Concerto for Orchestra (Lindberg)

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The Concerto for Orchestra is an orchestral composition by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. The work was commissioned by the BBC and was composed between 2002 and 2003. It was given its world premiere by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jukka-Pekka Saraste on September 30, 2003 at the Barbican Centre, London. [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.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London, and it is the world's oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total, 16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting. The total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed-contract staff are included.

Contents

Composition

The Concerto for Orchestra has a duration of roughly 28 minutes and is composed in five numbered movements played without pause. [1] [2]

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 comprising three flutes (3rd doubling alto flute and piccolo), three oboes (3rd doubling cor anglais), four clarinets (3rd doubling E-flat clarinet; 4th doubling bass clarinet), three bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets (4th doubling trumpet in D), three trombones, tuba, timpani, three percussionists, piano (doubling celesta), harp, 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.

Alto flute type of flute

The alto flute is a type of Western concert flute, a musical instrument in the woodwind family. It is the next extension downward of the C flute after the flûte d'amour. It is characterized by its distinct, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range. It is a transposing instrument in G, and uses the same fingerings as the C flute.

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.

Reception

The Concerto for Orchestra has been praised by music critics. Steven Pritchard of The Guardian compared the work favorably to Lindberg's Campana In Aria, saying the "Concerto for Orchestra is altogether more commanding." [3] Annette Morreau of The Independent wrote, "In recent years, Lindberg has written a series of purely orchestral pieces and a series of concertos; this work is a triumphant combination of the two with real concertante demands on all sections of the orchestra and the occasional big solo for individual members." She added, "Lindberg, in his mid-forties, has come of age: this is a piece on another level with extraordinary confidence, boldness of gesture and an architectural logic that makes it at once familiar. Lindberg's harmonic language is now so rich and varied, consonance, if anything, more evident than dissonance." [2] The music was similarly praised by Steven Pritchard of The Observer and Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle , who called the piece "a grandiose canvas". [4] [5] Andrew Clements of The Guardian compared the work to Lindberg's Sculpture , observing:

<i>The Guardian</i> British national daily newspaper

The Guardian is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as The Manchester Guardian, and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers The Observer and The Guardian Weekly, the Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of the Guardian free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for The Guardian the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders.

<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.

<i>The Observer</i> weekly British newspaper, published on Sundays

The Observer is a British newspaper published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its sister papers The Guardian and The Guardian Weekly, whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993, it takes a social liberal or social democratic line on most issues. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.

The Concerto for Orchestra of 2003, and Sculpture, composed for the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles two years later, are striking examples of Lindberg's recent style, in which the control over harmony and structure is as rigorous as ever, but the gestural surface of the music is more immediately involving than in his earlier works. Both pieces move smoothly through their sectional forms, with the Concerto spotlighting various instrumental groups in turn in an overarching scheme that is Lindberg's take on the baroque chaconne, while Sculpture is framed by fanfares, with far-flung brass groups stationed around the auditorium. [6]

Conversely, Richard Whitehouse of Gramophone was more critical of the work, remarking:

<i>Gramophone</i> (magazine) UK monthly magazine published in London devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings

Gramophone is a magazine published monthly in London devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie. It was acquired by Haymarket in 1999. In 2013 the Mark Allen Group became the publisher.

Each decade in his maturity has seen Lindberg pen an orchestral work as a statement of intent: thus the modernist outpouring of Kraft (1985), then the reconciliation of innovation and tradition in Aura (1994). Fine that the Concerto for Orchestra (2003) is a further step along this path, but quality is simply lacking – whether in the actual ideas or, especially, the interplay of textures such that the harmonies sound derivative of earlier works, while melodic lines are insufficiently defined. Ensemble writing in the latter half fails to sustain momentum, and the apotheosis is perfunctory by Lindberg's standards. [7]

Recording

A recording of the Concerto for Orchestra, performed by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Sakari Oramo, was released through Ondine on January 1, 2008. The album also features Lindberg's Sculpture and Campana in Aria. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra orchestra of Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle

The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra is a Finnish orchestra based in Helsinki, and the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the Helsinki Music Centre. Primary funding comes from television licence fees from the Finnish population.

Sakari Markus Oramo OBE is a Finnish conductor. He is current Chief Conductor of both the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ondine is a Finnish classical record label founded in 1985 in Helsinki, Finland, where the company is still based, and today offers an extremely eclectic catalogue of both contemporary Finnish music, as well as recordings with major Finnish and international artists.

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Al largo is a composition for orchestra by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. It was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic while Lindberg served as the orchestra's composer-in-residence. Its world premiere was given by the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Alan Gilbert at Avery Fisher Hall on June 23, 2010.

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Parada is an orchestral composition by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. The piece was composed for the music festival Related Rocks which celebrates the works of Lindberg and related composers. Its world premiere was given at The Anvil, Basingstoke on February 6, 2002 by the Philharmonia Orchestra under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen, to whom the work is dedicated.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lindberg, Magnus (2003). "Concerto for Orchestra". Boosey & Hawkes . Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Morreau, Annette (14 October 2003). "BBC Symphony Orchestra / Saraste, Barbican, London". The Independent . Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  3. ↑ Pritchard, Steven (8 November 2008). "BMagnus Lindberg: Sculpture, Campana in aria, Concerto for Orchestra". The Independent . Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Pritchard, Steven (8 November 2008). "Magnus Lindberg: Sculpture, Campana in aria, Concerto for Orchestra". The Observer . Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Kosman, Joshua (January 25, 2009). "CD: Magnus Lindberg, 'Sculpture'". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Clements, Andrew (21 November 2008). "Lindberg: Sculpture; Concerto for Orchestra; Campana in Aria; Tapani/Finnish Radio Symphony Orch/Oramo". The Guardian . Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Whitehouse, Richard (February 2009). "Lindberg Campana in aria; Concerto for Orchestra; Sculpture". Gramophone . Retrieved July 10, 2016.
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