Magnus Lindberg: Tempus fugit & Violin Concerto No. 2

Album review

Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg memorialized Witold Lutoslawski in the 1994 orchestral work Aura, and he has gradually emerged as Lutoslawski's successor. He has elaborated on Lutoslawski's big orchestral works that replace traditional harmony with a dynamic of stasis and motion, and as his own style has developed he has been able to control large ensembles effectively as he has landed prestigious composer-in-residence spots with the New York Philharmonic and London Philharmonic. Tempus Fugit was commissioned by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Finnish independence. If you think you're getting a set of patriotic fanfares, well, the Scandinavian mind does not work that way; Lindberg delivers a dense orchestral score consistent with his productions in New York and London. His music may be of the sort more beloved by orchestral musicians and conductors, who really get to show their stuff, than by listeners, but those wanting a place to start with Lindberg would do well to choose these accessible scores. Sample the dramatic third movement of Tempus Fugit, with its flashes of piano against a dark landscape. The Violin Concerto No. 2, only slightly older than Tempus Fugit, features a fluid performance of its difficult solo part by Frank Peter Zimmermann. Recommended, and beautifully recorded by Ondine at the Helsinki Music Centre.
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