SKU: FG.55011-615-3

ISBN 9790550116153.

Kalevi Aho (b. 1949) composed Violin concerto No. 2 in late summer and early autumn 2015 for the Finnish violinist Elina Vahala. Lasting about 32 minutes, the second concerto is a large-scale virtuoso work dominated by the soloist. The strong-featured first movement (Allegro) begins with a fairly short orchestral introduction that is followed by the soloist's first vigorous statement. Around the middle of the movement is a cadenza, and the movement ends with a quick stretta. The soloist dominates the events in the slow second movement (Adagio) even more than it did in the first. The Adagio begins with the same opening motif for the soloist as the first movement, but this time the motif is more lyrical and singing. Having built up to a dramatic climax, it subsides on flageolet notes and finally sounds that are somewhere between musical notes and noise. The third movement (Vivace, leggiero) is by nature dance-like again and lighter than the previous ones. At the end, the tempo accelerates to a wild, virtuosic prestissimo. Piano reduction (2020) by Kari Vehmanen.

SKU: FG.55011-324-4

ISBN 9790550113244.

Quadri Morandi (2014) ties together two essential themes of Kai Niminen's (b. 1953) compositional style: guitar and a subject inspired by Italy. The strong presence of the guitar in his works is natural since he is in an actively performing guitarist himself, and guitar works indeed play a significant role in his oeuvre. Moreover, he has written plenty of orchestral music; for instance two symphonies, numerous concertos, and chamber music. In the field of Finnish music he is a composer who can be characterized as free from any specific school or style. In his musical language, free tonal in essence, one can detect traces of Impressionism, Neoromanticism and even Expressionism at times, but he is also willing to employ more recent 20th-century stylistic devices. Nieminen has mentioned that he finds himself very similar to Japanese Toru Takemitsu both musically and in thought.

Mediterannean culture and Italy especially have been close to Nieminen's heart ever since he first visited the country and appeared in the jury of the international Fernando Sor guitar competition in 1981. He has composed a great number of works which refer to Italian landscapes or artists. The work Quadri Morandi (Morandi's pictures) is written in four movements. It has at its centre the painter Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964), who is known as a master of still lifes and landscapes painted in a plain manner and is subdued colours. Their atmosphere typically reflects a calm spirit. This is the third guitar work that nieminen has written for Kleemola.

It is easy to find a counterpart for the encaptivating realm of Morandi's art in Nieminen's clear and pure expression. The titles and expression markings also include several references to Morandi. For example, in the opening movement Prelude the words la Natura morta (still life) appear as an additional note on the chord sequence following the freely flowing opening section. At the end of the movement one can hear rhythmic motif coloured with flageolets that repeats the syllables of the painter's name: Gior-gio Moran-di. A similar motif can be heard at the end of the second movement Quasi cadenza. The tranquilly breathing third movement Paesaggio (landscape) creates an illusion of landscape by imitating the echo of monastery bells (come campane del monastero) and at the same time refers to il monaco (the monk), the name by which Morandi was often called. The final movement Ritratto (Portrait) is the most extensive of all the movements and can be seen, with its recurring motifs, as a reflection of the stable yet subtly varying elements of Morandi's art. The work ends with the rhythmic motif that once more echoes Morandi's name, like signature.

SKU: HL.49032124

ISBN 9790001069441.

Die Absurditaten der Warenasthetik, die Perfidie der Reklamewelten, das schonungslose Einhammern von Werbespruchen, das rettungslose Ausgeliefertsein an einen Mechanismus des Verkaufens, Anpreisens und An-den-Mann-Bringens um jeden Preis sind Thema dieser Revue und werden mit den Mitteln textlicher wie musikalischer Ironie, Parodie und Persiflage blossgestellt. Die offene Form bietet vielfaltige, unbegrenzte Moglichkeiten zur szenischen Gestaltung; die Einbeziehung anderer Medien (Video, Film) ist durchaus beabsichtigt und bietet gute Moglichkeiten fur facherubergreifende Arbeit.