What I have experienced multiple times with Tapiola Sinfonietta and with Pekka Kuusisto, and today with both, is that no matter how high your expectations are, these players will always outperform them. There is no such a thing as disappointment with these artists: they are committed to the music with attention to the outcome, to its impact on the listener, to the effect their performance will have in the space. With success.
Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin is almost onomatopoeic, the orchestra’s focus being on impulses more than on notes. The four movements unravel in a sequence of atmospheres conveying a wide array of moods, from tranquillity to sweetness, from melancholy to aggression. The common denominator is a spread positiveness, suggested by the predominantly major harmonies. I find it interesting to consider how this compositional choice relates to Ravel’s approach to death, given that he dedicated each movement to a friend deceased in World War I.
Dances are at the heart of Kirmo Lintinen’s Clarinet Concerto as well, outstandingly performed by soloist Harri Mäki. The movements unwind in a series of melodies recalling folk tunes, and rhythms suggesting the composer’s involvement with jazz music. Particularly amusing is the second movement, bouncing from a hint of a tango to a clue of a waltz and hopping onto furious mediaeval-sounding dances.
Across the “Prefazione”, the “Danze”, the “Confessione with Cadenza” and the “Finale”, Mäki tells a story through his clarinet. His beautiful sound blends into colors, melodies, rhythmic exchanges with the orchestra, and silences; at times he glances at the audience like a raconteur glimpses at an audience of children listeners, to mildly check on the impact of his words.