Magnus Lindberg : Musique de chambre

Album review

Magnus Lindberg is renowned for his virtuosic and idiomatic orchestral works, but he is somewhat less familiar as a composer of chamber music. This 2012 album from Ondine showcases Lindberg's pieces for cello solo, cello and piano, and a trio of clarinet, cello, and piano, with Lindberg at the keyboard, joined by clarinetist Kari Kriikku and cellist Anssi Karttunen. Even at its densest and most complicated, Lindberg's music is still accessible and entertaining, so even though the textures can be quite thick and the dissonances brusque, his reliance on clearly audible motives, connected melodic lines, gorgeous sonorities, and a modified tonality make his pieces easy to follow and enjoy. Most of all, his skill in making the instruments sound their best contributes to the feeling of transparency and coherence. The Trio (2008) is immediately appealing for its bracing exchanges, and even though it is the longest work on the album, it seems to go by quickly and almost effortlessly. The Santa Fe Project (Konzertück) (2006) and Dos Coyotes (1993/2002) share tone colors and a kind of lyrical spinning out of ideas, so they are almost companion pieces, both in style and expressive richness. Partia is perhaps the most in need of close and attentive listening, because the cello carries all the ideas without benefit of accompaniment, and the long lines are frequently interrupted by contrasting material, giving the piece a feeling of an argumentative soliloquy. Ondine's recording is clean and reasonably close to the musicians, giving them presence and distinct placement.
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