Notes and Editorial Reviews
Joonas Kokkonen is considered "Finland's most significant composer after Sibelius" (American Record Guide). However, he still awaits discovery among many lovers of accessible contemporary music. Sakari Oramo and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, unrivaled champions of Finnish late 20th-century music, have taken up this task with a complete Kokkonen symphonies cycle: The benchmark first volume (ODE 1098-2) was unanimously hailed by the press as a "must-have disc". On this new release, they perform the first two symphonies, coupled with Opus sonorum for orchestra. Written in the years following Sibelius's death in 1957, these masterpieces reveal Kokkonen's affinity with the music of J.S. Bach and his full exploration
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of expressive tonal colours.
"...Both are tautly argued works, compressing four movements into 20-minute spans that Sakari Oramo plots with precision. After completing the anguished Second Symphony in 1961, Kokkonen developed a more expressive, almost neoromantic style. The seeds of that can be heard in Opus Sonorum from 1964, which is symphonic in outline if not in its nine-minute scale, and uses the musical letters of Jean Sibelius's name as one of its motifs." - Andrew Clements, The Guardian, London, 2009
"For Finnish conductor, Sakari Oramo, a man with a yen for reviving neglected composers, Joonas Kokkonen is an important figure. He's the 'missing link' between the great Jean Sibelius and a new generation of Finnish composers such as Magnus Lindberg." -- Ivan Hewett, The Daily Telegraph, February 11, 2009
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Works on This Recording
1.
Symphony no 1 by Joonas Kokkonen
Conductor:
Sakari Oramo
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1958-1960; Finland
2.
Symphony no 2 by Joonas Kokkonen
Conductor:
Sakari Oramo
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1960-1961; Finland
3.
Opus Sonorum by Joonas Kokkonen
Conductor:
Sakari Oramo
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1965; Finland
Featured Sound Samples
Symphony no 1: IV. Adagio
Sound Samples
Symphony No. 1: I. Moderato
Symphony No. 1: II. Allegretto
Symphony No. 1: III. Allegro -
Symphony No. 1: IV. Adagio
Symphony No. 2: I. Adagio non troppo -
Symphony No. 2: II. Allegro
Symphony No. 2: III. Andante
Symphony No. 2: IV. Allegro vivace
Opus sonorum: I. Moderato - II. Adagio non troppo - III. Allegro non troppo
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