Scenes from the Kalevala Lahti Symphony Orchestra & Dima Slobodeniouk

• Leevi Madetoja (1887 - 1947):
• 1 Madetoja: Kullervo, Op. 15 14:01
• Uuno Klami (1900 - 1961): Kalevala Suite, Op. 23:
• 2 Klami: Kalevala Suite, Op. 23: I. Maan synty 06:38
• 3 Klami: Kalevala Suite, Op. 23: II. Kevään oras 04:34
• 4 Klami: Kalevala Suite, Op. 23: III. Terhenniemi 06:42
• 5 Klami: Kalevala Suite, Op. 23: IV. Kehtolaulu Lemminkäiselle 05:15
• 6 Klami: Kalevala Suite, Op. 23: V. Sammon taonta 05:50
• Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957): Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22:
• 7 Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22: III. Lemminkäinen in Tuonela (1897 Version) 15:57
• Tauno Pylkkänen (1918 - 1980):
• 8 Pylkkänen: Kullervon sotaanlähtö, Op. 20 10:24
• Total Runtime 01:09:21

Info for Scenes from the Kalevala

The Kalevala is a compilation of mostly original folk poetry, arranged into fifty extensive runos (‘poems’) by the Finnish physician and folklorist Elias Lönnrot. Beginning with the creation of the world, it develops into a series of separate episodes which nevertheless form a rich whole, introducing epic characters such as Väinämöinen, Lemminkäinen and Kullervo. The collection first appeared in 1835, with a final, extended version being published in 1849, and was soon hailed as Finland’s ‘national epos’ – a sensitive matter given that the country had been subjected to Russian rule since 1809. It came to play a major part in Finland’s national awakening and had a massive influence on Finnish art in the late 19th century, but its role in the national consciousness remains important even today.

The present album, from the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Dima Slobodeniouk, brings together Kalevala-related works spanning the period between 1897 and 1943. No such collection could overlook Sibelius, who composed several works inspired by the epos. Included here is a rarity – the first recording of the 1897 version of Lemminkäinen in Tuonela, from the Lemminkäinen Suite. Finnish composers from later generations all had to find a way out from under Sibelius’s shadow – especially so when composing works based on the Kalevala. The portraits of Kullervo which bookend the disc, by Leevi Madetoja and Tauno Pylkkänen, are both compact works in contrast to Sibelius’s large-scale ‘choral symphony’ on the same theme, and when Uuno Klami used bold and primitive colours in his five-movement Kalevala Suite, he was looking towards Stravinsky rather than his countryman.

Lahti Symphony Orchestra
Dima Slobodeniouk, Dirigent

Dima Slobodeniouk
Lauded for his deeply informed and intelligent artistic leadership, Dima Slobodeniouk has held the position of Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia since 2013, which he combines with his more recent positions as Principal Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Sibelius Festival following his appointment in 2016. Linking his native Russian roots with the cultural influence of his later homeland Finland, he draws on the powerful musical heritage of these two countries.

Last season he gave his debut with the Het Concertgebouw Orkest, including a tour to Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Tallinn. He works with orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Radio Sinfonieorchester Berlin, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, London Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Chicago, Houston and Baltimore as well as Sydney Symphony Orchestras.

Summer 2019 sees Slobodeniouk return to the Tanglewood Music Festival, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Yefim Bronfman, before he gives his debut in the orchestra’s main series in Boston in October this year. Further highlights are his debuts with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich with Simon Trpceski, with the Vienna Symphony, with the San Francisco Symphony with Sergey Khachatrian and with the Cleveland Orchestra. He returns to the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Houston Symphony with Kirill Gernstein. He opens the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia’s 19/20 season with the Symphony of Psalms by Stravinsky; on tour together, appearances include the Centro Nacional de Difusión Musical Madrid with Isabelle Faust as soloist. With Lahti Symphony he is excited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sibelius Festival with soloists such as Karita Mattila. Other soloists he works with include Nicolas Altstaedt, Leif Ove Andsnes, Khatia Buniatishvili, Vilde Frang, Vadim Gluzman, Johannes Moser, Baiba Skride, Simon Trpčeski, Yuja Wang and Frank Peter Zimmermann.

Slobodeniouk’s discography was recently extended by recordings of works by Stravinsky with Ilya Gringolts and Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia (BIS) and works by Aho with Lahti Symphony Orchestra (BIS), the latter received the BBC Music Magazine award 2018. He has previously recorded works by Lotta Wennäkoski with Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Ondine) and works by Sebastian Fagerlund with Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (BIS). Moscow-born Dima Slobodeniouk studied violin at Moscow Central Music School under Zinaida Gilels and J. Chugajev, the Middle Finland Conservatory as well as the Sibelius Academy under Olga Parhomenko. He continued his Sibelius Academy studies with Atso Almila also under the guidance of Leif Segerstam and Jorma Panula, and has also studied under Ilya Musin and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Striving to inspire young musicians of the future, Slobodeniouk has worked with students at the Verbier Festival Academy over recent years and furthermore began a conducting initiative with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, providing an opportunity for students to work on the podium with a professional orchestra.

Booklet for Scenes from the Kalevala