Dedicated To

Albumbeschreibung

This album has come in from the cold to offer yet another demonstration of the vitality of Scandinavian creativity. The Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra comes from a historic province of Finland, now divided into five regions on the country's west coast. Like the other regions of Finland, this area possesses a very high-quality conservatory: it has produced the musicians who make up this string orchestra, and given them a very unique sound. Founded in 1989, it has produced around 60 records mostly dedicated to contemporary performances. Juha Kangas is a violist with the group and never really wanted to become a conductor, seeing himself more of a team player who "gives it his best". For a long time he refused to perform at the head of any other orchestra than his own, wanting "on principle" to dedicate himself exclusively to his own musicians and to the various Nordic composers whom he had helped bring to light. All the pieces on this album were written for the boss, and his orchestra. The music from the Lithuanian composer Onutė Narbutaitė is utterly enthralling. Written in 2014, her piece Was There a Butterfly? is an ostinato abuzz with colour and mystery. Erkki Olavi Salmenhaara (1941-2002) was a Finnish composer, but also a teacher and critic, the author of numerous works, including a biography of Sibelius and of Madetoja. A student of Jonas Kokkonen, he also worked with György Ligeti in Vienna. Like all the Finnish composers, Kalevi Aho received a fifteen-year bursary from the state to allow him to truly dedicate himself to writing. Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016) received a bursary from Sibelius himself, to support his studies at New York's Juilliard School. A very eclectic composer, he turned his hand to any number of styles, taking inspiration from all manner of musical currents of the 20th century. As for Peteris Vasks (born in 1946), he was born in Latvia, to a Baptist pastor. He started to receive international recognition in the 1990s, when Gidon Kremer began to make his music more widely-known. © François Hudry/Qobuz