Search - Robert Kajanus, Osmo Vänskä, Lahti Symphony Orchestra :: Robert Kajanus: Finnish Rhapsody

Robert Kajanus, Finland's under rated musical master

Erik Homenick | San Diego, California | 10/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Music does not always have to be original to be good. Such is the case on BIS's outstanding disc highlighting some of the best-known compositions by the Finnish composer and conductor, Robert Kajanus.



Kajanus was a close friend and associate of Jean Sibelius , Finland's most famous and gifted composer. While the latter will always be remembered for his originality and uncanny skills as a symphonist, Kajanus should be remembered as a composer of great passion and talent, despite his being overshadowed by his more musically profound friend, Sibelius.



Kajanus's sound is quite different from Sibelius's; Kajanus was heavily influenced by Wagner and that shows through rather clearly on the music presented here. Thoroughly original his idiom may not be, but Kajanus had a knack for writing melodic, richly orchestrated works in the late romantic/nationalist style.



FINNISH RHAPSODY kicks things off with its pleasing quotations from Finnish folk melodies. Here, one can truly get a good taste for Kajanus's talents in orchestration.



Next up is the very Wagnerian KULLERVO'S FUNERAL MARCH. Lushly orchestrated, dark and dramatic, this is a wonderful composition based on the character of Kullervo from the Finnish national epic poem, the KALEVALA.



Kajanus's four-movement SINFONIETTA IN B FLAT MAJOR is an appealing piece that also seems to be influenced by Finnish folk traditions. It is, for the most part, a straight-forward, lighter work full of melody and ambition.



Perhaps the best composition of the disc is the final one, a symphonic poem called AINO. AINO, also based on the KALEVALA, again demonstrates the influence of Wagner with its dark northern tones and textures. AINO comes to an impressive climax with a male choir singing an anonymous Finnish text.



The great Osmo Vanska leads his Lahti Symphony Orchestra through this music with great devotion and reverence for Kajanus's under appreciated oeuvre. As usual, the Lahti band sounds world class and the sound engineering for this disc is superb.



Recommended for anyone with a love for late romantic music, Finnish music or any music that is well written and deserving of wider attention.



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