Cantigas (Lindberg)

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Cantigas is an orchestral composition by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. The work was commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra and was composed between 1998 and early 1999. Its world premiere was performed in Cleveland by the Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Christoph von Dohnányi on April 1, 1999. [1] [2]

Orchestra large instrumental ensemble

An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which mixes instruments from different families, including bowed string instruments such as violin, viola, cello, and double bass, as well as brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments, each grouped in sections. Other instruments such as the piano and celesta may sometimes appear in a fifth keyboard section or may stand alone, as may the concert harp and, for performances of some modern compositions, electronic instruments.

Magnus Lindberg Finnish composer and pianist

Magnus Gustaf Adolf Lindberg is a Finnish composer and pianist. He was the New York Philharmonic's composer-in-residence from 2009 to 2012 and has been the London Philharmonic Orchestra's composer-in-residence since the beginning of the 2014–15 season.

Cleveland Orchestra American symphony orchestra in Cleveland, OH

The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall. As of 2017, the incumbent music director is Franz Welser-Möst.

Contents

Composition

Cantigas is composed in a single movement and has a duration of roughly 19 minutes. [1]

A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession. A movement is a section, "a major structural unit perceived as the result of the coincidence of relatively large numbers of structural phenomena".

A unit of a larger work that may stand by itself as a complete composition. Such divisions are usually self-contained. Most often the sequence of movements is arranged fast-slow-fast or in some other order that provides contrast.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for a large orchestra consisting of three flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), two oboes, cor anglais, three clarinets (3rd doubling E-flat clarinet), bass clarinet (doubling contrabass clarinet), two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, four trumpets (4th doubling piccolo trumpet), three trombones, tuba timpani, three percussionists, harp, piano (doubling celesta), and strings. [1]

Western concert flute transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood

The Western concert flute is a transverse (side-blown) woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, flute player, or (rarely) fluter.

Piccolo small musical instrument of the flute family

The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The modern piccolo has most of the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written. This gave rise to the name ottavino, which the instrument is called in the scores of Italian composers. It is also called flauto piccolo or flautino.

Oboe musical instrument of the woodwind family

Oboes belong to the classification of double reed woodwind instruments. Oboes are usually made of wood, but there are also oboes made of synthetic materials. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A soprano oboe measures roughly 65 cm long, with metal keys, a conical bore and a flared bell. Sound is produced by blowing into the reed at a sufficient air pressure, causing it to vibrate with the air column. The distinctive tone is versatile and has been described as "bright". When the word oboe is used alone, it is generally taken to mean the treble instrument rather than other instruments of the family, such as the bass oboe, the cor anglais, or oboe d'amore

Reception

Cantigas has been praised by music critics. James R. Oestreich of The New York Times described the music as "glacially shifting blocks of harmony giving rise to explosions of strident color." [3] Keith Potter of The Independent wrote, "Cantigas was written in 1998-9 for the Cleveland Orchestra and lasts around 20 minutes. It is thus a recent example of Lindberg's considerable prowess as a purveyor of brightly coloured, brilliantly orchestrated scores, including a much higher percentage of genuinely fast music than composers tend to produce these days. It is also, however, a good example of its creator's move away from rhythm, gesture and sheer sonority as prime features to greater concern for harmonic thinking in the context of goal-directed structures." [4] Gramophone similarly observed:

James Ruben Oestreich is a classical music critic for The New York Times, where he has written about music since 1989. He grew up in Wisconsin.

<i>The New York Times</i> Daily broadsheet newspaper based in New York City

The New York Times is an American newspaper based in New York City with worldwide influence and readership. Founded in 1851, the paper has won 125 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper. The Times is ranked 17th in the world by circulation and 2nd in the U.S.

<i>The Independent</i> British online daily newspaper

The Independent is a British online newspaper. Established in 1986 as a politically independent national morning newspaper published in London, it was controlled by Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media from 1997 until it was sold to Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev in 2010. The last printed edition of The Independent was published on Saturday 26 March 2016, leaving only its digital editions.

Cantigas begins calmly‚ the interval of a perfect fifth permeating its opening oboe melody. The argument quickly turns dark‚ extravagant and very loud‚ with the exceptionally busy surfaces that are a hallmark of this composer's work. Some find the effect exhilarating. Others I know suspect that the near constant presence of rapid figuration coruscating over slowermoving harmonies is driven by the availability of appropriate software. Wonderfully limpid passages‚ as exquisitely scored as anything in Oliver Knussen‚ coexist with near cacophony. There may be a lack of heart‚ but‚ as in much of Lindberg's recent music‚ the musical current is immensely compelling‚ the colours are precisely applied‚ and the closing bars bring a genuine and surprising sense of apotheosis. [5]

Recording

A commercial recording of Cantigas, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen, was released through Sony Classical Records in 2002. The album also features Lindberg's Cello Concerto No. 1, Parada , and Fresco . [5] [6]

Philharmonia Orchestra British Orchestra based in London

The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Arturo Toscanini; of the Philharmonia's younger conductors, the most important to its development was Herbert von Karajan, who though never formally chief conductor was closely associated with the orchestra in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Philharmonia became widely regarded as the finest of London's five symphony orchestras in its first two decades.

Esa-Pekka Salonen Finnish conductor and composer

Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music director-designate of the San Francisco Symphony.

Sony Classical Records American record label

Sony Classical Records is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1948, it issued the first commercially successful long-playing 12" record. Over the next decades its artists included Isaac Stern, Pablo Casals, Glenn Gould, Eugene Ormandy, Vangelis, Elliot Goldenthal, Leonard Bernstein and John Williams. Columbia Records used the Masterworks brand name not only for classical and Broadway records, but also for spoken-word albums such as Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly's successful I Can Hear It Now series. Parent CBS also featured the Masterworks name on its consumer electronics equipment.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Lindberg, Magnus (1999). "Cantigas". Boosey & Hawkes . Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  2. ↑ Griffiths, Paul (October 1, 2000). "MUSIC; Picking Up a Path Trod by Sibelius And Even Haydn". The New York Times . Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ Oestreich, James R. (October 9, 2000). "MUSIC REVIEW; Displays of Fire and Ice, Moments of Distraction". The New York Times . Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  4. ↑ Potter, Keith (28 November 2001). "Philharmonia Orchestra/Salonen, Royal Festival Hall, London". The Independent . Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Lindberg, M Orchestral Works". Gramophone . June 2002. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Lindberg: Cantigas; Cello Concerto; Parada; Fresco". BBC Music Magazine . 20 January 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
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