Erkki Melartin's third Symphony

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Oramo to the recording studios forthwith!!! Please.

It is very sad that perhaps Melartin has been denied his place amongst major symphonists of early last century on account of defective recordings. A decent representation of his orchestral works might serve to establish him where he rightly belongs. (And my thanks again to Jani for providing an informed impetus to this particular thread).

Jani also saddened me by his characterisation of contemporary Finnish musical culture as more or less wall to wall Sibelius with only a grudging acceptance that there may be other composers with not quite his stature but certainly deserving of wider recognition and celebration. If true, that's very sad. And I thought that Finland was a hive of musical activity with a good number of orchestras and ensembles, and a population reasonably aware of, and appreciative of, its musical heritage. Is that not so? What, for example, is the state of music in Finnish schools? But I'm going way off thread!

[JimL]

Jani also saddened me by his characterisation of contemporary Finnish musical culture as more or less wall to wall Sibelius with only a grudging acceptance that there may be other composers with not quite his stature but certainly deserving of wider recognition and celebration. If true, that's very sad. And I thought that Finland was a hive of musical activity with a good number of orchestras and ensembles, and a population reasonably aware of, and appreciative of, its musical heritage. Is that not so? What, for example, is the state of music in Finnish schools? But I'm going way off thread!

Why, that would be just like major music conservatories and academies only teaching Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Brahms...hey, wait a minute...

[anssik]

I should expect a new cycle of Melartin's symphonies by Ondine is not particularly likely, as they've already done it once, albeit in a defective form, as it has turned out. Perhaps Alba could come to rescue; they are now releasing Aarre Merikanto's three symphonies, and there's rather more substance to Melartin's symphonies than Merikanto's (who was an extremely fine composer). Or perhaps BIS and Lahti Symphony could do it; Robert von Bahr has always shown a wealth of interest in Finnish music. Let's hope at the very least that some Finnish Orchestra will pick up the scores and give live performances of Melartin's symphonies. Jani is certainly right in that the 'canon' of past Finnish composers whose works receive live performances is really quite narrow; thanks to the excellent editorial work, there's now no longer an excuse for ignoring Melartin's work, and the question regarding musical substance can only be judged by the ear.

[badams@nl.rogers.com]

This question has been asked before, but I haven't been able to find a clear-cut reply (which could quite reasonably mean, I suppose, that nobody really knows), but are the performances of Melartin's 5th and 6th symphonies that are, or at least were, available here as downloads, of the newer critical editions, or are they alternative performances of the older cut editions used by Ondine/Grim in their recorded cycle?

TIA!

Brian

[jani]

Brian,
5th and 6th symphonies were recorded by Jussi Jalas (1908-1985) in 1974 (5th) and 1982 (6th) for broadcasts. 5th is cut, 6th is following the edition published in 1935. New edition of 5th got its first performance (uncut) in Turku in 2008. New edition of 4th has not yet been performed. 6th is probably next symphony to be edited.

By the way, I also recommend you to listen recording of Melartin's opera Aino (1912). It is much more oratorium than opera.

Melartin also wrote two interesting symphonic poems, Traumgesicht (op. 70, 1910), and Siikajoki (op. 28, 1903). Traumgesicht has not been performed since 1932, Siikajoki is broadcasted now and then. Also very good work is Marjatta (op.79, 1914), it is impressionistic 10 minute work for soprano and orchestra, much like Luonnotar by Sibelius.

[badams@nl.rogers.com]

Thanks, Jani!  Jussi Jalas was a conductor I held in some esteem back in my LP days, so even in the older cut performances I would probably find it worth while to hear what he does with Melartin.

Thanks again!

Brian

[BFerrell]

My problem with "Aino" is no text.  I cannot understand BIS doing this. Does anyone have access to the text?

[eschiss1]

I think one could request that the Aarhus library that has a copy of the Lilius & Hertzberg, 1909 separate printing of the libretto , to scan it in- Danish libraries do, I think, consider scanning requests if you create an account on their system to put the requests in with - and then download the scan from their site. See  OCLC and follow the relevant links...

[Ilja]

Allow me to briefly resuscitate this thread and refer interested parties to Oramo's recording, which is now available on Youtube, along with an elaborate explanation by the poster (is that you, Jani?):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgLRS_sw5oA

Suffice it to say that this is a great advertisement for the symphony and for Melartin's other works to be performed in their intended form. Last spring, I was lucky enough to attend a performance of the Violin Concerto by a really good amateur orchestra, the Leiderdorps Orkest (from very near my hometown of Leiden). Having proper editions on hand greatly helps to stimulate concert performances. I hope the same can be achieved with the Dopper editions.