularly cohesive or satisfactory taken as a whole. Although the romantic and lyrical melodies might have felt backwards-looking to some listeners, they were nevertheless satisfying and felt like genuine expressions of the composer's voice.

Nevertheless, Thedéen's (the work's dedicatee) authoritative performance was the best possible argument for the merits of this piece, and both soloist and orchestra should be commended for giving the Helsinki audience a chance to hear this rarely-performed work by a major composer.

Photos : Torleif Thedéen © Nikolaj Lund